Miguel Torres was recently fired from the UFC quickly after making a rape joke on Twitter.
He later apologized for the tweet which read, “If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone loves a surprise.”
Not the most brilliant thing to put out there on the Internet.
Even though it might have been a bit harsh to fire Torres for such a comment, it wasn’t completely out of bounds to do so. Some other fighters have been given more slack than Torres, and though it is uncertain why, there is one thing that is obvious.
Torres is in need of a job because it doesn’t seem that this is going to be one of those things that Dana White, the president of the UFC, is going to reverse anytime soon.
Torres may not be a champion anymore as he was when he was the WEC bantamweight titleholder, but he is still an ex-UFC fighter coming off a win. His name still has a lot of clout.
The longer he stays away from the cage the more his name value drops. He needs to quickly get it back out there in the MMA world so that fans feel like keeping up with him. That said, if he doesn’t have a national medium in which he can show off his skills then it means nothing.
That is where Bellator comes in.
Not only are they the second-largest promoter in America and arguably the world, they were just purchased by Viacom. That means they also have economic stability in the rocky world of mixed martial arts.
They also seem to have trouble signing big names in an effort to compete with the UFC. That could be leverage for him to use to get serious paycheck.
He also might have an easier amount of competition in Bellator. That isn’t to say he could become champion without trying, but that it won’t be as difficult. A lot of the fighters in Bellator are unproven fighters who haven’t ever made it to the big show.
Some of this might be luck or timing, but some of it could be that they never measured up. Bellator could have a second shot at being champion.
Between a better potential paycheck and another shot at glory, Torres should take the opportunity in front of him. He may have made a mistake by tweeting an insensitive statement, but he can turn a negative and make it a positive.
Torres was removed as a main player from the WEC to be a cog in the UFC machine. He didn’t really stand out in the promotion. It is weak as an excuse, but it might have been what made him willing to send out such a shocking statement. He wanted to stand out.
Now that he is no longer there he still can do it.
So, it seems there might be life outside the UFC after all.
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