He announced his arrival in the UFC with a short notice, unanimous decision victory over Ross Pearson at the Ultimate Fighter Finale in July, now former Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks returns against Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira at UFC Portland on Saturday.

After sitting out eight months between his final fight in Bellator and his promotional debut with the UFC, Brooks will be making the walk once again after only three months.  With everything going on in his life, he’s happy to get back to throwing punches so soon after his last bout.

“It’s nice to stay busy since I have a wife and a house and a brand new baby girl, she’s six months and these things require me to be bringing in money and be able to support my family financially,” Brooks told TSN.ca.  

“Having a long time off between fights is a very difficult thing to do, so to be able to go in there and compete and then get right back out there.  I’m a workhorse kind of guy and I love to be competing and I feel like these are the times where you get better because there is no space in between to get lazy.”

After James Krause pulled out of the fight with Pearson, Brooks was added to the card and made his debut with a win; though looking back it’s a victory that he feels left room for improvement.

“I’m always disappointed in the performance, I did what I had to do to go out there and get the win on three weeks’ notice and a short training camp, but overall I was disappointed,” said Brooks. “That’s me being my biggest critic and that’s always how I’m going to carry myself in regards to wanting to get better in every fight.”

In Portland, Brooks will face the Brazilian Oliveira who has moved between the lightweight and welterweight divisions and missed weight by 5.5 pounds for this co-main event bout.  

“He’s got a lot of ability, he’s very loose and very comfortable in the cage, he doesn’t put a lot of pressure on himself and he has fun fighting and enjoys fighting,” said Brooks.  “I also enjoy fighting, but at the end of the day I’m not here to just fight, I’m here to make a pay cheque and I’m here to be a guy in MMA and make sure I come home with both sides of my pay cheque so I can take care of my wife and my daughter and pay my bills.”

“When we go out there, there’s going to be two guys with different mindsets, one guy there to have fun because he enjoys fighting and one guy on a mission to prove something to prove something to himself and make sure he’s taking care of his responsibilities.”

One thing Brooks will not be doing is pouring over the tape of Oliveira’s previous fights.

“People get better and people change fight to fight, so there is no point in watching these fights and thinking that you’re going to go out there and get the same guy, so I like to focus on myself.”

Perhaps the main reason Brooks isn’t worried about what a fighter was and concentrates on what he is, is because he sees in himself a fighter that continues to improve and evolve fight by fight.

“I only get better every fight, I’m a very intelligent fighter and I’m very good at putting together game plans and strategies and sticking to those game plans and adapting to fights to make sure I come out with the win and that’s the one place where he has a weakness,” said Brooks.  

“Guys that go out there just to fight are typically not thinking about what they’re doing, they’re really just fighting and that can get you in a lot of trouble when you’re in there with a guy like me.

With Conor McGregor challenging for the lightweight title against champion Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden, there is a heavy spotlight on the division.  

Brooks sees a chance to put on a great fight and make a name at 155 pounds.

“I think there are a lot of openings in the lightweight division, there is a lot of talent in this division but I feel like there is an opening for someone to make a splash and for someone to take over and say I’m the next superstar in this lightweight division,” said Brooks.  

“I think there are a lot of guys looking for title fights that just haven’t established themselves as a guy that’s going to bring viewers and put eyes on the TV and bring in money.  I think this is an opportunity for me to go out there and compete, get better as a fighter and put my name in the hat as a guy that’s going to be a superstar and someone you can count on in the lightweight division.”