Issue 164

February 2018

• Age 27
• Weight 125
• Record 9-1-0
• Nationality American
• Promotion Titan FC

Jose Torres is undoubtedly one of the top prospects in MMA today.

He’s already turned down big-show opportunities due to bad timing, but when the right time does come, he’ll have honed his game even more in the hope of making a dent in one of the UFC’s lighter weight divisions. Torres is a two-weight champion with the renowned Titan FC – famous for their alumni hitting the Octagon. The last two-weight world champion from an established UFC feeder show? ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor, who went on to achieve the same accomplishment inside the promotion. Hard-hitting, slick-wrestler Torres is in good company – and it’s only a matter of when, not if, he’ll be at the top.

Q. Why should people be excited about seeing you make the step up to the UFC?

Jose Torres: "I’m another story coming up out of the neighbourhood. I’m a kid that’s the average Latin kid coming up through the struggle and really trying to show people that if I can do it, then so can you. I believe I’m a big people person and that’s why I always say: 'We can, we will, together we are Team Shorty'. If I can do it, I think anyone else can, too."

Q. What kind of struggles did you have growing up?

Torres: "It was the social norm. A lot of Mexicans, Puerto Rican and Latino backgrounds in general, we struggle with both parents. Parents aren’t the wealthiest, you or your siblings are in gangs and there’s just a lot of violence around you. You have to make a choice. Are you going to follow the path of drugs and violence? For me, I was following the path of my family and slowly going into the gangs and drugs, but I was able to end up going the right way by following sports and keeping up with school. When I was 16, I joined Combat Do and met Bob Sherman. He gave me a sense of responsibility and adulthood, trying to be a role model and a mentor. I always wanted to be a hero, and doing the things I’m doing today allows me to do that."

Q. Was there a turning point that allowed you to change your path and led you down a new road?

Torres: "My whole family was involved with gangs and drugs my whole life so it was normal for me to see the gangs and the violence – the type of stuff you see in the movies. It was just the norm for me but, as cheesy as it sounds, watching shows like Dragon Ball Z and Power Rangers, I always wanted to be the light in people’s lives. Eventually, I just found the right path despite doing a lot of dumb stuff. People came in and out of my life, some helping me, some not. My brother was the worst role model possible to me, but he looked at me every time and told me, ‘Don’t follow my path, please. I have to do this.’ I eventually broke off and did the right thing."

Q. How much do you feel your extensive amateur record helped you? What was your final record?

Torres: "I was 25-1 as an amateur fighter in MMA. I lost my first one by decision and I came back to win 25 straight. I became the first ever two-time IMMAF world champion, and for that tournament, you have to fight four to five times in a week. I went to my coach and asked if I could I leave college. He said, ‘No, you’re doing it twice.’ He wanted me to finish school, so that’s what I did. The same day I graduated college, I won the national title, then I competed in the Worlds later that year. You see boxers going 100, 200 or 300 amateur fights, but MMA fighters only go five or 10 before turning pro, which makes them the big fish in a little pond. This is great, but you need to start travelling and understand that you need to work on some things. Going from state to state and country to country, I was able to learn from the best fighters in the world. I’m 6-0 now, but have beaten fighters with a combined record of 57-21. I’ve done work."

Q. Was the step up to the pro ranks easy?

Torres: "I did my first pro fight and I had so much anxiety. I naturally don’t believe the hype because I try not to get cocky. Everyone was like you’re a two-time world champ, but damn, what if I lose? It would really suck if I lost. I won the fight in two minutes and nine seconds and after that, I was just looking forward to the next fight. I was so happy the first one was done."

Q. Is there much difference in the way that you train as a pro?

Torres: "My last opponent liked to call me a gym-hopper, even though I had my home gym in Chicago where I’m from. I just realised as a professional that I have to travel to train. People can bad mouth me for gym-hopping, but I wanted to train with the best. I don’t have an ego. I’ve trained with Sergio Pettis, Tim Elliot, Joseph Benavidez, Brandon Moreno – a bunch of guys from my weight class, but I don’t mind it. I don’t have an ego. We all have the same goal… I ended up going to Jackson-Wink to train. I went there for three camps in a row, and then I went to Denver with T.J. Dillashaw, then I went back to California where he ended up moving to train at the Treigning Lab. I’m happy to have a huge résumé of people that I’ve trained with whohave created their legacies and that’s what I’m trying to do now; create my own."

Q. How close have you come to fighting in the UFC?

Torres: "Extremely close. In my fifth fight against Farkhad Sharipov, I broke my hand and tore my MCL. I also got dropped in the second, got myself out of the guillotine and fought back the next three rounds. It was a fantastic fight and I was able to claim the bantamweight championship. I called up the UFC, they gave me a lot of hype and Mick Maynard, the flyweight matchmaker, called me three or four times – all but one to fight in the Contender series and the other time to fight Justin Scoggins, but the problem was I was still recovering from my MCL and hand injury so I couldn’t accept the offers. I still had about a month and a half until I had a full recovery where I could punch properly, get myself in condition and have a proper training camp. Unfortunately, now I’m struggling to get a call back."

Q. If another promotion, like Bellator or Rizin, offered you bags of cash, would you take it?

Torres: "It’s crazy because I haven’t had an offer from any other promotion besides Brave out in the Middle East. That’s because of my past affiliation with them. Also, I’m under contract until May and the only organisation that can really take me out of that is the UFC, but I’m not looking for an organisation that possibly pays more. I’ve always wanted to be a hero, and the UFC is the best pedestal for me to stand on to show the guys in my neighbourhood that I’ve made it."

Q. What do you think you’ve shown in your pro career that people didn’t expect from you?

Torres: "I think the biggest thing is challenging the calibre of fighters I’ve faced so fast and beaten. My first fight, I faced a guy who had the height and reach advantage. I finished that in two minutes and nine seconds. My next fighter had 16 pro fights and I was only 1-0. The guy had never been finished before and unfortunately, I couldn’t finish him either, but it was a bloodfest. The only thing left for me to do was to kill him. The third fight was against Abdiel Velazquez, a guy who beat an Olympic bronze medalist from Yoel Romero’s team back in the day and he was on the verge of making it into the UFC. I knocked him out in the second round and claimed the vacant belt. How many fighters do you know who wins a world title at a big promotion like Titan FC in only their third fight? For my fourth fight, I decided to call out the number one contender – a guy who was 18-2-2 who went the distance with Tim Elliot. I gave Pedro Nobre his first knockout loss and beat him in 86 seconds. Sadly, the UFC said they wanted me to come back from adversity and it was too easy. I thought fine, I’ll go do something really tough then. I’ll jump up a weight class and fight a guy who’s 17-7 and who’s beaten Bellator and UFC veterans."

Q. Do you think you showed what the UFC wanted?

Torres: "I was able to dominate the entire fight after the first round, at a weight class I had no business being at. I was able to get a second belt. The next fight, again I took on the number one contender to show the fans that I’m not just a champion but a dominant one. I was able to finish my opponent in the fourth round and came back from adversity against a much bigger, stronger opponent. I’m trying to show the UFC that I’m not just a good champion or fighter, but a dominant champion who’s ready to face anyone who’s put in front of me. I’m just waiting for the proper call and showing the UFC that I’m the Vasyl Lomachenko of MMA. I’m not 397-1, granted, but 25-1 is definitely an unheard-of record in amateur MMA."

Q. Where do you expect to be this time next year?

Torres: "In 2019, I definitely expect to be a top-five contender. As long as my body is healthy and ready to go, I’m more than happy to fight every two or three months."