Dylan James Bowker

Charmaine Tweet Talks Pallas Athena WFC Role and Kickoff Card

Charmaine Tweet is an Invicta FC veteran with a wealth of experience that is now being used to help the next generation of women's MMA fighters.
I spoke with Charmaine Tweet ahead of the Pallas Athena Women's Fighting Championship kickoff show on January 15th in Calgary, Alberta.
We covered several subjects such as: -The busyness that accompanies her role in PAWFC
-The star power in the PAWFC broadcast team and among the event's special guests
-Having time away from combat sports to reignite the passion that Tweet has for it
-Being an Invicta FC vet and now imparting her wisdom to budding women's MMA stars in Canada through PAWFC
-Tweet cutting her teeth in Calgary as well as Regina and the growth in the scene from then to now
-The camaraderie that exists between fighters who've shared a cage and reuniting with Cris Cyborg at PAWFC 1
-Sarah Kaufman vs Claudia Leite vying for the PAWFC bantamweight championship
-Laura Fontoura vs Andy Nguyen in the event's co-feature fighting for the PAWFC strawweight championship
-Broader scale plans for PAWFC throughout 2022
-The historical context of Regina MMA and how PAWFC looks to bolster that scene's history in future events

James Nakashima Discusses Saygid Izagakhmaev Fight at ONE: Heavy Hitters

James Nakashima tests skills with Saygid Izagakhmaev on January 14th at ONE: Heavy Hitters. This lightweight clash takes place inside Singapore Indoor Stadium.
I spoke with Nakashima on Bowks Talking Bouts ahead of this clash and we touched on several subjects such as: -Sticking with the lifestyle facets of being a fighter
-Getting in work at Pedigo Submission Fighting recently
-If Nakashima's daughter has a level of awareness as to what her dad does
-The localized importance of winning in Singapore here and how that reminds him of past competitive stretches
-The main takeaways from his Shinya Aoki fight
-What newer components were added to Nakashima's training methodology
-This bout being another permutation of the Russian wrestling stylings versus American wrestling approach
-If there's any macro focus on the ONE lightweight division overall here
-The 2022 goals for James Nakashima
-If there's any interest in a grappling super fight inside the ONE Circle or if it's solely about MMA
-If opponent Saygid Izagakhmaev has stylistic deviations from his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov

Fred Ettish on UFC 2 saga and over 15 years between bouts

Fred Ettish is a veteran of UFC 2 who embarked on an incredible redemptive journey to secure his first MMA win in the late 2000's.
I spoke with Ettish and we touched on several subjects such as: -What a day in the life of Ettish looks like
-When his work began with The Salvation Army
-A student of his showing him a tape on the UFC which began Fred Ettish's MMA journey
-Some of the politics behind karate tournaments Ettish competed in and the excitement with the UFC framework seemingly subverting those politics
-The lack of specific game-planning, tape study, and the entirely different landscape of competing at UFC 2 versus the modern landscape
-Initially playing a Burt Watson type of role, facilitating fighters getting from place to place until Rorion Gracie found Ettish to see if he could fight minutes later 
-Thoughts on Bare Knuckle MMA coming back nowadays as someone who fought in bare-knuckle MMA in early 1994
-If any other offers came Ettish's way years back from PRIDE, IVC, etc
-How a PRIDE FC fight would have very much piqued the interest of Fred Ettish
-Achieving his first MMA victory at 53 years old yet and beating the brakes off a guy who was 24 years old
-The aesthetic representations of the traditional Gi and years later being in the classic shorts and the four-ounce gloves
-A pronounced period existing between his two fights and if Ettish would ever entertain taking a third MMA fight
-Weapons based training and being in his mid 60s sparring with some of the younger guys
-His relationship with James Krause and knowing him for a meaningful period of time since he was a younger lad
-What inspires the perpetual pursuit of learning for Fred Ettish within the martial arts space

Andy Souwer discusses his combative career and retirement goals

Andy Souwer is a combat sports legend with championship accolades in K1 Max kickboxing, Shoot Boxing tournaments, and he also has pro boxing as well as pro MMA experience too.
I spoke with Souwer after his retirement from fight sports and we covered several subjects such as: -How Souwer is doing following his decision to hang up the gloves
-His last bout vs Marat Grigorian and being in a tournament the magnitude of the ONE featherweight grand prix
-Being regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest Dutch fighter of all time
-Being in rarefied air having earned kickboxing victories across four different decades
-Exploring a multitude of different non-combat sports interests now
-Souwer having issues with asthma as a kid and inspiring kids through their own adversities
-Andy Souwer's son Gianni doing some pad work on Instagram and if he would ever look to compete like his dad
-The high-level fight IQ across multiple combat disciplines (MMA, Shoot Boxing, Kickboxing, etc) and if that was his biggest variable in fluidly transitioning
-Having a submission win in an MMA competition and how important those kinds of moments are
-Being in classics like the third Masato fight and what bout Souwer looks back on as especially significant across his vast body of work
-Souwer's legendary Buakaw fights and how much that inspired me in my own training

Butterbean talks career highlights in Boxing, MMA, and Pro Wrestling

Butterbean is a decorated Tough Man competitor, a former super heavyweight world boxing champion, and is a pugilistic pop culture icon.
The man known as Eric Esch has also had high-profile efforts as a professional wrestler and as an MMA fighter. We covered several subjects such as:
-Co-workers at a factory thinking Esch would be great in Tough Man competition and how that kicked off Butterbean's combative career
-If his amazing streak of success in Tough Man bolstered his confidence to embark on a run in professional pugilism
-Being on the cover of Toughman Contest for the Sega Genesis
-Still working a factory job while being the main character in a video game
-Often playing the role of road warrior set to take on the hometown fighter looking for a name-value win
-The immense level of pride in winning his IBA super heavyweight World Championship and other meaningful titles throughout his career
-Mark Coleman suggesting Butterbean try MMA and how his journey began in that space
-Having as many submissions as striking finishes across his mixed martial arts endeavors
-Discussed bouts with Ernesto Hoost and Mark Hunt in the context of if there was any other fight throughout his career that was talked about but ultimately didn't come to fruition
-If Butterbean noticed any Yakuza involvement with PRIDE back when he was competing for them
-Competing in YAMMA Pit Fighting and the memories of competing in a unique framework like that
-Esch's thoughts on the rise in popularity domestically of Bare Knuckle boxing
-Negotiations for a Bare Knuckle fight in the past
-The sizable payouts in K1 and PRIDE FC from back in the day
-Minowa throwing two dropkicks at him during a PRIDE fight and what was going through Butterbean's head
-Butterbean's involvement in multiple pro wrestling efforts over the years
-Initially being involved with Marc Mero and how he really built ou Butterbean's base as a pro wrestler

Ali AlQaisi on UAE Warriors title win, being Titan FC champ, and more

Ali AlQaisi bested Do Gyeom Lee via unanimous decision at UAE Warriors 24 to capture the promotion's featherweight title. 
I spoke with Alqaisi on Bowks Talking Bouts and we discussed: -What the post-fight victory celebration looks like
-The grappling being a huge factor in securing UAEW 145 lb gold and who has honed those skills most
-Capturing the Titan FC championship in a unanimous decision victory against Andrew Whitney
-Earning his brown belt in BJJ and the experience with that relatively recent upgrade
-Getting to compete multiple times in Abu Dhabi
-If there was compounded pressure from those UFC fights where the rhetoric was very centric on being the first fighter from Jordan to compete in the UFC
-If defending either of his titles is next or perhaps exploring free agency with some bigger promotions more so

Juntaro Ushiku on Rizin 31 title win and being a dual promotion champion

Juntaro Ushiku bested Yutaka Saito at Rizin 31 to capture the Rizin FF featherweight world title. This victory came via doctor stoppage after a cut in the second stanza opened up Saito.
I spoke with Ushiku after that Rizin title win and we touched on several subjects such as: -How he was feeling post-Rizin title win
-How much of a career capstone it was to have the Rizin title as part of the resume
-Appreciating Yutaka Saito's skills and taking advantage of a great opportunity popping up
-If there was any point in that Rizin title win where Ushiku had to overcome a certain level of adversity
-If there's an immediate sense of the damage caused when cutting an opponent to that degree at Rizin 31
-How lessons learned from a failed DEEP title bid lead him to capturing gold in that promotion
-What inspired Juntaro Ushiku to become a martial artist and endeavor to go on this journey
-Being a huge fan of Dream years back and nowadays being such a prominent part of the Japanese MMA scene
-The backstory of Ushiku's nickname Fighting Bull
-Riding motorcycles as a hobby and if a Rizin entrance on a motorcycle could be in the cards

Isaac Doolittle on BKFC Wichita win and 2022 goals

Isaac Doolittle bested Jay Jackson via unanimous decision at BKFC Wichita.
Doolittle came on Bowks Talking Bouts to cover several subjects such as:
-Competing with an ACL and MCL tear in the last BKFC performance
-Doolittle's experiences with his hands and the grappling in the context of how ideal BKFC's ruleset is for him
-What goals are being eyeballed in the looming new calendar year
-If a 175lb title is in focus or if the competitive title aspirations lie in higher weight categories
-The motivations with fighting an action-heavy fighter like Jay Jackson
-Being the betting underdog for his Jackson clash
-His girlfriend Jessica Link also competing at BKFC Wichita and the collective feelings each had post-event