Featured Teams. Home Odds. Bayern Munich Dortmund. Celtic Rangers. Toggle navigation Subscribe. By Shaheen Al-Shatti Apr 29, Not long ago, before the world changed, Jonathan Brookins was walking along the pier in his neighborhood in the West Village of New York when something odd happened: A stranger recognized him.
He was soft-spoken, a thinker, a relentlessly positive soul who spent his time in the TUF house pondering deep philosophical questions rather than guzzling booze like a frat bro. It was how Brookins got recognized that stuck with him. Brookins works at a branch near his West Village apartment as a personal trainer.
Back to that pier interaction, though. It was funny. Already a subscriber? Log In. Subscribe now to get full access to the new sports page.
Brookins had nearly dropped out of high school as a senior, the pressures of fitting in as a bi-racial kid combined with the drama of teenage life within the hallways had broken him. Then he lost a sister, one of seven siblings, during childbirth and left school to relocate to Florida with his family. The confinement from the real world allowed him to get away from everything.
He became the Ultimate Fighter -- and his head swelled big enough to allow demons from the past to return and torment. As he trained his body to prepare for Poirier, his soul was being renewed.
I had to hit that bottom to look and access things fully for what they were and putting certain things behind me so I can make some positive, solid ground. Brookins once described himself on Twitter as a year-old standing motionless, but, upon a closer look, one moving at the speed of light and old as the universe.
When he crashed into the wall in June, the man who emerged as the TUF 12 champion and fan favorite stood broken at a crossroads.
For all but six weeks of his 27 years, Brookins placed limits on himself, failing to realize his potential. Then Brookins disappeared off the MMA map. With an unsure mindset, boarded a plane for India to practice yoga with the idea of finding a way to make himself believe he was a fighter. After nearly a year and a half of trying to find the fighter inside, Brookins returned.
Although the UFC was not still there waiting for Brookins upon return, Brookins found high quality bouts with future UFC veterans in organizations all over the world. He fought in Ireland, Finland and the Japan, as well as some domestic bouts. However, that search for his fighting self remained as he took a far different approach to fighting than most. I fought these guys never sparring with anybody - just doing yoga classes and stuff and just trying to figure it out.
No coach slapping my back. Nobody to give a hug before I walk into the cage. I would just kind of be there. And those fights gave Brookins a newfound presence in the cage - a feeling that he belonged. However, even with this newly discovered gift, the path for Brookins back to where he wanted to be would not be so easy.
The win over an Irishman in Ireland looked good on his record and he looked to do the same with Russian Abdul-Rakhman Dudaev in Chechnya. In preparation for that bout, the wheels came off of his plan. In addition, he left Canada with very little in the way of possessions.
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