Bowles lost in sea of talent in UFC’s bantamweight division

SAN FRANCISCO -- Between champion Dominick Cruz and the ultra-popular Urijah Faber, the Ultimate Fighting Championship's bantamweight division has quickly become a marquee weight class since being added to the organization late last year.

Somewhat lost in the transition was former World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champ Brian Bowles, who missed a year of action due to injuries during a period that coincided with the WEC's merger into the UFC.

Bowles has lost just once in his 11-fight pro career, a March 2010 bout against Cruz that was stopped by the doctor after Bowles suffered a broken hand.

Still, he finds himself trying to make a name for himself in a crowded field of 135-pound stars.

Cruz still holds the belt after defending it against Faber in an exciting July bout that enhanced the star power of both fighters. Though Bowles has won both of his fights in 2011 after returning from the hand injury and a broken foot, he has flown largely under the radar.

"I've been looked over a little, but I don't feel like I'm a forgotten man," Bowles said. "I was quiet for a whole year and the weight class kind of moved on without me, so I'm fixing to get back in it now."

He will get another shot at Cruz if he can defeat Faber at UFC 139 on Saturday night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

"Some guys are the cool kid in school and you don't know why they're popular. I'm not that guy," Bowles said. "All I can do is keep winning fights and working hard and keep my name out there."

The reserved 31-year-old from Georgia is never going to win a popularity contest against Faber. The "California Kid" has been a fan favorite since the early days of the WEC, and his star has only risen since he came to the UFC.

Faber was the WEC featherweight champion when Bowles held the bantamweight title, but Faber decided to drop down from 145 pounds last year after losing to champion Jose Aldo in his second bid to regain the featherweight title.

Faber then got another shot at a belt when he met Cruz at UFC 132 in just his third fight at 135 pounds.

Bowles is still looking for his first second chance. In a fight he was clearly losing to Cruz, he broke his hand and missed an extended period of time. Bowles then broke his foot just before he was due to return and was out even longer.

By the time he was finally healthy in March, Bowles had missed more than a year and was eager to get back in action.

"Especially coming off a loss, you just want to get out there and get that loss off your back and you just have to sit there and not be able to train or fight to get your mind off losing," Bowles said. "Then you get hurt again and it's really depressing. It really gets you down."

Bowles feels he is actually better now than before the injuries due to everything he was able to do in the gym when he wasn't training for a fight.

Bowles submitted Damacio Page in the first round of his return fight, his UFC debut in March. He then earned a decision over Takeya Mizugaki in July on the same card Cruz beat Faber in the headliner.

"I knew I was going to have to come back and win some fights to get my name back in the mix. That's what I've done, so it is what it is," Bowles said.

The card features a main event light heavyweight fight between former UFC champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and former Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson.

Also, former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le makes his return to fighting, and his UFC debut, in a matchup with Las Vegan Wanderlei Silva.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.