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UFC Fight Night 25’s Jonathan Brookins used time away from fighting wisely

Brookins vs. Koch is one of four featured bouts on fight card this weekend

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Steve Marcus

Lightweight fighter Jonathan Brookins is shown during a media workout at the Palms Thursday, December 2, 2010.

Wed, Sep 14, 2011 (9 p.m.)

A broken face can lead to a healthy dose of self-reflection.

It at least worked wonders for Jonathan Brookins. “The Ultimate Fighter” season 12 champion hasn’t fought in more than nine months because he injured his orbital bone in training before his first scheduled UFC bout outside of the reality show.

“It was just enough to keep me from fighting,” Brookins said. “It wasn’t like I couldn’t move. I just couldn’t get punched in the face, so it was time for me to look at myself and figure some things out.”

The most profound change the time off resulted in was the decision to move down to featherweight. Brookins (12-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will make his promotional 145-pound debut Saturday at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans against Erik Koch (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the Spike-televised main card.

Brookins had fought at 145 pounds before landing a spot on a lightweight season of TUF. He always knew he could go back down but lacked the motivation to go through the more difficult weight cut.

The six weeks away from training to deal with the broken orbital forced Brookins to reassess.

“It gave me some incentive to put some extra effort in,” Brookins said. “I had already gotten a spot in the UFC at 155, so it was a little harder for me. But I thought it was a good part of my career where I could implement a little more focus.”

It was the right move to improve his divisional positioning. Lightweight is the UFC’s most loaded class, meaning Brookins would have to start close to the bottom.

At featherweight, a division the UFC just implemented nine months ago by merging the WEC, the talent pool is shallower. Brookins’ name recognition from winning TUF seemingly puts him more in the middle of the pack immediately.

“It’s a blessing I really don’t want to go to waste,” Brookins said of the benefit of winning the reality show. “I don’t want it to be something I didn’t have the full respect for. It’s something that comes with a lot of responsibility. I want to be that person who really covets it for the position, while not making it the highlight of their life.”

That’s because Brookins believes he has more notable things to accomplish in the sport. He’s proven he can be successful as a featherweight.

A victory over current UFC competitor Yves Jabouin and a Bellator win dot his 145-pound record. He also lasted into the third round with current champion Jose Aldo, who proceeded to finish his next three opponents in the first round after Brookins.

That should sound familiar to Brookins, as Koch is on a similar three-fight winning streak with all coming via first round stoppage.

“I think he did a great job and it’s more power to him,” Brookins said. “It’s awesome. It’s really cool the UFC would put me in with an opponent that’s got a lot of hype like that.”

Koch sounds equally impressed with Brookins.

“I think he is a good tough opponent,” Koch told UFC.com. “I’m hoping a win over him will move me more up the ladder.”

At 22 years old, Koch is one of the more promising prospects out of renowned striking trainer Duke Roufus’ Milwaukee gym. Breaking down their strengths, it would seem that Koch would want to keep the fight standing while the 26-year-old Brookins would look to use his wrestling.

But Brookins said that wasn’t necessarily the case.

“I might go in there thinking I can’t wait to wrestle with the dude,” he said. “But then I could punch him in the face one time and feel like it’s really easy to punch him in the face. So, we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

It’s Brookins’ usual mentality to see what happens and make the most it, anyway. The way he spent most of the last year without fighting proves it.

“It’s just been a growing portion of my life where I’ve been learning about myself,” Brookins said. “It’s a good time. I’ve been real thankful for it.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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