UFC 160 is a few weeks behind us, but the drug test results have just become public, and things look bad for one fighter. Former WEC bantamweight champion, Brian Bowles, returning to the cage for the first time since November 2011, was the only fighter…
UFC 160 is a few weeks behind us, but the drug test results have just become public, and things look bad for one fighter.
Former WEC bantamweight champion, Brian Bowles, returning to the cage for the first time since November 2011, was the only fighter from the May 25 fight card whose post-fight drug test came back with issues.
Bowles, who was TKO’d by George Roop in the second round of their preliminary card bout, came back with a testosterone to epitestosterone ratio of more than 20:1. The acceptable level in the state of Nevada is 6:1.
Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer provided the drug test results to Bleacher Report via email and stated that a complaint against Bowles would be coming shortly.
Bowles had been out between 2011 and 2013 tending to injuries. The loss dropped his career record to 10-3.
Bowles has never failed a drug test in the past. It is likely that he will face a fine and suspension as a result of the failed test.
Brian Bowles is inching closer to the end of the road—the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel of a career which, looking back, never really lived up to expectations. And after UFC 160 last Saturday night, the end of that career can’t be far…
Brian Bowles is inching closer to the end of the road—the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel of a career which, looking back, never really lived up to expectations. And after UFC 160 last Saturday night, the end of that career can’t be far off.
The former WEC Bantamweight Champion may disagree with me. He likely still has a few fights left in him. Maybe he can even keep his career rolling for another few years, but I doubt it.
I also doubt that he will ever battle for contention again. I doubt he ever breaks back into the division’s top 10. I even have my doubts as to whether or not he will ever win another fight in the UFC.
It’s not Bowles‘ fault, at least not entirely. He’s struggled with constant injuries and he isn’t getting any younger.
At 32 years of age, Bowles is well past his prime. We saw that against George Roop, an inconsistent bantamweight with a less-than-flattering 14-9 professional record—he put Bowles away in the second round with a TKO last Saturday.
We saw it against Urijah Faber at UFC 139 back in 2011, when Bowles failed to even reach the midpoint of the fight. And we even saw early glimpses of it in March of 2010 when Bowles lost his WEC title to Dominick Cruz after failing to continue following a hand injury in the early rounds.
Somewhere in between the handful of losses—two of which came against two of the best bantamweights to ever fight—sit a couple of victories. Following the loss to Cruz, Bowles burst onto the UFC scene with back-to-back wins. It seemed the former champion was primed for a return to the elite tier of the division—the tier featuring Cruz, Faber, RenanBarao, and the like.
Unfortunately, injuries and disinterest helped ensure that a return to the top would never happen.
Last weekend’s event marked the first time since November of 2011 that Bowles set foot in the cage.
On an episode of The MMA Hour on MMAFighting.com leading up to UFC 160, Bowles revealed that he broke his hand on three occasions, contracted a staph infection, was diagnosed with a pair of bulging discs and a pair of degenerative discs, and struggled with knee issues. According to that same piece, Bowles also struggled to find a desire to train and compete, stating that “it wasn’t fun to me anymore.”
Given the combination of dispassion for training and proneness to injury, it’s hardly surprising Bowles finds himself in such a predicament.
In 2011, he was undoubtedly a top five bantamweight. Now? He’s out of the top 10 official UFC rankings, barely makes my top 15, and has shown no signs of a potential upswing in the near future.
The Roop fight was a chance for him to rebound back into the top 10, and I thought he would bludgeon his way back up the ranks. After all, he effortlessly put away an overmatched Damacio Page (no longer with the UFC) and earned a decision over TakeyaMizugaki. One of those guys is a decent bantamweight.
After the Roop fight, however, it’s fairly clear that not only is Bowles unable to compete with the division’s elite, the Georgia native is going to struggle against average bantamweights.
Quite the fall for a guy who once wore the 135-pound crown.
Still, it’s hard to say that Bowles never realized his potential in the bantamweight division considering he won a title in the WEC. However, with all the vicious knockouts and slick submissions—only one of his 10 victories came by way of decision—he owns just one quality win, his knockout victory against Miguel Torres back in 2009 to win the WEC bantamweight title.
Since then, he’s 2-3 with all three losses coming by way of stoppage. One of his wins is against a fighter who went 0-for-3 in the UFC, the other against an average bantamweight. He can’t stay healthy, as the aforementioned list attests. He seems to struggle in the search for motivation, and it’s showing in his fight results. If he loses his next fight, he almost certainly will be released. Oh, he’s also 32 years old.
Bowles may disagree, but that sounds like retirement knocking.
(Cain doesn’t see an enormous head. He sees a big, beautiful, blood-piñata, just waiting to burst open and spill its bounty. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)
BG and Danga are back mahfuckas, baaaaaaaaaaaaam! [*cough*] Excuse me. What I meant to say was, UFC 160 goes down tomorrow night in Las Vegas, so CagePotato founding editor Ben Goldstein and staff writer Jared Jones have teamed up once again to discuss all the important themes surrounding the event. Which heavyweight fight on the main card is more likely to end in an upset? Should we write off KJ Noons as nothing more than UFC shark-bait? What’s a Nurmagomedov gotta do to get some respect around here? Read on, and throw down your own opinions in the comments section.
It seems pretty obviousthat the UFC is trying to set up Dos Santos vs. Velasquez III, but who stands the better chance of throwing a wrench in their plans, Hunt or Silva?
Ben: I hate to agree with this jackass — and how dare you try to persuade me by linking to a track from Primus’s underrated Rhinoplasty EP, Jared — so for the sake of argument, I’ll go ahead and say ARE *YOU* KIDDING *ME* WITH THIS?? Mark Hunt has built up a dubious win streak slinging haymakers against guys who allowed him to do so. Junior Dos Santos is far too disciplined to become another victim of the same old rock-’em-sock-’em Super Samoan routine. In a brawl, Hunt has a chance against anybody. But this won’t be a brawl — it’ll be boxing match, and JDS is about as good as they come in that department.
And sure, Hunt has scored a string of upsets against guys like Cheick Kongo and Stefan Struve. Meanwhile, Antonio Silva has scored far more unexpected and dramatic upsets against guys like Fedor Emelianenko and the aforementioned ‘Reem. Bigfoot has heart for days, and fists big enough to dummy up anybody in the heavyweight division on any given night, including the current champion. How many times are you gonna sleep on this guy? #BigfootEra
Gray Maynard vs. T.J. Grant: Who will earn the right to suffer a narrow split decision loss to Ben Henderson next?
(Cain doesn’t see an enormous head. He sees a big, beautiful, blood-piñata, just waiting to burst open and spill its bounty. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)
BG and Danga are back mahfuckas, baaaaaaaaaaaaam! [*cough*] Excuse me. What I meant to say was, UFC 160 goes down tomorrow night in Las Vegas, so CagePotato founding editor Ben Goldstein and staff writer Jared Jones have teamed up once again to discuss all the important themes surrounding the event. Which heavyweight fight on the main card is more likely to end in an upset? Should we write off KJ Noons as nothing more than UFC shark-bait? What’s a Nurmagomedov gotta do to get some respect around here? Read on, and throw down your own opinions in the comments section.
It seems pretty obviousthat the UFC is trying to set up Dos Santos vs. Velasquez III, but who stands the better chance of throwing a wrench in their plans, Hunt or Silva?
Ben: I hate to agree with this jackass — and how dare you try to persuade me by linking to a track from Primus’s underrated Rhinoplasty EP, Jared — so for the sake of argument, I’ll go ahead and say ARE *YOU* KIDDING *ME* WITH THIS?? Mark Hunt has built up a dubious win streak slinging haymakers against guys who allowed him to do so. Junior Dos Santos is far too disciplined to become another victim of the same old rock-’em-sock-’em Super Samoan routine. In a brawl, Hunt has a chance against anybody. But this won’t be a brawl — it’ll be boxing match, and JDS is about as good as they come in that department.
And sure, Hunt has scored a string of upsets against guys like Cheick Kongo and Stefan Struve. Meanwhile, Antonio Silva has scored far more unexpected and dramatic upsets against guys like Fedor Emelianenko and the aforementioned ‘Reem. Bigfoot has heart for days, and fists big enough to dummy up anybody in the heavyweight division on any given night, including the current champion. How many times are you gonna sleep on this guy? #BigfootEra
Gray Maynard vs. T.J. Grant: Who will earn the right to suffer a narrow split decision loss to Ben Henderson next?
Ben: I feel like Gray Maynard is one those fighters who can beat everybody in his weight division except for the very elite talents (see also: Bisping at middleweight, Condit at welterweight), and this seems like the kind of matchup that the Bully wins nine times out of ten. I’m not trying to shovel shit on T.J. Grant’s skills or his recent wins, it’s just that he hasn’t proven himself to be a Top 5 caliber fighter yet and I can’t identify any one specific thing that he does better than Maynard, other than maybe throwing those elbows of his. My prediction: This fight will not be decided by elbow strikes, Maynard will grind out a unanimous decision, and the UFC will change its mind and find somebody other than Gray Maynard to suffer the next narrow split-decision loss to Ben Henderson — maybe Anthony Pettis, after he’s done pretending to be a featherweight.
Jared: Yeah, you’re probably right about Gray, but T.J. Grant 2.0 has been on an absolute killing spree in the lightweight division, my friend. His performance against Evan Dunham really showcased how far he has come as a striker, and coupled with Maynard’s potential ring rust, Grant makes for an underdog pick that I’m more than comfortable placing a few dollars on. The fact that Maynard’s striking doesn’t hold a candle to his ground game leads me to believe that Gray could find himself in a heck of a heap of trouble wherever this fight takes place. While “The Bully” maintains the ability to hold Grant down for long enough to earn another title shot (that he will likely lose), I’m going to play devil’s advocate here and pick Grant to win. Big whoop wannafightaboutit?
Does anyone want KJ Noons to ever win a fight again?
Jared: It sure doesn’t seem like it. I realize that he and Donald Cerrone are both coming off losses (which, in Cerrone’s case, almost meant the loss of his life), but that’s like saying that the Toronto Maple Leaves and the Florida Panthers are both coming off “rough seasons.” Noons has dropped four out of his last five fights, including a (bullshit) loss to Ryan Couture — who was just steamrolled by Ross Pearson in his own debut — in his last contest, and you’re going to stick him in there with “Cowboy” Cerrone, the man who only loses to title holders and future contenders?
Don’t get me wrong, Noons is one tough sonofabitchbastard and this should make for a great fight, but also one that Noons stands next to no chance of winning. Cerrone hasn’t made the same mistake of flapping his gums off like he did before the Pettis fight, but what he will do is use a game plan similar to that of Jorge Masvidal to dominate Noons en route to a UD victory that bears at least one 30-26. My question is: With 5 losses in his past 6 fights, will Noons go one-and-out in the UFC, or is he being primed to take Leonard Garcia’s throne as the affable yet down-on-his-luck slugger?
Ben: I actually think the UFC does want KJ Noons to win another fight and stick around in the company for a while — what with his fan-friendly slugging style and gorgeous head of hair. It’s just that they don’t want him to win this fight in particular. This match is a rebound for Cowboy, plain and simple, and Noons will play his role accordingly. (As for your prediction that one judge will score it 30-26? That would be Cecil Peoples. Meanwhile, Nelson Hamilton and Glenn Trowbridge will dispose of their scorecards after Cerrone wins by second-round TKO. Ah, yeah. Cecil Peoples jokes. I’ve been doing this for over five years now, and that’s not depressing at all.)
The UFC tends to give second chances to guys who are immediately thrown to the wolves in their UFC debuts or step in as short-notice injury replacements and get smashed, and Noons certainly fits that first category. Look for him to return later this year in a fight he can actually win. (Say, what’s that Yancy dude up to?)
Ben: Well, Jeremy Stephens is the only prelim fighter who’s guaranteed to be cut if he loses on Saturday, considering that he’s already on a three-fight losing skid, and he’s fighting an Octagon newbie who’s best known for getting spinning-backfisted into a living death. The only problem is, I think Stephens will win that fight.
So I’m going to make a riskier pick and say Brian Bowles will never fight in the UFC again. The former WEC bantamweight champion has drifted out of relevance following his loss to Urijah Faber at UFC 139 and his subsequent year-and-a-half long injury layoff. George Roop will outstrike Bowles to a decision victory, and the UFC will realize that there’s really no point in keeping Bowles around anymore.
As for Khabib Nurmagomedov (aka “The Eagle”), it’s only his unpronounceably ethnic name that’s keeping him stuck underneath the Colton Smiths and Rick Storys of the world. But once he tears through Abel Trujillo, he’ll be the owner of a 20-0 record and four straight wins in the UFC. At that point, it won’t matter if his name is Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-BopSteinberg, the UFC won’t be able to keep this guy a secret any longer.
On Bowles’ WORST DAY, he would still beat the stuffing out of the puffed up crow’s cock that is George Roop, and I say that with all due respect. Luckily for us, this theory is going to be put to the test on Saturday, as Bowles will be coming off the longest layoff of his career as you mentioned. While I usually don’t base fight predictions on a fighter’s record, the fact that Roop hasn’t put together 2 wins in a row since 2008 (well technically, 07-08) is a more telling statistic than the reach advantage that Roop will fail to utilize as he has most of his career. Come Monday morning, Roop is going to venting his frustrations with fighter pay, the UFC’s preference of stand-and-bangers, and President Obama’s “crappy policies” to any two-bit journalist that will listen. Don’t worry; I’ve already got his number on speed dial.
It’s anyone’s guess why a guy as talented, not to mention exciting as Kebab NumaNumaYeah is still buried on the prelims, but in this case, I think it might actually make sense. UFC 160’s main card is stacked, quite honestly, yet I haven’t seen one advertisement for the event despite watching Bar Rescue on Spike TV for six hours yesterday. My masochistic TV tendencies aside, DW & Co. are probably thinking that the best way to score some last-minute PPV buys is with an exciting televised card for the meek, non-Smashers to enjoy. Starting said card with a fight that is sure to both bring the pain and piss off the Culinary Union? Sound like a win-win to me.
(Word has it that Torres attempted to lure Bowles’ sister into his “surprise van” after the weigh-ins. Big mistake, bro. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)
We’re pretty convinced the real Brian Bowles died in 2011. Following his submission loss to Urijah Faber at UFC 139, Bowles vanished from the MMA scene without a trace and no one seems to know why. Go ahead, try and find a Brian Bowles interview, injury update, photo, credit card receipt, Twitter update or Facebook wall post dated to 2012. You will not. Brian Bowles was as much alive in 2012 as Caylee Anthony.
But unlike the subject of that distasteful and completely unnecessary comparison, it seems Brian Bowles has been given a second chance at life. That, or the Mangalor that is wearing his face has decided to give this MMA thing a try. In either case, Bowles has been booked against fellow WEC vet George Roop at UFC 160, which transpires on May 25th in Las Vegas.
Roop didn’t have a much better 2012 than Bowles, suffering a mouthpiece-ejecting KO to Cub Swanson in his only octagon appearance. This year has already proved more successful for the TUF 8 alum, who was able to outpoint Reuben Duran at UFC 158. Although if history is any indication, Roop’s 2013 is about to get a lot worse.
Also booked for UFC 160…
(Word has it that Torres attempted to lure Bowles’ sister into his “surprise van” after the weigh-ins. Big mistake, bro. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)
We’re pretty convinced the real Brian Bowles died in 2011. Following his submission loss to Urijah Faber at UFC 139, Bowles vanished from the MMA scene without a trace and no one seems to know why. Go ahead, try and find a Brian Bowles interview, injury update, photo, credit card receipt, Twitter update or Facebook wall post dated to 2012. You will not. Brian Bowles was as much alive in 2012 as Caylee Anthony.
But unlike the subject of that distasteful and completely unnecessary comparison, it seems Brian Bowles has been given a second chance at life. That, or the Mangalor that is wearing his face has decided to give this MMA thing a try. In either case, Bowles has been booked against fellow WEC vet George Roop at UFC 160, which transpires on May 25th in Las Vegas.
Roop didn’t have a much better 2012 than Bowles, suffering a mouthpiece-ejecting KO to Cub Swanson in his only octagon appearance. This year has already proved more successful for the TUF 8 alum, who was able to outpoint Reuben Duran at UFC 158. Although if history is any indication, Roop’s 2013 is about to get a lot worse.
Also booked for UFC 160…
From the bantamweight division to the featherweight, a matchup between streaking contenders Dennis Bermudez and Max Holloway is set for the May 25th-scheduled event as well. Since suffering from a last second, come-from-behind armbar defeat to Diego Brandao for the TUF 14 featherweight plaque in December of 2011, “The Menace” has put together a solid three fight win streak. Although Bermudez will find himself at a four inch reach disadvantage, he showed in his routing of Pablo Garza that he will not let it be it a deciding factor in a fight. On the heels of an epic slugfest with Matt Grice, expect this brawl to end up with at least one end of the night award.
In honor of Urijah Faber‘s interim bantamweight title bid at UFC 149, we thought it would be a good time to give the California Kid some love, through the magical medium of MMA GIFs. Check ’em out some of our favorite Faber moments after the jump, and let us know if you think he’ll be picking up a new belt this weekend — or if he’ll go out in a blaze of glory.
In honor of Urijah Faber‘s interim bantamweight title bid at UFC 149, we thought it would be a good time to give the California Kid some love, through the magical medium of MMA GIFs. Check ‘em out some of our favorite Faber moments after the jump, and let us know if you think he’ll be picking up a new belt this weekend — or if he’ll go out in a blaze of glory.
Fighters must hone a collection of skills in order to contend in the Octagon. But some fighters are gifted with the inherent ability to crumple their foe with a single smack. At any given second, those with knockout power can turn the tide of a fight. …
Fighters must hone a collection of skills in order to contend in the Octagon. But some fighters are gifted with the inherent ability to crumple their foe with a single smack.
At any given second, those with knockout power can turn the tide of a fight. They can seize victory from looming defeat. Their opponents must be mindful of their power, lest their minds be turned off.
A slew of brawlers have built reputations for their devastating power, but a select few have stratified themselves as accredited “knockout artists.”
Take a look: here’s a list of the fighters with the most KO power in each UFC division (flyweights excluded).
Brian 
