Tag: UFC

UFC bantamweight, and former WEC champion, Miguel Torres (39-4) is set to face Michael McDonald at the upcoming April’s UFC 145 event in Atlanta, Georgia.

Torres grew his fan base as an exciting fighter who always looked to finish his opponents no matter how much damage he sustained.

Since losing his WEC title, Torres has taken a different approach to fighting moving part of his camp to the Tristar gym under coach Firas Zahabi. This has helped develop Torres into a more conservative fighter who has gone 2-1 fighting to decision results in all three matches.

Speaking to Heavy.com, Torres explained his reasons for changing his style of fighting.

“Even after the losses, I had to Bowles and Benavidez, I wasn’t training properly or game planning,” Torres said. “I was going out there with the mindset that whatever happens happens. It’s a different world we live in now, and every dominant team has a school of fighters who only train for the fight. They are well-rounded in every aspect, so you can’t go out there looking to get into a fight and hoping you are going to get a guy. Your opponent knows what you are going to do if you are doing the same thing every time. You have to rise above your last performance every time out. You have to modify your style where it is going to create the most problems for your opponent.”

“I totally understand where the fans are coming from,” Torres said. “I watch my old fights, when I had the title, and I would go out there with my hands down, charging forward. It’s exciting for the fans and is going to make it a great fight, but from my standpoint it wasn’t smart because I was taking unnecessary damage. Win or lose, I was going to take damage. It showed heart, dedication and that I was going to war because I’m a fighter, but for the cerebral aspect of my health it wasn’t smart. I have a family, a future to look forward to, and I couldn’t continue to fight that way if I hoped to keep my mental faculties together for the rest of my life…”

“I’ll be training in Florida for three to four weeks, then I’ll go up to Montreal to train with Firas,” said Torres, who Friday booked his next fight for UFC 145 against Michael McDonald. “I start every camp in my own gym, and now that I’m training with Firas and not getting hurt like I used to, I stay training. Before, I would get a cut on my face or a serious injury to one of my hands or feet and I would be forced to take a month off. Being out for a month puts your body out of shape and you spend the first part of camp just trying to get back to where you were. Now when I train for a fight, it’s steady. I win my fight and I’m back in the gym immediately working on the things I need to improve on.”