Newly-minted WEC bantamweight kingpin Brian Bowles has been tapped to toss out the ceremonial first pitch tomorrow night (Aug. 25) at Turner Field when the Atlanta Braves play host to the San Diego Padres.
The 29-year-old is a native of Athens, Ga., where he trains out of The Hardcore Gym under Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Rory and Adamn Singer. Athens is about an hour outside of Atlanta.
Here's what the champ had to say:
"It is an honor that my favorite team wants to have me out to the ballpark. The Braves have a long history of being a world-class organization. I'm excited to bring the WEC belt to Turner Field."
Bowles recently captured the WEC 135-pound title by shocking the world at WEC 42 earlier this month with a first round knockout victory over the man previously believed to be the top bantamweight mixed martial artist on the planet, Miguel "Angel" Torres.
In addition to Torres, the undefeated fighter now holds wins over Damacio "The Angel of Death" Page, Will Ribeiro, Charlie Valencia, Marcus "Louro" Galvao and others.
It's believed that Dominick Cruz earned number one contender status with his win over Joseph Benavidez in the co-main event of the same card, meaning he'll likely be Bowles' first title challenger. However, Bowles suffered a fractured hand in his win over Torres, which could force him to the sidelines for up to six months.
So don't expect any sliders from the mound tomorrow night.
Hopefully, Bowles makes a speedy recovery and is back in the cage sooner rather than later. But for now it appears he'll just have to enjoy the other perks that come along with being the champ.