With UFC 130 about to finally kick off less than 24 hours from now, there is little analysis or predictions left to be done for this particular card.However, nobody has yet took a gander to predict who will be taking home those big, fat submission, kno…
With UFC 130 about to finally kick off less than 24 hours from now, there is little analysis or predictions left to be done for this particular card.
However, nobody has yet took a gander to predict who will be taking home those big, fat submission, knockout, and fight of the night bonuses.
Score!
While most have been critical of this card and its lack of intriguing fights, there could be a few surprises in store for us tomorrow night.
Even though the main event leaves much to be desired, the rest of the undercard has a few pretty interesting fights that could turn out to be entertaining.
Anyway, enough of that. Now on to the predictions.
There’s always that one fighter who doesn’t make the main card, but is clearly good enough to be on it. Miguel Torres is the former WEC bantamweight champion, and has been a dominant fighter in his career.Torres has was not himself in his last fight wi…
There’s always that one fighter who doesn’t make the main card, but is clearly good enough to be on it. Miguel Torres is the former WEC bantamweight champion, and has been a dominant fighter in his career.
Torres has was not himself in his last fight with Antonio Banuelos, but who can blame him?
It was his UFC debut and now Torres is set to face Demetrious Johnson at UFC 130 this Saturday.
Torres is an exciting fighter and has amassed a career record of 39-3—pretty impressive for a guy who is only 30 years old. In comparison, Georges St-Pierre is 22-2 and is the same age. Two of his three losses have come against top fighters too.
No one’s going to say Joseph Benavidez and Brian Bowles are easy competition.
Torres has gone through some more obvious wear and tear. But out of those 39 victories come 32 victories by some sort of finish. Torres has 23 victories by way of submission and nine by way of knockout.
Thats not to mention also that he successfully defended his bantamweight belt three times after beating Chase Beebe for the belt at WEC 32.
Torres is an exciting fighter, and to prove that point he has won “Fight of the Night” honors twice in his career—both in a title fight.
After the calls of how he wasn’t himself and how he wasn’t aggresive enough against Banuelos, Torres has something to prove to the UFC brass. Torres wants that bantamweight belt back and most likely will lay everything on the line come Saturday night.
Its a tough road ahead for Torres, but hes an exciting enough fighter. Torres was deserving of the final slot on the main card instead of Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne.
When Torres comes out and wins in exciting fashion, those who doubt him will see that the old Miguel Torres is still very much alive.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Miguel Torres on Thursday about his UFC 130 fight against Demetrious Johnson, how he expects to fight Johnson, his evolution as a fighter and his plan to form MMA’s version of “Super Friends.” Torres also discussed his mental state heading into to Saturday night’s fight.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Miguel Torres on Thursday about his UFC 130 fight against Demetrious Johnson, how he expects to fight Johnson, his evolution as a fighter and his plan to form MMA’s version of “Super Friends.” Torres also discussed his mental state heading into to Saturday night’s fight.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to trainer Firas Zahabi on Thursday about the Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson fight at UFC 130 and Torres evolution as a fighter since joining Tristar. Zahabi also talked about the possibility of seeing Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz in the near future.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to trainer Firas Zahabi on Thursday about the Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson fight at UFC 130 and Torres evolution as a fighter since joining Tristar. Zahabi also talked about the possibility of seeing Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz in the near future.
The first episode of a 14-part, online miniseries brought to us by the Canadian Mixed Martial Arts toy company Round 5 titled, The Bruce Lee Story: As Told by You, aired today on the collectbrucelee.com website.The series focuses on today&rsq…
The first episode of a 14-part, online miniseries brought to us by the Canadian Mixed Martial Arts toy company Round 5 titled, The Bruce Lee Story: As Told by You, aired today on the collectbrucelee.com website.
The series focuses on today’s MMA fighters’ thoughts on Bruce Lee and what he’s done for and means to the sport of mixed martial arts in a live, interview-style setting.
Today’s episode featured former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres.
“Bruce Lee is a legend,” said Mir.
He went on to say, “For a guy who passed away at 32 years of age to have such an impact still, 40 years later—every martial artist in some way has some kind of influence in their life [because of him]. I don’t know what more you could say about a human being.”
Torres admits to idolizing Lee to the point that he emulated his every move.
“I wanted to emulate him, in everything I did. And my pursuit of martial arts is because of Bruce Lee,” said Torres.
He also said, “Now that I’m actually a mixed martial artist and I fight for a living, I look at him as the first true mixed martial artist.
“He was an innovator. Before he died he was actually grappling with Gene LeBell and he was learning wrestling.”
It’s about time Lee is gaining the proper notoriety for his pioneering philosophy and technique that has become the foundation of MMA.
Of course, Lee has always been credited for being the godfather of mixed martial arts amongst martial artists, knowledgeable fans and certain members of the media, but it’s only now that he’s being brought to the forefront of the MMA community.
This is truly a great thing for Damon Lau and the folks at Round 5 to present to the MMA world.
If Lee were alive today, I think he would be very proud at what he’s helped to create.
Some have wondered how he would compare to today’s fighters.
Frank Mir said, “The fact that he was so innovative back…you know, 40 years ago, who knows what we’d be seeing now.
“Basically, you have certain people out there with a mindset that are really just [so] ahead of the curve that, sometimes we ourselves don’t understand.”
The lack of understanding—what he knows that the rest of us don’t—is what has helped to make Lee a legend, even before his untimely death.
During today’s episode, the question was asked, “If Bruce Lee were alive today, what would you tell him?”
“I wouldn’t speak at all,” said Mir. “I’d just want to hear him talk.”
Torres said he would simply say, “Thank you. Thank you for starting all of this. Everything he did put me in the mindset I’m at right now.”
What would you ask Bruce Lee if he were alive today?
Make sure to watch Episode 2, which airs on May 31, 2011 on collectbrucelee.com, and check back with Bleacher Report MMA for coverage on the rest of the series.
Over his past couple fights, UFC bantamweight Miguel Torres has learned a lot about himself.Since training with Firas Zahabi, the head trainer of TriStar Gym in Montreal, Quebec, the former WEC standout has quickly transitioned into a different fighter…
Over his past couple fights, UFC bantamweight Miguel Torres has learned a lot about himself.
Since training with Firas Zahabi, the head trainer of TriStar Gym in Montreal, Quebec, the former WEC standout has quickly transitioned into a different fighter. Prior to making several visits to Zahabi, Torres was on a two-fight losng streak. The losses taught him a lesson about himself and Torres knew he needed to make a change.
“When I first met Firas, within the first ten minutes, he told me exactly what my problem was. He’s like, `You look like the kind of guy that is trying to take care of too many people and not taking care of yourself,’” Torres said to Heavy.com.
The former WEC bantamweight champion said he saw the weaknesses in his own game not too long after training with Zahabi, a choice he decided to make following his knockout loss to Brian Bowles at WEC 42 that saw him relenquish the title to his opponent. Ever since his loss to Bowles, Torres switched camps and hasn’t looked back.
“The biggest thing with Firas is that he assesses your strengths and weaknesses, and he tries to make you level in all areas,” he said.
Torres was a fan favourite in the WEC for his aggressive style, but since training at Tri Star Gym, Torres’ style was also exposing weaknesses and has now switched up his style.
“For me, my biggest weaknesses were my wrestling and my striking. My striking was very aggressive, but very sloppy. There was no style, no technique; it was all aggression. My wrestling was non-existent,” he said.
His new approach has served him well, going on a two-fight winning streak against WEC veterans, Charlie Valencia and Antonio Banuelos.
Torres will look to continue his success when he squares off against Demetrious Johnson at UFC 130. However, his success inside the Octagon has brought him his fair share of criticism as well, which Torres acknowledges but tends to ignore the critics and stick to his game plan.
“I know it’s better to win than lose, and it’s better to win a fight where you’re sticking to the game plan, than lose a really exciting fight. Unless you’re a fighter and you’ve been on both sides of the fence, you won’t understand that,” he said.
UFC 130 takes place on May 30, live from Las Vegas, Nevada.
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Miguel Torres on Thursday about his 
LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to trainer