Dylan James Bowker

Adam De Freitas will clash with Skyler Mauller at BKFC Fight Night: Edmonton on August 9th.

De Freitas appeared on Bare Knuckle Bowker to discuss multiple topics like: -the recent round of Delgado and Club Mafa work

-the controversial nature of the stoppage in his last BKFC fight in March during his Philly fight at the 2300 Arena

-the same referee who stopped his last fight having a controversial stoppage in the UFC around that time as well and

-the big takeaways from his Maurice Horne performance up a weight class and the fact he felt he was leading the dance early on

-getting to fight at an iconic venue like the 2300 Arena aka the old ECW arena with a prior experience there fighting at CFFC in MMA

-the Philadelphia fight being the first time he was ever booed during a fight but how the fans were showing him love post-fight

-being on a more consistent schedule with BKFC as of late after dealing with a string of fight cancellations at one point

-the Kastriot Xhema issue in February, who asked for a bout twenty pounds up from the contracted weight and ended up pulling out

-navigating the later stages of his combat sports career and thoughts on what Oleksandr Usyk is doing in his late-thirties

-Manny Pacquiao having a strong performance over the WBC champion Mario Barrios at 46-years-old and how impressive of a feat that was from Pac Man considering it's in a lighter category

-thoughts on Mauller's resume and skillset heading into this fight

-the interaction that he ahd with CM Punk at the old ECW Arena with his CFFC fight from years ago

-his CFFC opponent training with Eddie Alvarez at the time, thoughts on the next BKFC bout for 'The Underground King', and Alvarez seemingly also mentoring the next wave of bare knuckle fighters

-the exciting nature associated with being a part of a sport that has ultimately been one of the oldest combat sports ever but also one that is so rapidly evolving in the present age with so many different methodologies popping up out there in gloveless combat

-having no faith that Ontario will welcome in bare knuckle boxing

-Rumble in the Cage and Havoc FC promoting bare knuckle boxing fights to build the sport in Canada on a more grassroots level

Krzysztof Jotko will collide with Marek Mazuch at Oktagon 74: Bolander vs. Szabová on August 9th.

Jotko appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts and covered multiple topics like: -what he had to adapt, if anything at all, after previously being lined up to fight Vlasto Cepo in the Oktagon MMA cage here

-viewing Mazuch as a better opponent than Cepo ultimately

-being in the semi-finals of the Tip Sport Game Changer tournament

-dealing with a divorce earlier this year and now being in a much better place overall in his life, mood-wise

-aiming for an Oktagon MMA championship before his career ends

-training at American Top Team alongside people like Kayla Harrison and Alexandre Pantoja who are UFC champions in the context of how much ATT can behoove his championship path

-getting in some sparring rounds with Bo Nickal per a past post on social media in the context of his thoughts on Nickal's loss to RDR

-training with Marvin Vettori, previously fighting Brendan Allen himself, and his thoughts on the Vettori vs. Allen fight at UFC 318

-fellow ATT compatriot Johnny Eblen's recent upset loss to Costello Van Steenis to PFL Africa 1 in the waning moments of their fight

-the main takeaways from his Oktagon MMA debut win over Ion Surdu at Oktagon 70 in April

-refining his submission grappling game in the gym with Buchecha and what he thinks Marcus Almeida's ceiling in the UFC can be

-still being so high up in the UFC middleweight history for his percentile of effectiveness with his takedown defense

-Roman Kopylov topping the list for highest percentage of takedown defense among UFC middleweights all time, who Jotko was supposed to fight in April 2019 before Kopylov withdrew from injury, in the context of his thoughts on Kopylov's performance against Paulo Costa at UFC 318

-being featured on some past undercards for Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier in the context of his thoughts on the UFC 318 headliner with Holloway and Poirier having their trilogy bout

-previously fighting Sean Strickland in the UFC, training with the former UFC middleweight champion later on, and his thoughts on Strickland's Nevada suspension for storming the cage to confront a regional mixed martial arts fighter who was goading him on

-previously calling out Alex Pereira and saying that he agreed to fight 'Poatan'early in his UFC career before the Brazilian KO artist was booked to fight Bruno Silva in the context of his thoughts on the upcoming Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev rematch for UFC gold

-if he thinks Pereira has grown in his anti-wrestling game over the years in that prior context of how demonstrably good Jotko's takedown defense inside the UFC octagon has been

-if a rematch with current Oktagon champion Will Fleury is something that interests him after this tournament is done considering the inauspicious Fleury fight he had in PFL

Drew Stuve will battle Will Santiago at BKFC Fight Night: Edmonton in the main event contest set for August 9th. 

Stuve appeared on Bare Knuckle Bowker once again and discussed multiple topics like: -returning to the BKFC squared circle after spending around a year away from bare knuckle fighting action

-Michael Manno being his initial opponent for this card and adapting to the shift in opposition for this River Cree card

-feeling like he has a better, more accomplished opponent here in Santiago

-the discourse from BKFC about getting him a fight in the US at one point previously based on some conversations with Chris Lytle

-taking a gloved boxing bout last November and returning to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship here in a higher weight category

-why the Alberta native felt like he got screwed around in his gloved boxing bout from late last year in Montreal

-moving up to 175 pounds to better utilize his frame and why weight lifting has become a bigger priority to aid Stuve with his proficiency within the active clinch portion of bare knuckle fighting

-his team Wolfhouse dominating the BKFC Canada scene so far with the team having a double digit unbeaten record within BKFC

-Wolfhouse figurehead Ryan Ford preparing to make his bare knuckle debut this November against Taylor Bull in Havoc FC

-why Ryan Ford hasn't fought under the BKFC banner as of yet

-the competitive familiarity of fighting in BKFC at the River Cree

-if there is a peripheral awareness toward certain BKFC middleweights that he is looking to fight down the line

-thoughts on Santiago's resume and skillset within bare knuckle

-Santiago previously fighting Kevin Holland on Contender Series as well as Chris Curtis under mixed martial arts rules

-Santiago's only BKFC loss being to a ranked middleweight within Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in Dakota Cochrane

-juggling being a barber with full time work as a professional fighter

-teammates Hasan Al Ghanim and Chad Lucanas also competing on this card in the context of his thoughts on some bad faith individuals wanting Al Ghanim and Lucanas to fight someday

-Havoc FC and Rumble in the Cage promoting bare knuckle boxing bouts to grow the sport at a more grassroots level within Canada

-why Ontario bare knuckle fans will have to wait a bit for the sport to make it's way towards being regulated in that Canadian province

-his teammate Chad Lucanas throwing down with a fifty-plus fight veteran in Tim Tamaki in this BKFC Edmonton co-main event bout

-getting to now fight within a weight category that is helmed by the number one pound for pound fighter in the promotion, BKFC middleweight champion David Mundell

Hasan Al-Ghanim will take on Zach Pannell at BKFC Edmonton on August 9th.

Al-Ghanim appeared on Bare Knuckle Bowker and covered multiple topics like: -going 3-0 in bare knuckle over a twelve-month period, and the excitement with this next River Cree assignment for BKFC

-embarking on his first BKFC outing stateside for his prior bout

-it feeling good to play the villain role when he last fought in Denver

-getting KO of the year distinctions from many last year

-the differences with fighting in a smaller BKFC ring they use for their fight nights versus the larger rings for their numbered events

-his gym Wolfhouse taking over the BKFC Canada landscape and the double-digit unbeaten run that the team is on in bare knuckle 

-his opponent previously fighting his Wolfhouse teammate Chad Lucanas, and if anything was gleaned from that connectivity

-the tight bonds between himself and Lucanas with some people with bad motivations wanting to see the two fight inside of the BKFC ring, and why that would never end up happening

-being a surging lightweight in BKFC in the context of his thoughts on Franco Tenaglia being stripped of the belt, the announcement of that four-man tournament for the vacant 155-pound title, and feeling like that tournament field could have been expanded more

-who he foresees emerging as the BKFC lightweight champion from this tournament for the vacant crown

-Wolfhouse's Ryan Ford stepping into the world of gloveless combat when he fights Taylor Bull in Havoc FC near the end of the year

-Havoc FC and Rumble in the Cage aiding with the grassroots bare knuckle growth of this gloveless sport within the great white north

Mark Hulme will test skills with Dominik Humburger at Oktagon 74: Bolander vs. Szabová on August 9th.

Hulme appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts and touched on multiple topics like: -if his Oktagon MMA debut in his prior outing went as well as it could have against a tenured opponent to advance in this big Tipsport Gamechanger Tournament field

-having a torn lat in his prior fight and finishing Andreas Michailidis quicker than Alex Pereira was able to do during his UFC fight with Michailidis at UFC 268

-how much this Humburger bout can further add to his momentum

-studying everyone in the Tipsport Gamechanger Tournament field

-his breakdown of Humburger heading into this next tournament stage

-if he scouted out the entire crop of talent while on The Ultimate Fighter in a similar way to what he did with this Oktagon grand prix

-not feeling like he received proper coaching during his TUF tenure

-the seemingly perpetual growth of Oktagon MMA and being part of that promotional fold as a contracted fighter with them

-Oktagon MMA being one of the more vibrant mixed martial arts promotions amid a fairly oversaturated landscape with the sport

-not being averse to being the away player referencing a past instance of beating Canadian combatant Zack Powell in the great white north and now fighting Humburger as a Czech favorite where Humburger will assuredly be the partisan favorite here

-how winning the cash prize in this Tipsport Gamechanger tournament can vault him toward the life that he is looking to live

-being teammates with Dricus du Plessis and the anecdotal things he has seen ahead of this Khamzat Chimaev fight at UFC 319 

-The Team CIT methodology and what he credits to the demonstrable MMA successes of seemingly all their team members

-the fervor and passion among the South African MMA fanbase

Marisol Ruelas will collide with Shyanna Bintiff at BKFC 79: Gogo vs. Lane on August 2nd.

Ruelas appeared on Bare Knuckle Bowker to touch on multiple topics like: -having prior experiences in MMA, combat jiu jitsu, Power Slap, and Team Combat League in the context of when bare knuckle fighting got on her radar to compete under that ruleset

-what different aspects are at play in this camp for her BKFC debut

-continuing her work out of Team Top Notch on this near-8 year journey training out of that gym

-debuting in bare knuckle as part of BKFC's return to Sturgis with a massive attendance being drawn in at last year's effort as part of the long running Sturgis Motorcyle Rally

-appreciating the other women's BKFC fights on this card including Shelby Cannon vs Taylor Starling in a key strawweight bout

-entering the BKFC featherweight division with the company seeming like they're looking to keep building up that division after cementing their inaugural BKFC women's featherweight champ with Shift product Jessica Borga at BKFC Dubai

-this being a new weight class for her and the bulking processes

-the importance of weight lifting in bare knuckle fighting to serve the active clinch fighting portion of the game

-her opponent Shyanna Bintiff having prior bare knuckle bouts and amateur MMA experience heading into her BKFC-specific debut

-Aspen Ladd being announced as a new BKFC featherweight fighter

-the desire to compete with Paige VanZant in either Power Slap or BKFC after sharing spots on the Power Slap 12 event together

-some family members begging her to stop fighting when she got into MMA in the context of their thoughts on her doing bare knuckle

-how having a child altered the course of her combat sports efforts

-Power Slap paying her more than any of her MMA fights with experience under the Combate and King of the Cage banners

-focusing on run in bare knuckle as she now has a multi-fight contract with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship

Garry Tonon will rematch Shamil Gasanov in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 34 on August 1st.

Tonon appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts and covered multiple topics like: -leading that lifestyle of a martial artist in the context of if there's a certain something to having a defined date and opponent locked in after being eighteen months away from competition

-Gasanov collecting four wins since losing to Tonon and the new permutations of both fighters heading into this sequel clash

-the win over number five ranked Martin Nguyen last time out, beating Gasanov before who is now the number three ranked contender, and if a win here could net Tonon another title shot

-wanting a Thanh Le rematch but being unsure of his future

-the road heading into this return referencing a post from September of last year about wanting to share a lot with MMA media about his ONE Championship experiences and what has changed from that juncture to where things are sitting now

-many people who follow the MMA news landscape putting Tonon's prior contract issue situation into a similar context of names like Buchecha, Mikey Musumeci, and Reinier de Ridder who have been dissatisfied with certain treatment from ONE Championship

-an article last August that intimated there was some interest in Tonon to go to the UFC and if there was any meaningful discourse about a pivot from the ONE Circle to fighting in the UFC octagon

-other people speculating on his contractual situation with ONE and the Karate Combat president intimating that the Asian promotion was taking him to litigation late-last year

-the perceptions that there has been a phasing out of the focus on MMA within ONE Championship's multi-pronged presentation

-the discourse around Craig Jones saying he was going to phase himself out of the BJJ world, Gordon Ryan responding to that announcement with some trash talk, and Tonon's thoughts on CJI as well as Jones specifically, in the context of historically having tight bonds with Ryan

-the ADCC methodology versus the CJI blueprint and how both serve the eco system of submission grappling competitors globally

-what UFC BJJ can potentially do within the global landscape of competitive jiu jitsu federations

Jose 'Shorty' Torres battles Hiromasa Ougikubo at Super RIZIN 4 on July 27th as part of the RFF flyweight grand prix.

Torres was a guest on Bowks Talking Bouts and touched on several subjects, such as: -recently making 125 pounds for the first time in close to four years for his last MMA bout

-not being in this grand prix field as recently as three weeks ago, and how this short-notice tournament opportunity panned out

-being contracted to Brave CF while also getting Rizin FF opportunities and believing his last outing was a robbery

-fighting someone who many see as the likeliest to win the GP, and seeing him as the biggest, baddest guy in this tournament

-Ougikubo recording a prior win over current UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja

-top-to-bottom breakdowns of the entire grand prix field in terms of the easiest challenges and stiffest tests throughout the tournament

-facing a former Rizin grand prix champion in this year's GP 

-thoughts on Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara France from UFC 317 in the context of being a former UFC flyweight and being someone who has trained with Pantoja

-if Joshua Van deserves a UFC flyweight title shot next

-Kyoji Horiguchi returning to the UFC, and if the former UFC flyweight title challenger can inject some more life into the division

-Merab Dvalishvili also being someone he has a lot of training experience with, and if the UFC bantamweight champion is MMA's greatest of all time at 135 pounds post-UFC 316

-Patchy Mix having a lot of training experience with Torres and thoughts on Mix's inauspicious UFC debut at UFC 316

-being such a Pride FC fan, and if he saw the two-part effort that Darkside of the Cage put together on the rise and fall of Pride

-the effort that Rizin puts into his entrances feeling tantamount to Stone Cold walking out at WrestleMania or Bad Bunny at a concert

-his prior interaction with Canelo Alvarez around the Noche UFC card last year in the context of his thoughts on Canelo vs. Crawford

Caio Machado battles Kevin Oumar at UAE Warriors 61 on July 23rd in a light heavyweight contest.

Machado appeared on MMA Canada once again to touch on multiple topics like: -the belated one-year anniversary congratulations for himself and his romantic partner

-how quickly his last fight came together and earning a first-round finish at Thunder Fight

-The difficulties with getting fights since leaving the UFC

-waiting for a call in the initial draft from Global Fight League and those GFL cards that fell out toward the end of May

-representing Brazil and Canada through his efforts in fight sport

-how it has been getting readjusted to the move back to Brazil from the last time that we chatted about the move back

-talking with Battlefield Fight League about possibly fighting for their light heavyweight belt as a former BFL heavyweight champion

-this UAEW contract being a one-fight deal, having a fight in Brazil lined up for August, and mapping out a path to return to the UFC

-how much more adjusted he feels fighting as a light heavyweight, and if this cut at 205 pounds has been a bit easier

-thoughts on Oumar's skillset and resume heading into this fight

-his involvement in The Smashing Machine movie and his thoughts on how warmly the film's trailer was received by the public

-some of the big-name fighters who were involved in this film

-Oleksandr Usyk portraying Igor Vovchanchyn in The Smashing Machine, and the by proxy way he got to interact with the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion 

-thoughts on the UFC heavyweight landscape being less congested and the former UFC heavyweight's thoughts on some of the major divisional movement as of late, with Jones retiring and Aspinall now being upgraded to the UFC heavyweight champion outright

-Buchecha and Ante Delija signing with the UFC recently

Travis Thompson tests skills with Micah Livingston at BKFC Philly on July 25th.

Thompson appeared on this edition of Bare Knuckle Bowker and touched on multiple subjects like: -this being his third contest in Philadelphia with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship this calendar year, and returning to the old ECW Arena here

- referencing a throwback picture won social media with Marty Feldman cornering Thompson during his gloved boxing days and his long history with the Feldman family

-it recently passing the seven-year mark since Thompson's BKFC 1 fight with eventual BKFC bantamweight champion Reggie Barnett Jr.

-his clear breakdown of this fight will play out at the 2300 Arena

-Alberto Blas signing to BKB while he was the reigning BKFC champion and the BKFC bantamweight belt being vacated thereafter

-fighting interim and lineal bantamweight champions throughout BKFC history like Jarod Grant and Dat Nguyen, respectively in the context of his overall record speaking volumes and feeling like specific issues he had with his last fight on a regulatory level

-looking to get in around five or six BKFC bouts this calendar year

-concurrently helming a landscaping company while fighting

-past work with names like former BKFC flyweight title challenger JR Ridge, as well as former BKFC bantamweight title challenger and former opponent Ryan Reber

-the picture he had with Eddie Alvarez and Frankie Edgar in the context of when 'The Underground King' might return to gloveless combat

-being a true man of the people when interacting with the BKFC fanbase

-the raw honesty of the combat sports fans in Philadelphia

-the love that he has for decorated, gloved boxing champion, Keith Thurman

-being too locked in on his own fight to have thoughts on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios title fight in the lead-up to it

-his son recently turning 16, being a proud father, and his 13-year-old daughter getting his temper

-doing some commentary work for USKA fights in recent times