Will Brooks’ rematch with Michael Chandler solidified him as Bellator MMA’s best lightweight, but his accomplishment might be even more impressive considering the obstacle he overcame to earn that distinction.

In a recent interview with MMAjunkie Radio, Brooks (15-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) said he suffered a torn hamstring two months prior to his fight with ex-champ Chandler (12-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator 131, which took place Nov. 15 at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego and aired on Spike TV.

“I just refused to not fight,” said Brooks, the former interim champ who won the vacant undisputed lightweight belt via fourth-round TKO.

Rumors circulated prior to the event that Bellator was looking for a replacement for Brooks, a sour prospect given his status as interim titleholder and the importance of Bellator 131 to the promotion’s rebirth under new president Scott Coker.

Brooks, though, was determined not to let history be written without him. He took offense at Bellator’s promotional campaign for the event and was motivated to beat Chandler a second time after a split call in May brought him the interim title.

“When I wasn’t being promoted as the interim lightweight titleholder, that was upsetting to me because it was like, man, you’re taking my hard work from me,” he told MMAjunkie Radio. “You’re taking my hard work for granted. That means my hard work, and everything I put into the gym, my teammates, even my family, that means a lot to me. To disrespect me in that way, to have me standing behind Chandler as if I was the challenger, to not even show that I have the belt on – you had to look really close to see the belt was there, (in) a few promo videos they show. I don’t think anybody recognizes this, but there was a promo video the first time that didn’t show me as an interim titleholder or interim champion.”

“I clicked over into a mindset where there was something that I wanted,” Brooks later said. “I wanted to make people understand that I deserve my respect. There’s a simple level of respect that everybody is entitled to initially as human beings. Anything after that has to be earned. Being the fighter in the organization, I felt I wasn’t even getting that initial level of respect that I’m entitled to as a human being and an employee of the organization, so I felt I was trying to earn that.”

What’s more, he wanted to show up Chandler, who’d made it clear the two weren’t merely competitive rivals.

“There were a lot of words exchanged between me and him,” Brooks said. “Nothing that was jaw-dropping or out of this world, but there were things that he said, and things that I said, and guys that his camp were saying to me. That got under my skin, and I wanted to let them know that I was not someone to be messed with.”

Brooks said he was sparring when his injury occurred. Another pair of fighters had just used the mat, making it slippery, and he was working takedown defense with UFC vet Nik Lentz when he felt a pop.

“I ended up going to the hospital that day,” he said.

A doctor told Brooks he had a Grade 2 hamstring tear, which requires one or two months of recovery. The doctor recommended he pull out of the fight.

“As soon as he said that, me and my girlfriend walked out of the room,” Brooks said. “We were like, ‘Nah, that’s not really an option.'”

Brooks immediately contacted a sports medicine doctor and began rehabilitating his injury while continuing his training camp. Bellator put its search on hold.

During the fight, Brooks appeared no worse for the wear, fending off several takedowns and winning ground scrambles against Chandler in a back-and-forth affair.

The title bout came to a bizarre end in the fourth when Chandler took a punch after the two got off the canvas and suddenly waved his hands in a confused manner. Brooks closed and forced the referee to intervene with a series of hard punches, giving him the title.

“This is it,” Brooks remembers thinking. “I said I could finish him; I have the opportunity to finish him, I’m going to jump on him, and the ref can step in and we can figure it out later.”

The end might not have been what he imagined, but it brought the goal he had suffered to achieve.

For complete coverage of Bellator 131, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM channel 92, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.