Bowles Doesn’t Think Hands Are an Issue, Wants Next Shot at Cruz

Before the third round of his fight against Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 132, Brian Bowles told his corner that he thought he’d broken his hand again.

Turns out the hand is fine, though. Now he’s looking at getting back in the cage following the Mizugaki win for a rematch against bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

“The hand’s not broke,” Bowles (Pictured, File Photo) said Wednesday during a “Savage Dog Show” interview on the Sherdog Radio Network. “I had X-rays. It seems fine. It could be just I knocked my tendon out of place. Inflammation’s all down and I really can’t even tell. It’s just barely sore a little bit.”

Bowles was told to rest the hand -- his right, which he broke during his first encounter with Cruz -- for a couple of weeks. The former WEC bantamweight champ didn’t sound especially concerned about future hand issues, even though he also broke his left against Miguel Torres in August 2009.

“I haven’t broke the same bone twice,” he said. “I’ve talked to the docs about it. There’s a doctor down here, I always go to him and I was like, ‘Man, do I need to get a bone density test? What’s going on?’ And he pretty much explained to me that your hands aren’t made to [punch]. He said my bones look thicker from just repeated punching already, that he could tell from looking at X-rays that I don’t have thin bones. It’s just they keep breaking. I don’t think it’s going to be a huge issue. I’m trying to learn to back off on the power with those MMA gloves and work on more speed. That way it won’t keep happening in fights.”

Although the unanimous decision he earned over Mizugaki on July 2 was not his best performance, Bowles is hoping his clean bill of health will lead to a second shot at Cruz sooner rather than later. UFC officials, however, have also named Demetrious Johnson as a potential title challenger.

“I feel like I’ve been here in the WEC, UFC longer than [Johnson] has,” Bowles said. “I’ve fought tougher opponents. The opponents that we have fought [that are] the same, I’ve finished quicker or better than he has. Last time me and Cruz fought, the fight went kind of unfinished. I feel like that fight needs to be finished.”

Cruz defeated Bowles at WEC 47 in March 2010. Bowles could not continue after the second round due to his broken hand. However, he expects to use a different strategy if a rematch is made.

“I kind of went in with the wrong game plan the first time,” Bowles said. “Now that I’ve watched him fight -- I thought you’d be able to just stand in front of him and catch him coming in, but that’s not the case. He’s really hard to time. He doesn’t come in the same way twice. … I think you have to get out there and move around with him instead of just letting him dance all around you.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 30:15).