Brian Bowles: Every Champion Gets Beaten; I'm the Guy to Beat Miguel Torres

By Michael David Smith - Lead Blogger

Follow @MMAFighting on Twitter, and Like MMA Fighting on Facebook.

Brian Bowles is widely regarded as the No. 2 bantamweight in mixed martial arts, but in the bantamweight division, there's a wide gulf between the No. 1 fighter, World Extreme Cagefighting champion Miguel Torres, and everyone else.

So as Bowles prepares to challenge Torres on August 9 at WEC 42, he knows he has a tough task ahead of him. But in an interview with FanHouse, Bowles also said he's confident in his game plan, and that he believes his training at American Top Team has prepared him for the fight of his life.

The full interview is below.

Michael David Smith: Miguel Torres is 37-1, he hasn't lost in six years and he's completely dominated the bantamweight class. What makes you think you can beat him?
Brian Bowles: Every great champion has someone who figures his game out and comes along and beats him. I think I'm going to be the guy who comes in, fights him the right way and beats him.

You mentioned figuring his game out. Have you identified a specific game plan for him?
I've definitely got a good game plan, and I think the key to beating him is coming out with a good game plan, sticking to it, executing that game plan.

Can you tell me any specifics of that game plan?
Getting past that reach, and a few other things. But I'd rather keep my game plan to myself.

Just from looking at the two of you, his reach looks like a pretty big advantage heading into the fight. Is that a big concern?
Definitely a concern because he uses that length well, and it's tough to fight somebody with a long reach like that. He's got a good jab, and he keeps the guy he's fighting at the end of his jab, and I've got to get past it and get into my range and land some good shots from inside my range.

How much tape have you watched of his previous fights?
You've got to watch everything. I've always watched all of his fights. And lately I've been watching him closely because I figured I'd be fighting him some day. I've watched him a good bit, including watching a lot of his fights in person recently, so I know what he does.

You're 7-0 and you've finished all seven fights. Do you expect to finish Torres as well, even though he's never been finished?
You never can tell. I don't really predict going into a fight that I'll knock out or submit my opponent. I'm going to try to knock him out and I'm going to try to submit him, and I'll just take the win however I can get it.



Who do you think is the best opponent you've faced so far?
Probably Will Ribeiro. He has really good hands and he's a brown belt on the ground. He's a mean dude.

Ribeiro is good, but don't you think Torres is a pretty big step up from him?
Yeah. He's the No. 1 guy in the world. He's really tough. It's going to be a lot tougher to fight him, for sure.

Are you concerned at all that with only seven professional fights, you're not ready for someone like Torres who's had dozens of fights?
Nah. I feel I'm ready. I've been mentally and physically preparing for him for a long time. And the other thing is, having more than 30 fights will wear on you. All those fights can tear you down, make you slower and beat you up. Having 30 pro fights isn't always a good thing.

Where do you think Torres ranks among the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA?
He's definitely one of the best. I don't sit down and write down the rankings -- I don't give that a lot of thought -- but he's certainly one of the top guys in the world, probably Top 5. Some of us smaller guys, 135-pounders and 145-pounders, get overlooked in those rankings. But we're just as good as the guys who are bigger, even if we don't get as much recognition as they do.

Who do you think is the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA?
I would say Anderson Silva, Georges St Pierre and BJ Penn, it's a toss-up between them.

If you beat Torres, where do you think you deserve to be ranked?
I definitely think it would get my name talked about. I don't think just beating him would automatically get me put in there as one of the top guys pound-for-pound in the world, but if I beat him and then defend that belt, it would have to put me up there where he's at.

What has your training been like for this fight?
It's going really well. I feel really good. My back feels good and I feel better than ever. I think it's my time.

You mentioned your back, which is the injury that kept you from fighting Torres in April. What happened there and how long did it take you to heal?
I was wrestling, and I shot in, and I felt my back give out, and then it was real stiff and when I got X-rayed, my L-4 and L-5 were real close, which caused tension and was really aggravating me. I've been rehabbing it and it was some long weeks before I could grapple or kick, but I feel good where I'm at now.

Where have you been training?
I'm at American Top Team (in Cocunut Creek, Florida) right now. I've spent two weeks here, and then I'll go back to Athens, Georgia, and finish off my camp there.

American Top Team is well known as one of the best MMA gyms in the world. What has training there been like?
It's been great here. There are a lot of tough people here, a lot of black belts, and they train hard, so being around them has been really good for me.

But do you consider still consider the HardCore Gym in Athens to be your main gym?
Yeah. Definitely. There are a lot of great fighters here at American Top Team, but I definitely still consider the HardCore Gym my home.

I've heard you compared to Forrest Griffin, in part because you're both from Georgia and you've both trained at the HardCore Gym, but also perhaps in part because of your fighting styles. Do you like that comparison?
Absolutely. He was a world champion and he fought his way up, just like I'm doing. He's a great fighter and he's successful in the sport, so I'd be honored to be compared to him.

How well do you know Forrest personally?
I knew him before he made it big. I've trained with him a little bit. I came into the HardCore Gym just as he was going out, but I knew him before he was on The Ultimate Fighter and I know him pretty well.

Your fight with Miguel Torres is a little like Forrest's fight with Anderson Silva: Both of you are taking on opponents who are among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. How do you see the Griffin-Silva fight going?
Forrest is the kind of guy who rises to the occasion in fights like that. He might be the underdog, but it seems like every time he's the underdog he wins. So I don't know if I could pick a winner in that fight, but I would never bet against Forrest.

What would you tell fans they should expect from your fight with Torres?
The two best bantamweights in the world going at it. We're both gamers, we're both well-rounded, we like to stand up, bang it out and push the pace. It's going to be a really good fight.

Read More: brianbowles, migueltorres, wec 42, wec42, Brian Bowles (MMA), Miguel Torres (MMA)

Follow @MMAFighting on Twitter, and Like MMA Fighting on Facebook.

Tweet 0 comments