Jarred Brooks on leaving the UFC and his future at flyweight

Former UFC flyweight Jarred Brooks isn’t letting his recent separation from the organization slow down his progress in the sport.

Earlier this month the UFC flyweight division took a hit. The UFC released several flyweight fighters including Jarred Brooks. The change came after longtime flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson left for ONE Championship, and rumors that the UFC would be closing down the division began. Brooks had four fights in the UFC and had proved himself to be one of the rising stars of the division before these cutbacks. Now Brooks has his sights set on alternate opportunities in MMA.

“The fact that we even have to display and test ourselves in bull crap in my opinion,” Brooks said on The Cage Side Submissions podcast. “We have guys that are a lot better than a lot of the UFC heavyweights, they just have a lot of power and when you have two guys that are like Derrick Lewis and someone like Francis Ngannou one guy is definitely going down and I guess that’s what the Americans’s want to see. I’m going to Asia where they respect mixed martial arts. I have other options on the table too. I have a lot of promotions hitting me up, hitting my manager up. We are just looking for the right one and we’re getting closer to that.”

There has been some backlash from fighters regarding the closing of the division and the way certain fighters were released. UFC president Dana White has been critical of the flyweight division in the past saying it isn’t marketable. After news that the division would be cut, the UFC announced a final flyweight title fight between champion Henry Cedjudo and bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. This course of action has upset some people as well.

“I wouldn’t say it is completely disrespectful,” Brooks said. “I understand from a business standpoint, but to eliminate four guys and not eliminate the rest of the division at the same time, it’s either they are marketing for guys who just got cut to get out there or they are just saying f**k these putts. You got me, Justin Scoggins, and Jose Torres which are the future of the flyweight division which people don’t understand.”

As for Brooks, he isn’t ruling out a return to the UFC in the future. He knows that the 125-pound division is an exciting one that the fans want to see.

“In the next few years you are going to see me killing stuff either in Asia or any other organization and they are going to bring the flyweight division back just because it’s going to be way too marketable,” Brooks said.

There are still a few fighters remaining in the flyweight division. Other fighters have made the choice to move up in weight and compete at 135 pounds. The future of the division seems to be in limbo at the time.