The bantamweight division had a very good night at UFC 132. Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber put on a really strong five-round fight in the first ever bantamweight championship fight in UFC history, and Brian Bowles got back into championship contention with a solid, albeit unspectactular performance Takeya Mizugaki.
Bowles, a former WEC champion, has been on a quest for revenge ever since losing the championship to Cruz at WEC 47 last year. He has won his last two fights, first with a submission win over Damacio Page at UFC on Versus in March and then last night over Mizugaki.
With Cruz picking apart Faber, the bantamweight contender totem pole is wide open and Bowles appears to be the next one in line.
MMA reporter Ariel Helwani tweeted this just before Bowles fight last night, “Word is a good win here for Bowles will make him the #1 contender at 135.” I am not sure what a “good” win is. If UFC was looking for a flashy win or some kind of finish, Bowles failed. If UFC was looking for a solid performance and a victory, he provided exactly what was expected.
One thing that works in Bowles’ favor is that Joseph Benavidez, the other top contender in the division, has already lost twice to Cruz.
Of course if Benavidez has a great performance and finishes his fight against Eddie Wineland at UFC Live on August 14, he will be thrown right back into the mix.
For all intents and purposes Bowles looks to be the top contender right now, but we will know more after the August show.
I think that Bowles has done enough to be the next contender, but I am not Dana White and Joe Silva. They have a business to run and are going to make the best decision for business. If Bowles does not get the next shot, he will have to win one more fight and he will surely be the top contender then.