Chicago

(That's what you get for rushing the mound, Manny. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)

Revered by Chicago-area MMA fans as a hometown hero, WEC bantamweight champ/East Chicago native Miguel Torres will take a big step up in public visibility when he throws out the ceremonial first pitch for the White Sox vs. Detroit Tigers game at U.S. Cellular Field on Wednesday, May 6th. As NWI.com reports:

Hopefully Miguel will be able to resist the urge to aim for the head. The 135-pound king will next defend his title against Brian Bowles this summer. Though we can't imagine a better ambassador for the sport than Torres, his new poster-boy status is already weighing on him. As he explained in a recent interview for WEC.tv:

(Fred Sanford, bitch. Photo courtesy of the WEC 40 weigh-ins gallery on Combat Lifestyle.)

From tonight's "Torres vs. Mizugaki" show at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago, Illinois:

Rafael Dias def. Mike Budnick via unanimous decision
Akitoshi Tamura def. Manny Tapia via unanimous decision
Rani Yahya def. Eddie Wineland via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:07 of round 1
Wagnney Fabiano def. Fredson Paixao via unanimous decision
Dominick Cruz def. Ivan Lopez via unanimous decision [fight halted in third round after Lopez took an illegal knee and couldn't continue; match went to the scorecards, with the incomplete third round included]
Anthony Njokuani def. Bart Palaszewski via TKO, 0:27 of round 2

(Torres poses with victim Yoshiro Maeda after their epic battle last June. Photo courtesy of koolpaw.)

#1 bantamweight /#5 pound-for-pound fighter Miguel Torres will reportedly make his next title defense at WEC 40, which will be held April 5th in Chicago; the venue will be announced soon. Unsurprisingly, his opponent will be Brian Bowles (7-0, all wins by stoppage), who clinched his #1 contender status last month by choking out Will Ribeiro at WEC 37 — the same event where Torres retained his bantamweight strap by beating the tar out of Manny Tapia. Ferocious local support should be behind Torres, who lives and trains in East Chicago, Indiana, and made his name by competing in small shows in the area. WEC 40 will also feature another bantamweight match between undefeated Joseph Benavidez and Jeff Curran, who is dropping a weight class after taking consecutive losses at featherweight to Urijah Faber and Mike Brown. The winner of the Torres/Bowles fight will likely take on the winner of the Benavidez/Curran fight in a title scrap later this year.

Remember, WEC 38 goes down this Sunday, headlined by Varner/Cerrone and Faber/Pulver II, and WEC 39 is scheduled for March 1st, featuring Mike Brown vs. Leonard Garcia and Carlos Condit vs. Brock Larson.

In other important non-UFC matchup news...

There's a lot more to UFC 90 than the fights on Saturday. Here's all you need to know to make your weekend in Chicago truly epic.

FRIDAY

UFC AUTOGRAPH SESSION
Where: Swissotel, 323 E. Wacker Drive
Lowdown: Clay Guida, Dan Henderson, Rashad Evans and Miguel Torres will be hanging with fans from 10 a.m. to noon. Props to Maggie H. at Yahoo! MMA Experts, whose tourist-friendly guide to Chicago is also worth checking out. Portillo's FTMFW.

UFC 90 WEIGH-INS
Where: Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St.
Lowdown: Free and open to the public. Doors are at 3 p.m. CT, and the fighters start hitting the scales at 4. Good luck, Thiago!

JOE ROGAN LIVE
Where: Zanies, 230 Hawthorn Village Commons; Vernon Hills
Lowdown: The night before every UFC event, Joe Rogan traditionally books a standup appearance at a local comedy club. Though Zanies is a little off the beaten path — Vernon Hills is about 35 minutes away the Allstate Arena — it'll be a great place to mingle with other fun-loving UFC fans on Friday. Joe's set starts at 8 p.m.; tix are $25 and there's a two-item (food/drink) miminum. Coincidentally, Carlos Mensteala will be doing appearances at the Rosemont Theatre this weekend. Could we be seeing a repeat of this scene at some point?

COMBATLIFESTYLE.COM ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY
Where: Spy Bar, 646 N. Franklin St.
Lowdown: If you've ever wanted to be in the background of one of Tracy Lee's party pics, here's your chance. The photo blog known for pictures of fighters eating and hot females posing turns a year old, and the word is that some well-known fighters will be helping them celebrate. Festivities kick off at 11:30, so you'll have more than enough time to make it over after Rogan tells his last joke.

After the jump: So many after parties, so little time...

From Spike.com: Chris Leben says his loopy, wide-open style knocks people out. He also refuses to lose, check the news and read the interviews. Damn...dude is like the white Shonie Carter. Skip to the -5:14 mark for the ridiculous ending to his fight against Terry Martin; there's your warning to not get cocky, Count. Later in this video, we look at the matchup between the Dean of the Mean and the Truth, also at UFC 89.

From CBS.com, for some reason: A preview of the UFC 90 welterweight feature between Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez. "You are going to see the strongest Sanchez you have ever seen before," Sanchez says. "The result is gonna be a dominating submission victory."

(Props: "Card" on the UG)