Miguel Torres has experienced the kind of success that fighters can only dream of. The Chicago native was undefeated for nearly 6-years while racking up 17 wins in a row. He was viewed as unstoppable, and considered the face of the WEC's bantamweight division.
But, on August 09, 2009 one could say that Brian Bowles, the WEC's current 135-pound champion, was responsible for the new path Torres has taken. Bowles took the championship from Torres and handed him his first ever loss at bantamweight in the process. The loss forced Torres to take a long look in the mirror, which may have ultimately been the best thing that could have happened to the former pound-for-pound great.
"I've used the same training partners for 11 or 12 years and I haven't brought any of them back for this fight," Torres told The Las Vegas Sun about his upcoming match up with Joseph Benavidez . "The guys coaching me were there just to give me water and talk my face off. They weren't giving me anything I could use. Looking back, I can see there were a lot of things 'off'. But I was in a bubble at the time and couldn't see it. What ended up happening was - I wasn't getting ****y, they got ****y. They would say, 'Oh, you're going to kill this guy. He's only got seven fights."
Redemption is important in the world of mixed martial arts, and nothing sparks more interest than a good rematch. Torres has already redeemed his only other loss by defeating Ryan Ackerman via submission at IHC 9 in 2005. Ackerman edged out a unanimous decision victory over Torres a few years earlier at IHC 6.
"I kept him in mind everyday until I fought him again," Torres said. "I wanted to fight him again right away but he didn't want to fight in the same promotion, he wanted me to go to Wisconsin. But there were no shows that would pay us what we were getting in Chicago. I went on a tear the next two years, finally got the rematch and destroyed him. That was a pretty good feeling."
It appears as if Torres wants nothing more than an opportunity to regain that feeling, and would willingly pass up a title shot if it meant a chance at redemption against the only man to put him on the canvas. In fact, Torres would prefer it that way in order to ensure that he'll be facing the best Brian Bowles possible.
"I want Cruz to win," Torres said. "I want Brian to lose. He'll want to come back strong and then I'll have the best Brian Bowles there is. If he loses that fight against Dominick and he loses the belt, I wouldn't want a fight with Cruz. I would want Brian Bowles. A rematch with Brian is more important to me than a title shot."
But, on August 09, 2009 one could say that Brian Bowles, the WEC's current 135-pound champion, was responsible for the new path Torres has taken. Bowles took the championship from Torres and handed him his first ever loss at bantamweight in the process. The loss forced Torres to take a long look in the mirror, which may have ultimately been the best thing that could have happened to the former pound-for-pound great.
"I've used the same training partners for 11 or 12 years and I haven't brought any of them back for this fight," Torres told The Las Vegas Sun about his upcoming match up with Joseph Benavidez . "The guys coaching me were there just to give me water and talk my face off. They weren't giving me anything I could use. Looking back, I can see there were a lot of things 'off'. But I was in a bubble at the time and couldn't see it. What ended up happening was - I wasn't getting ****y, they got ****y. They would say, 'Oh, you're going to kill this guy. He's only got seven fights."
Redemption is important in the world of mixed martial arts, and nothing sparks more interest than a good rematch. Torres has already redeemed his only other loss by defeating Ryan Ackerman via submission at IHC 9 in 2005. Ackerman edged out a unanimous decision victory over Torres a few years earlier at IHC 6.
"I kept him in mind everyday until I fought him again," Torres said. "I wanted to fight him again right away but he didn't want to fight in the same promotion, he wanted me to go to Wisconsin. But there were no shows that would pay us what we were getting in Chicago. I went on a tear the next two years, finally got the rematch and destroyed him. That was a pretty good feeling."
It appears as if Torres wants nothing more than an opportunity to regain that feeling, and would willingly pass up a title shot if it meant a chance at redemption against the only man to put him on the canvas. In fact, Torres would prefer it that way in order to ensure that he'll be facing the best Brian Bowles possible.
"I want Cruz to win," Torres said. "I want Brian to lose. He'll want to come back strong and then I'll have the best Brian Bowles there is. If he loses that fight against Dominick and he loses the belt, I wouldn't want a fight with Cruz. I would want Brian Bowles. A rematch with Brian is more important to me than a title shot."
I love Torres. He's a bad ass dude.
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