Miguel Torres‘ road to bantamweight elite status hit another speed bump at Saturday night’s World Series of Fighting. Once the division’s best, Torres backward slide continued with a loss to Marlon Moraes.
The judges scored it a split-decision for Moraes, scoring it 30-27, 29-28, 28-29, but in all reality it wasn’t quite that close, and the score for Torres was questionable at best.
Moraes was faster, more accurate, more powerful, and simply better. In a fight that was almost exclusively standup, Moraes landed the harder blows and bloodied Torres during the three-round encounter. He also scored the fight’s only takedown and had the best sequence.
Moraes opened with a blistering first minute, starching Torres with an uppercut that rocked the former WEC champ, then following with a flurry against the fence. Torres, sensing trouble, dropped low for a heel hook, and the attack left Moraes on the defensive, allowing Torres some recovery time.
Torres looked better in the second, but failed in several attempts to get the fight to the ground, where he was expected to have a sizable advantage. Moraes was measured in his striking and found his target repeatedly, leading Torres to his fifth loss in his last eight fights.
Afterward, WSOF said Moraes would next face Tyson Nam at a future date.
Torres’ record now stands at 40-6, while Moraes is 9-4 with 1 draw.