Introduction
Sunday, July 25th, American bantamweight prospect Levi Mowles will be in action for Fury FC, where he will be looking to continue his winning ways against veteran Teruto Ishihara. He will be looking for another win, as Johnson looks inch toward a UFC contract. He represents Fitness Fight Factory, a little-known team in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Submission Grappling: The jiu-jitsu of Mowles is very good, whether he’s fighting from top position or from the bottom. From the bottom, he is comfortable despite being in a less dominant position, using submission attempts to halt advances and to score sweeps. He is a constant threat from his back, which makes him not only tough to deal with, but an actual threat. From top, Mowles is very impressive. He advances positions well and finds a way to get to a fight ending position. He has solid ground-and-pound. His favorite position to be in is on the back of his opponent, as five of his submission victories come by way of rear-naked choke. Lastly, he owns a win via twister, which is incredibly impressive.
Strength of Schedule: Since coming to the pro ranks, Mowles has fought a very tough schedule. His four losses come to three UFC fighters (Miles Johns, Damon Jackson and Tony Kelley) and a top Bellator fighter (Raufeon Stots). His pro debut came against now-UFC fan favorite Adrian Yanez in victorious fashion. He scored a TKO over now-retired UFC fighter Jimmy Flick. He’s choked out Contender Series alum Jose Johnson. Simply put, Mowles does not take easy fights and it’s why he’s such a tough fighter at this moment in history.
Needs Improvement
Counter-Wrestling: In the four times Mowles has seen defeat, he has seen himself on his back foot defending takedowns from an offensive onslaught of takedowns. Raufeon Stots was able to control Mowles with takedowns and top pressure, even though Mowles’ defensive grappling stopped Stots from doing major damage. The same can be said about the other two most recent losses to Miles Johns and Damon Jackson, both of whom used wrestling-heavy approaches. Mowles is comfortable fighting off his back, but as we know, judges generally score for the man on top. It’s how Mowles has taken the bulk of his four pro losses.
Outlook
UFC Midcarder: Mowles has the skill set and experience to be on a major MMA roster right now. It’s a surprise that he has not appeared in the UFC or Bellator at this point. His toughness and no-back-down approach lends him well to the viewing audience and should be catching the eyes of major promotional scouts. His striking is solid and his ground game is strong. He has proven he can hang with top-level talent. Should Mowles defeat the aforementioned Ishihara, a UFC vet, it should be hard to deny him a chance to succeed in the UFC’s midcard.
MMA Intel 