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Bellator champ Will Brooks lying low during transition but still wants Eddie Alvarez

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Bellator interim lightweight champion Will Brooks was “shocked” and “surprised” at the promotion’s recent change of leadership.

Also, the 27-year-old fighter was “a little bit disappointed.” And how could he not be?

Not long before Scott Coker’s entrance as the new figurehead of the Viacom-owned promotion, Brooks (14-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) said he met with now-former chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney to discuss their intertwined futures.

“There was no feeling as though that would happen,” he told MMAjunkie. “We were talking about my ideas as far as the tournament format and the organization as a whole.”

Now, Brooks is basically waiting on a phone call. Since the change on the president’s nameplate, he hasn’t heard what’s happening next in his career.

“I’ve gotten comfortable with it,” he said. “I’m at the point where I’ve got a drink with an umbrella in it.”

When Rebney left, a key question in Bellator’s future hung in the balance. Would the promotion book a fight to unify the lightweight title, pitting Brooks against the recovering champ, Eddie Alvarez? Or would it compel Alvarez (25-3 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) to fight a rubber match with ex-titleholder Michael Chandler (12-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA), whom Brooks upset in May at Bellator 120, as Rebney claimed was contractually possible?

By any measure of fairness, the right thing to do was to give Brooks the opportunity after he replaced the injured Alvarez and beat Chandler via decision in Bellator’s pay-per-view debut. But the situation remains unresolved, at least according to Brooks.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “I kind of took a little time off from the whole thing and put myself in a position of just being a fighter and a fan. There hasn’t been any new developments. There’s nothing to make me feel like that fight is going to happen or not going to happen. I think it’s kind of taken a seat to the back because there’s so much going on as far as Coker taking over.”

Brooks took no issue with Rebney as a promoter and said Bellator has been good to him during his time with the promotion. He said that along with his initial feelings about the switch in management, he was “excited for a change, too.”

But with that said, he’d also like to get back to work.

“I would love to do it as soon as possible,” Brooks said. “I don’t know what kind of schedule they’ve put together. That’s one thing my manager has let me know: They’re working on a new schedule, and so they’ve got the September card (Bellator 123) coming up, and I’m assuming that might actually be a good sign for me to find out what’s going to happen next.”

Coker recently appeared on a behind-the-scenes clip for Bellator and said the promotion will restart its engines on Sept. 5 for Bellator 123, which notably takes place in Uncasville, Conn., a stone’s throw from the arena hosting UFC Fight Night 50 in Ledyard, Conn., the same night. From there, he said, the promotion will keep to its usual schedule, running 10 straight events, before retooling next year.

That’s good news for Brooks, of course, if he’s able to get a fight at some point this year. After complaints from its champions, Bellator worked to keep them active in non-tournament and outside fights. When Rebney left, the promotion had only recently altered its format once again to allow tournament winners a title shot at any time.

If Brooks remains on the shelf this year, it will be an unfortunate turn for the American Top Team fighter. There’s one good piece of news: He said his manager is in contact with Coker.

“I’m just ready to go,” he said. “Once I get going, I like to keep going.”

And while Brooks said he’s kept his desire to fight Alvarez quiet so as to allow Bellator time to make up his mind, his desire to unify the titles hasn’t changed.

“It’s definitely what I want,” he said. “I think it’s what I deserve. That’s just how it works. I don’t know too much about this sport, but from what I’ve seen and heard, you have an interim belt and a guy with the belt, you unify the belt. That’s just how it goes, and now, I just want what I deserve and what I earned.”

For more on Bellator 123, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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