Bowling aims for the big time
Matt Wallar doesn't have a reputation in mixed martial arts as a great trainer or an astute judge of talent as do, say Mark DellaGrotte and Greg Jackson.
And so, when Wallar raves about the long-term potential of Roger Bowling, you have to listen with a healthy dose of skepticism.
It's simple to say a fighter is about to become the sport's next sensation, though reality tells you that only about one in every 100,000 or so actually makes it huge.
Bowling is a welterweight with a body like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. And since none of his five fights have gone past the first round – his last one didn't reach the 10-second mark – he might soon be dubbed "The Terminator."
The Cincinnati resident fights for Jason Appleton's "MMA Big Show" promotion and will face UFC veteran War Machine (formerly Jon Koppenhave) on June 20 in a welterweight bout at Belterra Casino in Vevay, Ind., a match that could, if Wallar is correct, introduce the world to the best-kept secret in MMA.
"At Roger's peak, when he is fully dialed in, possibly no one will beat him," Wallar said. "In my experience of 20 years as a trainer working with elite athletes in football, baseball, you name it, every major sport, I have never seen anyone with the hunger and the drive and the natural ability and work ethic this kid has."
Talk to Wallar for five minutes about Bowling and you almost find yourself believing that the kid can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
He's a physical freak of nature with a ripped body that Wallar says has no more than five percent body fat.
"He could walk onto a stage right now and compete in a bodybuilding show on a national level," Wallar said. "His body is aesthetically perfect for his size."
Bowling grew up in a small town in Ohio with a big reputation. But it was not a reputation he earned for his athletic prowess, but rather for his father's ornery nature and legendary bar brawls.
Bowling sheepishly says he got in far too many street fights when he was young, following in the footsteps of his father.
He committed to turning his life around and is now as softspoken and humble a person as you're apt to meet. He learned the value of a reputation early, not long after he'd cleaned up his act and committed to no longer being a bully.
He'd ask a girl for a date, but as soon as her parents heard his last name, they were terrified.
"They'd go, 'Oh, you're a Bowling,' " he said. "They knew of my Dad. Everyone did."
Bowling, though, eventually won over the doubters and decided to channel his energy in a different direction. He was naturally athletic and good at pretty much anything he tried, but MMA intrigued him and at 5 feet 9 inches, he knew he didn't have the size to play football or basketball at a high level.
He became an amateur boxer and fashioned a 9-0 record, but didn't want to pursue that as a career because, as he says, "Your head takes such a beating in boxing. I wasn't all there for 30, 40 minutes after my matches because of taking so many shots."
He was a longtime MMA fan and decided to give it a shot. He found quickly that he was a natural.
Television commentators in several of his fights note the high caliber of his wrestling, even though, as he concedes with a laugh, he'd never wrestled in his life.
"I don't want to sound cocky or anything, but I've always been able to pick things up fairly easily," he said. "I train with some pretty high level wrestlers and I just seem to have a knack to pick it up and I can take guys down. I'm fortunate that I have the athleticism from my Mom's side of the family that I can pick things up and learn and adapt pretty well."
Bowling attended a tryout in Chicago last year to bid for a spot on the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter," though he wasn't chosen. But Appleton has had contact with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and has had talks with representatives of Strikeforce about moving Bowling to the top level of the sport.
The fight with War Machine, if he can succeed, will give him the kind of credibility he needs. War Machine, who had his name legally changed last year, is a TUF veteran himself with a 7-2 record and is no pushover.
"This fight is going to be big for Roger, because then people will be able to compare him to a guy who has been in the UFC recently and who has been successful and they'll be able to judge for themselves," Appleton said. "Roger, I think, was born to be a star. He has all the ingredients, the talent, the look, the charisma, everything, you look for in someone who is going to be a star. He's the whole package. You look at him and you just think, 'Main event guy in the UFC.' That's really the kind of fighter he is."
It's a long way from the MMA Big Show to the UFC. There have been more highly hyped prospects in all sports who haven't made it than those who have.
Remember Steve Chilcott? Or Shawn Abner? Or Danny Goodwin? They were each chosen first overall in the Major League Baseball draft – Goodwin was No. 1 overall twice, in 1971 and 1975 – and none of them became so much as a regular in the majors.
But Wallar and Appleton are convinced that Bowling is somehow different. He knocked out veteran Seth Baczynski in nine seconds on March 7 in his last fight.
He handed International Fight League veteran Shamar Bailey his only professional loss in eight fights and needed just 27 seconds to do it.
"He's got the power and the strength of pretty much any 205-pounder out there," Wallar said of the 170-pound Bowling. "He's a special kid. He prepares and trains like no one I've seen. He has this insane desire to be the best and he is so driven. But he's graceful while he does it. He's not a punk. He's not a thug. He's a kid who appreciates what he has. He's the kind of guy people want to see do well."
If he handles War Machine the way he's handled veterans like Baczynski and Bailey, Wallar and Appleton will wind up looking like prophets.
