To know I prepared the right way helped me out mentally and I was just so confident I was going to win. It showed up in my performance and at the end of the night, the belt came with me.

FiveKnuckles.com: Well, you definitely shook things up by taking the belt. What did becoming the WEC bantamweight champion mean to you?

Brian Bowles: Well, it certainly meant a lot to me, there's no denying that. To be the champion is the reason why I fight and there's so much a fighter goes through to reach the top that people don't see. I want everybody to see I can fight at the top level in this game.

A lot of fighters want the respect that comes along with this belt. Being the champion served as motivation for me to get to this point. It was something that I worked a long time to achieve, and it finally happened. The crazy thing is the hard part has only just begun. I got to keep defending this belt, and I'm smart enough to know it won't be easy. I view it as an opportunity to keep building a name for myself. It's a great opportunity and I want to step up to the challenge of successfully defending this title.

I know there are hungry fighters out there gunning for this belt. It was the same thing when Miguel had the belt, and I, along with everybody else, was gunning for him (laughs). There are fighters we haven't even heard of yet that want this title. I understand the challenge of being the champion and it's something that I'm ready for.

FiveKnuckles.com: I see that you've been dealing with a nagging back injury? Are you fully healed or is that still something you're trying to work out?

Brian Bowles: The back injury is as good as it's ever been. I originally hurt my back a long time ago and being so young and inexperienced, I didn't take care of it properly. I figured to rest it until it was healthy enough, but that wasn't the proper way to do it. I recently re-injured it shooting for a takedown. The guy sprawled on me and I could feel my lower back give out. I knew I had a problem. I was good and warmed up, but when I started to slow down, I couldn't move. I was all hunched over, and I couldn't even take steps. When I sat down somebody had to help me up, so it was pretty bad, and I couldn't train for a fight like that.

I waited for it to loosen up a bit and finally went to the doctor to get a clear diagnosis. Now, I do therapy and core strengthening once or twice a week still for precautionary reasons and it's really helped me out in my training. I can now do things that I couldn't do before