One-on-one combat is more than just a sport to Isaiah Brooks. It’s a lifestyle.
“Some kid asked me the other day how long it takes me to prepare for a fight,” Brooks said. “I’ve been training my entire life for it.”
Fighting now is his career.
Brooks, 26, of Hagerstown, is set to make his professional debut in mixed martial arts (MMA) on the Shogun Fights card March 29 at the The Hall at Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover, Maryland, against an opponent to be announced.
Brooks — a 2016 North Hagerstown graduate who won a state wrestling title for the Hubs — recently concluded his amateur MMA career with a 4-0 record. All four of his bouts were part of Stellar Fights events in Harrington, Delaware, and all four resulted in convincing victories for Brooks.
On Jan. 25, he defeated Dylan Boyers by unanimous decision in a five-round contest to capture the Stellar Fights lightweight (155-pound) championship belt.
After defeating each of his first three opponents by technical knockout, Brooks was ready to go pro.
“But once they said I had a chance to fight for a belt, I decided to stick around for another one,” he said. “And I think that was the smartest choice because I went a full 15 minutes with that guy, and that’s the duration of a pro fight. And now I know I can do that.
“If you win a belt at the amateur level, it’s definitely time to go pro. You’ve accomplished everything you could at the amateur level.”
Aaron Brooks sets up brother’s first fight
Brooks trains out of the Tactical Combat Academy of Mixed Martial Arts in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, under the guidance of Josh Hummer, the academy’s owner and head instructor.
“Coach Josh told me after my first practice, ‘You can be a UFC champion if you work hard and you stay the course,'” Brooks said. “I have confidence that if I work hard that I can go as far as I want, if it’s in God’s will.”
That first practice in Greencastle was only a little over a year ago, and it might not have happened if it weren’t for his younger brother, Aaron Brooks, the superstar wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics after winning four NCAA titles for Penn State.
“I would spar with my friends randomly, but I wasn’t taking it that seriously. But MMA was something I always had in mind,” Isaiah Brooks said. “I have a very competitive spirit, and I knew I needed more. Eventually, my brother said, ‘Either stop talking about it or be about it.’ I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m going to be about it.’ And he set up a fight for me. He reached out to Brad Dalton, who runs Stellar Fights. And then I started going to Tactical Academy.”
Community celebration: Olympic medalist Aaron Brooks returns to a hero’s welcome in Hagerstown
UFC goals
While there’s a lot of money to be made in MMA, Brooks has some winning to do before he can make a comfortable living from it. For his pro debut next month, he said that he’ll earn $500 for showing up and making weight and another $500 if he wins.
“Nothing serious at first,” he said. “The second fight contract might be like $6,000 to show and $1,500 to win. The first big contract is like 10-10. You get $10,000 to show up and make weight and then $10,000 to win — $20,000 for a night. If you fight three times on your contract, that’s $60,000, and then it goes up to 20-20, 40-40.”
Brooks’ goal is to fight in the UFC, the world’s premier MMA league.
What’s it going to take to get there?
“Dominance, dominant performances,” he said. “I want to make it there before I’m 30.”
Fighting smart
Brooks dominated as an amateur, administering a lot more punishment than he received.
“I’ve gotten punched, but I haven’t really been rocked yet,” he said.
His ultimate goal is to keep it that way.
“I don’t want to leave this sport with CTE,” he said. “I’m going to fight smart, make my money and create my legacy, however far I can go with it. Hopefully, I can take it as far as a world championship. And then I’m going to leave, unscathed. I love what I do, but I’m not trying to be one of those brain-dead guys out there.”
What if he loses his pro debut?
“Humbly speaking, I’m not going into any fight ever thinking I’m going to lose,” he said. “But there’s always a chance, of course. If that happens, I know how good I am and how great I can be, so I’m not going to let a loss discredit my path and my focus. Of course, it would hurt because I’m very competitive. But I’d come back stronger, 100%.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown’s Isaiah Brooks set to launch MMA pro career
