Will Brooks-Ricardo Tirloni Added to Season 8 Lightweight Quarterfinals at Bellator 87

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Bellator officials Friday announced the final Season 8 lightweight quarterfinal pairing, as Will Brooks meets Ricardo Tirloni at Bellator 87.

Also featuring quarterfinal matchups pitting Patricky Freire against Guillaume DeLorenzi, Lloyd Woodard against David Rickels and Alexander Sarnavskiy against Thiago Michel Pereira Silva, Bellator 87 takes place Jan. 31 at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, Mich., and airs live on Spike TV.

Brooks, 26, has yet to taste defeat as a professional, rattling off eight consecutive wins to start his career. Representing the Midwest Training center, “Ill Will” most recently competed at Dream 18, earning a second-round technical knockout over onetime Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka. Brooks competed thrice in 2012, besting Taurean Bogguess and Drew Dober before stopping Kitaoka on New Year’s Eve.

“I’m just really excited about this opportunity. The whole idea of a tournament really gets me going. I just love it, and it’s why I wanted to come to Bellator,” Brooks said in the official release. “This is what it’s all about, and I’m ready to go out and get it. Fighting on Spike is a dream. This organization is on the rise, and I can’t wait to be a part of it. When I have millions of people watching, that’s when I step up my game, and it’s exactly what you will see on Jan. 31.”

Tirloni, meanwhile, reenters the Bellator cage coming off a hard-fought split decision defeat to Dave Jansen this past November in the Season 7 semifinals. The Brazilian made a successful promotional debut in 2011 but was knocked out by Rick Hawn in the Season 6 quarterfinals to kick off last year. Tirloni, 29, has finished 13 of his 15 career victims, picking up eight submission wins in his seven years as a pro.