Any time a fighter can get out of a bout with a first round finish and no damage taken there’s very little to complain about. Such is the case for heavyweight Steve Mowry when it comes to his TKO victory over Shaun Asher at Bellator 257 this past April.
In just 55 seconds, Mowry was able to pick up a win and extend his career-starting winning streak to nine in a row.
“It was fast and I was happy to get in and get out and not get hurt or anything,” Mowry told MMAWeekly.com. “I was able to get back into the gym. It was a good time. Shaun Asher is a really cool dude, and I’m happy that he stepped up and took the fight when he did.”
Following an August bout cancellation, Mowry has spent much of the year waiting to get back into the cage. While a layoff is never a welcome thing, Mowry doesn’t think it will be an issue.
“I’ve had longer layoffs than this,” said Mowry. “To be honest, it really hasn’t factored in. I’m the type who likes to stay in the gym, like to stay busy, like to try to be active working in my game all the time. I haven’t really had time for it to affect me if it was going to affect me. It hasn’t gotten to me at all.
“I feel like if I devote any kind of attention to anyone detail in my game I definitely notice other areas of my game begin to stagnate, so I try to make always make it a point to have something to work on in every facet of my game; not just on the technical side, but on the psychological side, the conditioning side, or the sports physiology side of it.”
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Mowry (9-0) will look to keep his undefeated record alive when he faces Rakim Cleveland (22-13-1) in a main card heavyweight bout at Bellator 271 this Friday in Hollywood, Florida.
“Rakim’s a veteran of many, many fights, has a lot of skills, especially on the feet, is a dude who knows how to compete, and compete well,” Mowry said. “But I feel like skills-wise I’m polished enough and sharpened to get the W.”
For right now Mowry’s focus is on his bout with Cleveland and finishing out his 2021 on a high note. He will approach 2022 when it comes.
“It’s one day at a time, one fight at a time,” said Mowry. “I’m not really sure what I’m going to eat for dinner tomorrow night, let alone what I’ve got going on next year.”
Steve Mowry believes he’s ‘polished enough’ to get the the W at Bellator 271
