Seven fights into his professional career, Brian Bowles believes himself ready for the myriad of challenges one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters will throw his way.
“Ideally, you’d like to have more fights,” Bowles said during a teleconference on Tuesday. “I took some fights against some tough guys and won those and won them handily.”
Bowles (7-0) has not competed since December, when he submitted Will Ribeiro with a third-round guillotine choke at WEC 37. None of his seven fights have gone the distance. His first pass at Torres’ crown was curtailed by a back injury, as he was forced to withdraw from an April date with the champion.
Torres (37-1) -- who said Bowles had “earned his shot” -- will carry an incredible 17-fight winning streak into the match and has his doubts as to whether or not Bowles can shoulder the weight of a fight of this magnitude.
“I’ve been in the game long enough,” Torres said. “I can smell fear, can smell doubt. I’m trying to fix small holes in my game. Brian’s still learning. I’m the biggest test of his life. I’ve been here before.”
Other notes: WEC 42 will be carried live on WEC.tv and UFC.com for audiences outside of North America at a cost of $9.99, according to WEC Vice President Peter Dropick, who said the promotion has drawn considerable interest from fans in Japan … The WEC has events planned for November and December; details should be finalized shortly. The Las Vegas-based promotion has designs on a 10-event schedule for 2010.