Will Brooks Calls Out Edson Barboza For UFC Portland

Former Bellator champion and No. 12-ranked UFC lightweight “Ill” Will Brooks recently made his successful Octagon debut, scoring a hard fought unanimous decision victory over battle tested veteran Ross Pearson at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 23 Finale earlier this month (July 8, 2016). After getting his first UFC victory under his belt, Brooks is now looking on to greater challengers.

Taking to his official Twitter account recently, the former 155-pound titleholder expressed interest in a potential bout with No. 6-ranked Edson Barboza. “Ill” Will also had a date and venue in mind:

I want @EdsonBarbozaJR next in Portland… Fighting along side the homie @ColbyCovMMA in his home state @ufc

— Will Brooks (@illwillbrooks86) July 24, 2016

The UFC recently announced that they will be returning to Portland, Oregon on October 1, 2016 with the event going down at the Moda Center.

Barboza just competed this past weekend, scoring a somewhat decisive decision victory over former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 20 (July 23, 2016) from Chicago, Illinois. Prior to that, Barboza had also toppled another former champion in Anthony “Showtime” Pettis. With his recent win streak, “Junior” may have his eyes set on higher ranked fighters, but a bout with Brooks could make sense.

In the aftermath of his bout with Melendez, Barboza expressed interest in landing a main event bout next time out. Barboza vs. Brooks could potentially provide a suitable headliner for a FOX Sports 1 card, and from a stylistic standpoint, these two explosive strikers match up quite well.

Does this scenario interest you?