No longer a UFC flyweight due to the division’s likely demise, Jose “Shorty” Torres says he felt mistreated and disrespected throughout his two-fight stint in the Octagon.
The UFC would have a tough time getting Jose Torres back if it ever wants to re-sign him as a bantamweight.
Torres is one of the handful of flyweights who did not have the opportunity to move up to bantamweight in light of the UFC seemingly cutting its 125-pound division, he announced on social media last week. Instead, the UFC outright released him. Torres said if the UFC ever asks him to return to the promotion at 135 pounds, he probably wouldn’t take that offer.
“I’m not a person that likes the ‘hey, we want you back’ after they see money signs,” Torres told Bloody Elbow. “I’ve never been a fan of that. I didn’t have the best upbringing in the world, so if you want to help me, help me. But if you’re not interested, just keep it that way.”
Torres said he felt mistreated throughout his two-fight stint in the Octagon, which had only begun earlier this year and consisted of a knockout win over Jarred Brooks and a loss to Alex Perez.
Torres said he was told that he would be cut from the UFC if he missed weight for the Brooks fight in June, which he accepted on nine days’ notice.
“I still would’ve fought, but I would’ve been released no matter what,” he said.
“I got the win, and the UFC shunned me the whole time through commentary, saying, ‘Oh, he got lucky.’ That was also a deciding factor why I couldn’t bump up and why my contract got released — even though I did beat Jarred Brooks, they say, ‘Hey, halfway through the fight you were losing, and you only won because there was a fluke.’”
Then, a month later, Torres agreed to fight Perez in August at UFC 227 on about 20 days’ notice. But according to Torres, the UFC threw off his weight cut by offering him the Aug. 4 fight, then taking the offer away and telling him he wouldn’t fight until November, then offering it again.
“After they told me to go enjoy myself, fatten up, and live life, I get a last-minute notice and I have to cut 28 pounds in 20 days,” Torres said. “Because I ended up saying no to the UFC so many times because of so many injuries, I was afraid to say no. If I said no, after being threatened after my last fight, I might’ve been cut. So I thought it was mandatory to say yes.
“I don’t feel respected whatsoever.”
News of the UFC flyweight division’s demise came not long after the UFC “traded” former champion Demetrious Johnson to ONE Championship for Ben Askren. Torres doesn’t think that’s a coincidence at all. In fact, “Shorty” thinks the division stuck around for as long as it did (about six years) only because of “Mighty Mouse.” Johnson, the first flyweight champ, reigned over the division from 2012 to August, when he lost to Henry Cejudo by split decision.
“What happens now that he’s gone? What else do we have to offer?” Torres asked. “We don’t have any Conor McGregors, Colby Covingtons, guys that are under the spotlight just like DJ was. Yeah, we have Cejudo now, the champion, but he’s not even trying to defend the belt.
“[The UFC was] like, ‘We don’t have anyone to properly invest in to really keep this weight class alive.’ WME-IMG is trying to make their money back, and I think one way to save a ton of money is diminishing the flyweight division.”
Torres said he believes the flyweight division never got the respect it deserved from the UFC, fans, and media.
“None of us did anything wrong,” Torres said. “We’re just small.
“It’s always been on UFC Fight Pass, it’s never been a main event for years. We’ve had one main event besides the champion, and even then I think [Johnson] was a main event twice, if not three times at most. Even his record-breaking fight was a co-main event. It’s disrespectful to a guy who’s been so dominant.
“He’s just not a talker, and that’s fine — there’s nothing wrong with that. Neither was Fedor Emelianenko, but it’s the fact that the promotions helped promote him — it’s a 50/50 type of business. If you’re not gonna promote him, he’s only gonna be known by so many people. UFC never gave us a chance to really shine.”
Before his UFC run, Torres was a double champ in Titan FC, where he made his pro debut back in 2016. Torres first won the flyweight title at the end of 2016, then the bantamweight belt in 2017. He defended both titles once.
Just based off that alone, it’s fair to say Torres has credentials at 135 pounds. In addition, his entire extensive amateur career was fought at bantamweight or higher; Torres registered an amateur record of 25-1. He is currently 8-1 as a pro.
Because of his time outside the UFC as a bantamweight, Torres expected a chance to fight at 135 pounds in the Octagon.
“Half of my pro wins are at bantamweight, so they know I can compete at it,” Torres said. “I’ve competed against some of the best at bantamweight, so I naturally assumed, ‘Hey, just give me a shot.’ Worst comes to worst, I lose — cut me. I’m perfectly fine with that. It shows that I can’t compete in the UFC’s bantamweight division. That’s fine. But they never gave me the opportunity.
“That’s extremely belittling for everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve, and now it’s gone because I’m a small guy.”
Torres said the UFC is getting rid of the flyweight division ultimately because the UFC does what the UFC wants.
“You look at the flyweight division — some of them are allowed to bump up, some of them get cut,” Torres said. “Why do we get cut? Is it because we’re not friends with Mick Maynard, or because we’re not close buddies with the matchmakers or Dana? It’s not even your popularity — it’s who you know, how you got in, and how you possibly can stay in.”
Torres said he believes the flyweight division is “definitely done in the UFC for a very long time.” He’s not optimistic it’ll ever be back, but when it comes to MMA, you can never say never, he said — crazier things have happened.
“As of right now, the president, Dana White, is just not a fan — and never, ever has been — of the flyweight division, so why really promote and spend more money on a division you never built in the first place?”
As for what’s next for him, Torres is confident he’ll find a new home quickly, because he left many options open from before he signed with the UFC. Torres, who plans to compete at both 125 and 135 pounds, said he is already in talks with Brave CF — he attended its event this past weekend — ONE Championship, and KSW, but that nothing is finalized as of yet.
“I’m gonna show the world there’s more than just the UFC,” Torres said.