Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will be returning come late-fall. In his way will be top prospect Nick Pace. The two will clash at UFC 139, which takes place on November 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, where a light heavyweight m…
Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will be returning come late-fall.
In his way will be top prospect Nick Pace. The two will clash at UFC 139, which takes place on November 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, where a light heavyweight match pitting PRIDE veterans Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua will take place.
The news was originally broke by Pace via Twitter, though the east-coaster eventually withdrew a previous tweet stating “UFC 139 in Cali. Nick Pace vs Miguel Torres. #HATERS.”
The New Yorker was last seen in action when he took on the grizzly Ivan Menjivar. Both men met last August for UFC 133, where they engaged in a tooth-and-nail, back-and-forth battle that eventually went to the score cards, where Menjivar took a close decision. The loss has left Pace 1-2 under the Zuffa banner, and he is likely a prime candidate for the chopping block.
Torres, meanwhile, was recently in talks to be in line for a shot at the 135-pound title, before being derailed. The TriStar product was last seen in action against bantamweight spitfire Demetrious Johnson. “Mighty Mouse” eventually walked away with a contentious decision win, and inevitably earned the right to challenge for the promotion’s title, as he will now face champion Dominick Cruz next Saturday at UFC on Versus 6.
The loss snapped a two-fight win streak for Torres, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, which now evens his UFC record to 1-1.
A win for the former world champion will mean he still has the gusto to defeat developing talent, while a loss for Pace will likely mean the 24-year-old will be seeking employment elsewhere.
A pair of bantamweights coming off losses will meet in San Jose, Calif., looking to get back in the win column.
Former WEC 135-pound champion Miguel Torres and Nick Pace have verbally agreed to a fight at UFC 139 in November. Both ex-WEC fighters won their UFC debuts, but suffered setbacks in their second outings with the promotion.
Pace said on his Twitter account Friday that he was fighting Torres – but later removed the Tweet from his page. But early Saturday, sources close to the fight confirmed to MMA Fighting that the bout has been agreed to.
Torres (38-4, 1-1 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Demetrious Johnson at UFC 130 in May – a fight most analysts and observers believe Torres won. That loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Torres. But more importantly for Johnson, it got him a title shot against Dominick Cruz next week.
Torres went nearly six years without a loss, catapulting himself into the conversation of pound-for-pound top fighters in the world. But in his fourth defense of the WEC bantamweight title, he suffered the first knockout of his career, surrendering the belt to Brian Bowles at WEC 42. He followed that loss up with a submission to Joseph Benavidez – his first tapout loss. That defeat prompted him to change his training strategy, and rather than mostly training himself at his gym in Northwest Indiana, he moved his camps to the Tristar Gym in Montreal under the direction of Firas Zahabi.
Pace (6-2, 1-1 UFC) was the Ring of Combat bantamweight champ before signing with the WEC last year. His first loss under the Zuffa banner came to Johnson by unanimous decision. After a submission win over Will Campuzano at the TUF 12 Finale last December, Pace dropped a unanimous decision to Ivan Menjivar at UFC 133 in August.
UFC 139 was expected to feature a heavyweight title fight between champ Cain Velasquez, who trains in San Jose, and Junior dos Sanots. But that fight was moved to the UFC’s debut on the Fox network Nov. 12. Instead, Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson will return to the UFC and headline the event against former champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Also on the card, Wanderlei Silva faces Cung Le in Le’s UFC debut. Former champs Urijah Faber and Bowles meet in a bantamweight bout. TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader faces Jason Brilz. And TUF 1 runner-up Stephan Bonnar meets Kyle Kingsbury.
Filed under: UFC, Rankings, BantamweightsJoseph Benavidez doesn’t get enough respect.
Benavidez is probably the best flyweight in MMA, but he so far hasn’t had the opportunity to prove that because the UFC doesn’t have a flyweight class. So the tiny B…
Benavidez is probably the best flyweight in MMA, but he so far hasn’t had the opportunity to prove that because the UFC doesn’t have a flyweight class. So the tiny Benavidez is fighting bigger guys at 135 pounds, and he’s doing a remarkable job of it, beating every single opponent he’s faced except the bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz.
That makes Benavidez the No. 2 bantamweight in MMA, and yet the No. 2 bantamweight in MMA doesn’t even get to fight on TV: His victory over Eddie Wineland at UFC on Versus 5 was shown only on Facebook, not on Versus. If Benavidez were the flyweight champion, he’d be fighting on the top of the card. Instead he’s fighting on Facebook.
And since Benavidez has already had his chances at Cruz and lost, he’s going to remain stuck as the No. 2 fighter in a weight class the UFC doesn’t do much to promote. At least until the flyweight class opens up.
Top 10 Bantamweights in MMA (Number in parentheses is the fighter’s rank in the last bantamweight list.)
1. Dominick Cruz (1): Cruz’s upcoming bantamweight title defense against Demetrious Johnson will be shown on Versus, not on pay-per-view, a further illustration of how the bantamweight class hasn’t really been fully integrated into the UFC. But it’s a great deal for fans to get a pay-per-view-worthy fight for free.
2. Joseph Benavidez (4): When he’s not fighting Cruz, he dominates: Benavidez is 15-2 in his career, with the two losses coming to Cruz and the 15 wins featuring eight submissions, three TKOs and four unanimous decisions, none of which was close.
3. Brian Bowles (2): The former WEC bantamweight champion, whose only loss came to Cruz, will almost certainly get the next shot at the bantamweight belt if he can beat Urijah Faber at UFC 139 in November.
4. Urijah Faber (3): Even though he just lost to Cruz in his last fight, beating Bowles might be enough for Faber to get another shot at the bantamweight title. In a largely overlooked weight class, Faber is still the most popular fighter, and he’s the only bantamweight the UFC would put in a pay-per-view main event.
5. Demetrious Johnson (5): Can Johnson beat Cruz? It’s an awfully tall order. Johnson has good takedowns and is a good wrestler, but Cruz rarely allows his opponents to get close enough to him to take him down. The oddsmakers have installed Johnson as a +300 or higher underdog, which means Johnson beating Cruz would be almost as big an upset as Yushin Okami beating Anderson Silva.
6. Scott Jorgensen (6): Jorgensen draws Jeff Curran at UFC 137, in a fight that Jorgensen should win handily. Curran has had a long and impressive MMA career, but it’s been five years since Curran beat anyone notable.
7. Miguel Torres (7): Torres was the best bantamweight in the world a few years ago, but he needs some time to regroup after having lost three of his last five. At age 30 it’s not too late for Torres to get back into bantamweight title contention, but younger, faster opponents like Benavidez and Johnson have exposed some flaws in Torres’ game.
8. Brad Pickett (8): The British Pickett gets to fight in front of his home crowd at UFC 138, when he takes on Renan Barao in Birmingham, England. Pickett has won 10 of his last 11 fights but has been sidelined all of this year with an injury.
9. Renan Barão (10): Barao lost his first pro fight and has gone an incredible 26-0 since then, including a unanimous decision victory over Cole Escovedo at UFC 130. He hasn’t faced anyone nearly as good as Pickett during that streak, however, so he’s getting ready for his toughest test yet.
10. Eddie Wineland (9): Wineland is coming off back-to-back decision losses, but he looked good enough in losing to Faber and Benavidez that he deserves to remain in the Top 10. Barely.
Now that Dominick Cruz has defeated the only man he has ever lost to, Urijah Faber, once again defending his bantamweight title, a tough question now looms.
Who or what is next for Cruz at the bantamweight division? Cruz finds himself at the top having…
Now that Dominick Cruz has defeated the only man he has ever lost to, Urijah Faber, once again defending his bantamweight title, a tough question now looms.
Who or what is next for Cruz at the bantamweight division? Cruz finds himself at the top having mowed down practically all of the legitimate challengers in the division in the past two years.
A quick glance at the 135-pound division shows that Cruz has faced and already beaten the next 4-of-5 ranked fighters in the pecking order, and it may be a tough task to find a fighter worthy of Cruz.
Here are my five picks for the next possible opponent for The Dominator.
1. Demetrius “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (9-1)
Johnson is the highest ranked bantamweight that Cruz has yet to fight, and he is coming off a solid but razor thin victory over Miguel Torres. He has nine victories in ten fights, with his only loss coming last year to Brad Pickett.
Mighty Mouse would have a large size and reach disadvantage against Cruz, but that has never stopped his heart and wrestling game before.
Johnson may be the fight with the most interest right now, simply because he has not faced Cruz yet.
2. Brian Bowles (10-1)
Brian Bowles earned himself a victory over Takeya Mizugaki last night and kept himself right in the mix at the top of the bantamweight division.
It was not the dominant finish that Bowles may have wanted to set up a rematch with Cruz, but it was a win, nonetheless. Bowles has some unfinished business with Cruz, as he lost the belt to him in his first title defence in March 2010 due to a doctors stoppage.
Bowles broke his hand early in the fight with Cruz and was unable to continue past the second round. This fight makes sense for both fighters at this point and would also generate some fan interest.
3. Joseph Benevidez (9-2)
To me, Joseph Benevidez is still the second best bantamweight in the world and poses the biggest challenge to Dominick Cruz at 135 pounds. The problem here is that Benevidez has already fought Cruz twice in the past two years, losing both times via hard fought decision.
The first one was a three-round unanimous decision and the second one was for the title, and Benevidez lost a five-round split decision.
It would be another solid, close fight if these two were to clash again, but how much fan interest would it have at this point? And how many shots at Cruz should Joseph get? It exposes the division a bit as not being very deep with talent.
4. Scott Jorgensen (9-3)
Scott Jorgensen is another fighter who is always at the top of the heap at 135, and he has also faced Cruz before. He lost a five-round unanimous decision to Cruz in December of last year when both were fighting in the WEC.
Wins over Mizugaki, Antonio Baneulos and Brad Pickett earned him his first shot at Cruz, and he put up enough of a fight that another shot at the title is not out of the question.
5. Miguel Torres (39-4)
A loss to Demetrius Johnson in your last outing does not usually qualify you for a shot at the title, but such is the situation in the new UFC bantamweight division. Torres is an experienced, popular and unorthodox fighter who poses problems for anyone in the stand up and submissions game of mixed martial arts.
Johnson exposed Torres to a weakness in wrestling and take down defense, but Torres could have easily won that decision and thus would have been in line for a shot at Cruz if he had.
Again, I think Miguel needs a two-fight win streak and a revenge win against either Benevidez or Bowles to earn him the shot he wants, but he is in the mix with all others.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Feature Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA (also a correspondent for MMACanada.net).
Recently, UFC President Dana White announced plans for adding MMA’s lightest weight class, the 125 lb. flyweight division.News of this plan has sparked the interests of flyweights outside the organization, but it has also put the idea of dropping a cla…
Recently, UFC President Dana White announced plans for adding MMA’s lightest weight class, the 125 lb. flyweight division.
News of this plan has sparked the interests of flyweights outside the organization, but it has also put the idea of dropping a class in the minds of many of the UFC’s smaller fighters.
Changing divisions has helped many warriors find success inside the Octagon, reinvigorating the careers of former champions and contenders alike.
Here are the top five fighters currently in the UFC that would find a wealth of success dropping to 125.
We all know what happened in UFC 117; I would just like to tweak a little our perception of lay-and-pray.Chael Sonnen was making good of his boast to “punch a hole” in Anderson Silva’s head most of the way, till The Spider unleashed his web…
We all know what happened in UFC 117; I would just like to tweak a little our perception of lay-and-pray.
Chael Sonnen was making good of his boast to “punch a hole” in Anderson Silva‘s head most of the way, till The Spider unleashed his web and submitted his almost-conqueror with less than two minutes remaining in their title fight.
What Sonnen displayed for four-and-a-half rounds was definitely no “hump-fest”; it was, on the contrary, a spectacle of unmitigated ground-and-pound galore. (Never mind whatever he was taking that made him as indefatigable as the Energizer Bunny, drumming on Silva’s bald noggin.)
It was without a doubt one of the most exciting fights in MMA history, ending with a thrilling come-from-behind victory via Silva’s arm triangle choke-arm bar submission over his game challenger.
And so, Silva walked away with the UFC Middleweight Championship belt for the 10th straight time, without a discernible hole in his skull.
Now what if Sonnen, no doubt assured of his lead in the judges’ scorecards—with the lopsided beating he was delivering to Silva—decided to protect his advantage in points into the decision win?
And, propelled by his hunger for the title, along with the honest (pun intended) additional paycheck courtesy of the winner’s purse, opted to, well, lay-and-pray instead for the two-minute remainder of the fifth and final round?
Would we have forgiven him?
Should not all the adrenaline he elicited from us fans during the first four cantos suffice as compensation for the eventual boring tactic he employed into crowning himself “The New UFC Middleweight Champion of the World”?
Just passively defending in Silva’s guard, wisely drifting through the last 120 seconds at less risk for his inevitable career milestone?
Well, it didn’t happen.
He was hell-bent on winning in dominant and destructive fashion and got caught in that fateful second of abandon.
I’m even giving him the benefit of the doubt that he intended to finish.
Although he knew he was no power-puncher, he was earnestly hoping the accumulation of head strikes would take its toll somehow and daze Silva for a referee stoppage.
Here’s additional food for thought from former WEC Champion Miguel Torres, after losing to Demetrious Johnson in UFC 130:
“My trainer, Firas, wanted me to hold position more and not attack submissions so much because going into it, we knew he was a good scrambler and he’s really short, has short limbs and a short, stocky neck.
“I wanted to attack. I wanted to put on a show for the fans. I didn’t want to lay on the guy and not do anything. Maybe in hindsight I should have done that.
“I know what to do for my next fight. People might not like it. It might be a little boring, but the biggest thing is to secure a win however I can. If that means laying on somebody or just holding them down, it’s going to have to be that way.”
In closing, allow me an analogy and a couple of questions:
If you’re the leading marathon runner who’s only a hundred meters from the finish line, and your closest rival is a good one kilometer away from you, shouldn’t you just relax your pace and cruise to the top of the podium?
Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will be returning come late-fall. 
A pair of bantamweights coming off losses will meet in San Jose, Calif., looking to get back in the win column.
Joseph Benavidez