Introduction
Friday, August 12th, American heavyweight prospect Steve Mowry will be in action for Bellator, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Valentin Moldavsky. He will be looking for another win, as Mowry looks to continue his undefeated streak and potentially earn a Bellator title shot. He represents Sanford MMA, a top camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Submission Grappling: Mowry has a very impressive record when it comes to submission victory. Obviously, from watching him, you can tell he’s a good grappler. But the efficiency for which he finishes fights with kimuras is beyond impressive. He has three kimura wins and a keylock, both of which require great technique and strength. He also has wins by triangle and arm-triangle choke. Seven of his ten wins come by submission. He also has some good ground-and-pound in his tool kit, so he’s an overall threat on the ground.
Size/Strength: Mowry is a monster of a man, standing at 6’8″ and having great physical strength. I am surprised he only hovers around 250 pounds given how big he is, but he fights big and is physically imposing. That’s why he’s hard to handle on the mat. Not only does he have good technique, but he is a very strong. He can hold guys down and crank down hard on armlocks and chokes. There aren’t many heavyweights with the dimensions of a guy like Mowry.
Needs Improvement
Striking Defense: Mowry has some offensive striking skills; see his recent finishes of Shaun Asher and Shawn Teed. However, there are parts of his stand up that need some improvement, namely his striking defense. Because he’s tall, he susceptible to overhands and wild leaping hooks that are dangerous to any fighter with height. I remember watching his bout with Darion Abbey back in 2019, where he was actually hurt multiple times on the feet against a guy who shouldn’t have been competitive with him. He has definitely tightened it up in recent times, but it’s something he should continue to focus on with movement and distance.
Outlook
Bellator Title Contender: Undefeated at 10-0, Mowry is truly a top heavyweight prospect in the world that has gotten better in recent years. Bellator’s heavyweight division isn’t exactly the deepest either, so he can’t be too far off from title contention right now. One has to think that a win over a guy with the reputation of Valentin Moldavsky, a major player in the Bellator heavyweight division, would get him there.
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