EJ Brooks: Larger than Life

EJ Brooks will make his return to the Bellator cage on Friday in Atlantic City as part of Bellator 65.

Brooks, undefeated in two previous fights for Bellator, returns to action to face savvy veteran Mikhail Malyutin in a lightweight contest.

Brooks, out of St. Charles MMA/Team Vaghi, is 5-0 as a pro and considered a top-flight prospect in the organization.

Brooks defeated Greg Scoot at Bellator 52 and William DeSouza at Bellator 56.

Malyutin is one of top MMA fighters to come out of Russia. The 30-year-old is 21-9.

Bellator 65 will broadcast live starting at 8 p.m. EST on MTV2. Brooks' fight will be streamed live on Spike.com starting at 7 p.m. EST.

"The Pretty Boy" is a top-notch wrestler and an outstanding athlete.
"His hands are getting better and his jiu-jitsu is getting pretty good," St. Charles MMA head coach Mike Rogers said. "He definitely has his own style and likes to do things his way."

Rogers feels that Brooks needs to avoid Malyutin's big right hand.

Brooks started training at St. Charles MMA soon after his collegiate wrestling career at the University of Missouri ended.

"The potential is there because of the wrestling and because he has great balance," Rogers said. "His balance is extraordinary. People have a hard time taking him down."