Brian Bowles (born June 22, 1980) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who most recently competed in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

. A professional competitor from 2006 to 2013, Bowles is also the former WEC Bantamweight Champion.

Background

Bowles was born in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

and raised in the small town of

Chesapeake, West Virginia Chesapeake is a town in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,336 at the 2020 census. The town is situated on the Kanawha River. History Chesapeake was incorporated on November 1, 1948, and was named for the Chesape ...

by his single mother. Bowles' father, who was largely absent from his life, died when Bowles was 11 years old. In the tenth grade, Bowles moved to Jackson County, Georgia, attending Jackson County Comprehensive High School where he competed in

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

for three years. Bowles was later introduced to mixed martial arts by a former teammate after graduating, and began training at The HardCore Gym which has since been renamed to SBG Athens.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Bowles compiled an undefeated 7-0 amateur record and began his professional career in regional promotions, earning two first-round stoppages and amassing an undefeated record of 3-0.

World Extreme Cagefighting

In his first two fights in the organization, he submitted

Charlie Valencia Carlos Enrique "Charlie" Valencia (born October 31, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist. He has fought for the World Extreme Cagefighting, WEC and Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC in their Bantamweight divisions, and is the former List ...

with a rear-naked choke and knocked out

Marcos Galvao Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) * Marcos family Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Né ...

at '' WEC 31'' with a flurry that stunned his opponent and a strong right hook to finish, both ending within minutes of the second round, showcasing his proficiency in striking and submission offense (with a primarily wrestling base). At '' WEC 35'' he finished fellow Bantamweight contender Damacio Page with an impressive first-round guillotine choke he locked in while his opponent was still standing. It was near the end of 2008 where Bowles would have his most notable victory in the organization yet, defeating Will Ribeiro (who was 10-1 at that time) in the third round via another guillotine choke, on the '' WEC 37'' main card. He was then scheduled to headline '' WEC 40'' in a bout with Miguel Torres, but was forced to withdraw due to a back injury weeks before the event, and was replaced by top ten bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki. Torres successfully defended his belt against Mizugaki. Torres and Bowles headlined WEC 42 on August 9, 2009 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bowles defeated Torres via first-round KO to become the new WEC Bantamweight Champion. Bowles made his first title defense against

Dominick Cruz Dominick Rogelio Cruz (born March 9, 1985) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, sports analyst and color commentator. He competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the first ...

on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47. Bowles lost via TKO (doctor stoppage) at the end of the second round with a broken hand. Bowles was expected to face Wagnney Fabiano on November 11, 2010 at WEC 52. However, Bowles was forced off the card with a foot injury.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Bowles faced former opponent Damacio Page on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. In what Joe Rogan described as " a comet that comes around every 1,000 years," Bowles defeated Page by guillotine choke at 3:30 of the first round, the same method and exact time that he defeated Page in their first meeting. Bowles faced Takeya Mizugaki on July 2, 2011 at UFC 132. He won the fight via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28), making this the first time he has gone to a decision in his career. Bowles faced off against Urijah Faber on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139. He lost the fight by submission (guillotine choke) in the second round. Bowles returned from an extended 18-month layoff and faced

George Roop George H. Roop (born November 10, 1981) is a retired mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir'', winning his preliminary and first round fights. He fought as a Bantamweight (MMA), ...

on May 25, 2013 at UFC 160. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Bowles failed his UFC 160 drug test with an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio. The NSAC allows a T/E Ratio of 6:1 and Bowles was over 20:1. Bowles did not appeal the result and was subsequently suspended for nine months and fined $5,700. Bowles was released from the UFC on March 2, 2015.

Arrest

On January 14, 2015, Bowles along with Rhomney Marie Moon, were arrested and face multiple felony charges in Arcade, Georgia.

Championships and awards

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

** WEC Bantamweight Championship (One time) **Knockout of the Night (One time) **Submission of the Night (Two times) *

** Submission of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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, TKO (punches) , UFC 160 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:43 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Urijah Faber , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC 139 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Takeya Mizugaki , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 132 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Damacio Page , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:30 ,

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, TKO (doctor stoppage) , WEC 47 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Miguel Torres , KO (punches) , WEC 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:57 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Will Ribeiro , Submission (guillotine choke) , WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:11 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Damacio Page , Submission (guillotine choke) , WEC 35: Condit vs. Miura , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:30 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Marcos Galvão , KO (punch) , WEC 31 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:09 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , WEC 28 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:33 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Shane Weinischke , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ISCF: Invasion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:38 , Atlanta, Georgia, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Charles Nutt , TKO (punches) , Wild Bill's Fight Night 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:28 ,

Duluth, Georgia Duluth ( ) is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Duluth had a population of 31,873, and the United Stat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Tim Honeycutt , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Wild Bill's Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:55 , Duluth, Georgia, United States ,

References

External links

*
Official UFC ProfileSBG Athens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowles, Brian American male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Extreme Cagefighting champions Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Charleston, West Virginia People from Chesapeake, West Virginia Mixed martial artists from West Virginia American sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in mixed martial arts American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1980 births Living people