10 Legendary MMA Fighters You've Probably Never Heard Of

Tag: Miguel Torres

Video: MMA Live – Kenny Florian and Miguel Torres Break Down the UFC-WEC Merger and Roy Nelson talks Potential Brock Lesnar Bout


(Video courtesy ESPN/MMALive)

Kenny Florian and Miguel Torres co-hosted last night’s episode of MMA Live and it was surprising to hear both fighters praise Zuffa for making the decision to merge the WEC and UFC brands.

The reality is that the promotion will likely not hold as many events per year as both organizations did in the past, so for both fighters to say that the move is a positive one is curious to say the least.

It’s understandable that Torres, who revealed during the show that he will face Manuel Banuelos at UFC 126, would be excited about the merger as will likely see more lucrative paydays and will get more mainstream exposure fighting on the bigger stage, but Florian doesn’t stand to gain much from the move. 

Not only will there be fewer slots on each card for him to potentially fight on with 20-plus, he will have to face an influx of tough fighters like Jose Aldo and Torres who will inevitably move up to lightweight in the future.

Also on the segment, Roy Nelson and his magnificent mullet discussed being called out by Brock Lesnar and his feelings on the fight, which he has coveted for some time.

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MMA Booking Alert: Pat Barry, Miguel Torres, Ken Shamrock + More

TapouT crew Court McGee Pat Barry Anthony Johnson Chris Anderson ring girl
(Damn, Anthony, if you can’t get psyched around this crowd, we don’t know what to tell you.)

One day, mankind will realize that fighting is a counter-productive act, leading to only misery and division. Until then…

— Returning from his painful loss to Mirko Cro Cop in June, UFC heavyweight Pat Barry will step back into the Octagon against Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran at UFC Fight for the Troops 2. Beltran is also looking to get back to the W column, having dropped a decision to Matt Mitrione at UFC 119.

— Former WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres continues his path back to contendership against Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126 in February. Torres recently snapped a two-fight losing skid by choking at Charlie Valencia at WEC 51. Banuelos outpointed Chad George at the same event, and has won four of his last five.

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WEC 51 Aftermath Quick Hits: Bonuses, Rodeos, Wife-Swapping + More

Donald Cerrone pig roast WEC MMA funny photos
(On the bright side, that pig was offered an immediate rematch in Arizona. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

Between Jose Aldo’s latest title defense/demolition, the off-the-chain Cerrone vs. Varner rematch, George Roop’s KO of the Year candidate, and the other violent stoppages from Torres and Zhang, last night’s WEC event delivered the goods. (LOL @ any poor bastard who decided to watch Bellator instead!) Here’s some things you might want to know with Aldo vs. Gamburyan in the books…

— $10,000 bonuses were handed out to the following fighters: George Roop (Knockout of the Night) for being the first guy to finish the Korean Zombie, which he did with a perfectly placed LHK; Miguel Torres (Submission of the Night) for beating Charlie Valencia to the mat and finishing him with a RNC; and Donald Cerrone/Jamie Varner for their three-round co-headlining battle that was totally OMFG.

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WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan — Live Results and Commentary

Jose Aldo Manny Gamburyan WEC 51 weigh-ins MMA photos
(Look, not everybody can pull off the "casual cool" look as well as Dana White. You can’t just put Reed Harris in a Nuggets jersey and expect him to not look like the world’s most uncomfortable pedophile. No offense. / Photo courtesy of the WEC 51: Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

Zuffa may have robbed you of $45 last weekend, but they’re making it up to us with a stacked-to-death WEC card on free TV, on a damn weeknight. Gotta love it. Will Jose Aldo continue his Sherman’s March through the featherweight division, or will Manny Gamburyan let everyone know who he is, bro? Will Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone settle their feud once and for all? Will Miguel Torres and Mike Brown return to old form? Can the Korean Zombie possibly top his last performance against Leonard Garcia? All these questions will be answered after the jump starting at 9 p.m., as we present our liveblog of WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan. If you love organized violence, give us a "hell yeah" in the comments section…

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Miguel Torres Attributes Past Two Losses to Stagnant Training Regimen; Says Training at Tristar Has Given Him His Game Back


(Video courtesy MMAWeekly)

When Miguel Torres’ longtime mentor and teacher, Carlson Gracie passed away in 2006, his protegee soon after ventured out on his own to open his own gym where he would train himself and a handful of up-and-coming fighters in Hammond, Indiana.

For a few years, the system seemed to be working as he continued to rack up wins and dominate all comers in the WEC.

Then, it happened on August 9, 2009.

After logging three strong minutes in the first round of his fourth title defense, Torres got floored by the right hand of challenger Brian Bowles and was knocked out by the follow-up barrage of ground-and-pound as he worked to secure an armbar.

Shaking off the loss, Torres figured spending more time training in the gym would get him back on track.

He was wrong.

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‘WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan’ Live Results, Beginning at 9 p.m. ET

Brittney Palmer WEC ring girlChan Sung Jung WEC 51 Korean Zombie weigh-ins
(Brittney Palmer and Chan Sung Jung: No matter who you are, the WEC’s got your eye-candy. Photos courtesy of the WEC 51: Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle)

Potato Nation, assemble: Since tonight’s WEC event promises to be a card-of-the-year candidate, we’ll be liveblogging all the action starting at 9 p.m. eastern. So if you don’t have Versus, or you just feel like hanging out, come back to CagePotato.com tonight and join the conversation. After the jump: Results from yesterday’s Aldo vs. Gamburyan weigh-ins, and a must-see video feature on Miguel Torres‘s new day job.

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Video: More Chael Sonnen Smack-Talking Shenanigans on Last Night’s Episode of MMA Live


(Video courtesy ESPN)

Rather than sit through Franklin McNeil pretending he knows what he’s talking about for 30 minutes during the above video of last night’s episode of MMA Live, fast forward to the 10:14 mark and watch Chael Sonnen take the boxing analyst-turned-on-air MMA Wikipedia fact reader to task for his biased and bad question.

Sonnen’s verbal mastery was on point from his opening reply, when asked if his "trash talk" is real or if he’s just saying what he has to try to get into Anderson Silva’s head prior to their rapidly approaching UFC 117 showdown.

"First off, I haven’t talked any trash about [Anderson]. I haven’t said anything I’ve apologized for and I certainly haven’t said anything that wasn’t true. And secondly, who cares about Anderson’s head? He pretends he doesn’t understand anyway. I don’t care about Anderson’s head."

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Miguel Torres Looks to Snap Losing Streak Against Charlie Valencia at WEC 51

Miguel Torres bloody face Benavidez WEC 47
(Miguel may have lost a pint of blood, but he *gained* a pint of valuable life experience. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

There was a time when Miguel Torres looked absolutely untouchable in the WEC bantamweight division. But after two consecutive stoppage losses to Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez, the former champion finds himself in an odd position — in the middle of the 135-pound pack, fighting up the ladder like everybody else. Torres will return to competition at WEC 51 (September 30th; Broomfield, Colorado) against Charlie Valencia, who is 5-3 in the WEC and has picked up three-straight decision victories against Seth Dikun, Coty Wheeler, and Akitoshi Tamura. Not a bad resume, but Torres doesn’t plan on adding his name to it. In fact, he’s already planning to, well, return to the old Miguel. As he tells MMA Fighting:

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If Ya’ Can’t Beat ‘Em…Urijah Faber to Drop to Bantamweight


(Video courtesy YouTube ProMMARadio)

In an interview with ProMMARadio this weekend, former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber confirmed that he will be dropping down to bantamweight to test the 135-pound waters.

 “From the sound of things, they want me to go down to 35. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time — go down and have some fights down there. So, I’ll probably have a couple of fights down there and maybe go back up to 45; we’re not real sure yet."

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Depressing Photo of the Day: Jens Pulver, Before and After WEC 47


(Chin up, Jens. At least you get to keep the awesome t-shirt.)

You know whose job I don’t envy? Well, pretty much anyone who has to actually do stuff for a living rather than just write about stuff. Honestly, I don’t know where you people find the energy. But more specifically, it occurs to me that the photographer who does these before and after shots of fighters that were posted to the UFC website has a deceptively tough gig.

Taking the actual picture seems easy enough, sure, but in order to get to that point he has to ask the fighter to take a second and pose for it. When he asks before the bout, the fighter is brimming with confidence fiery optimism. But afterwards? Particularly after he’s suffered what is most likely a career-ending defeat? That’s the last time I’d want to walk up to him with that camera in my hand and say, ‘Do you have a second, Jens?’

Once you’ve become numb to the desperation and vulnerability in Jens Pulver’s eyes and find yourself craving more of other people’s pain, continue on after the jump to see Miguel Torres trying to keep cool even as blood from an enormous gash trickles down his face.

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MMA FightPicker Recap: WEC 47 Ruins Everybody’s Life

Miguel Torres WEC 47 Benavidez bloody cutFightPicker WEC 47 contender pool
(Left: WEC 47′s ugliest bloodbath. Right: WEC 47′s second-ugliest bloodbath.)

To the general public, March 6th seemed like any other Saturday. But for those of us who watched WEC 47, it was Opposite Day. Miguel Torres fought without his usual aggression and paid the ultimate price. Brian Bowles got absolutely clowned by Dominick Cruz and became the first fighter to be stopped by Cruz in the WEC. Stoppages outscored decisions, 8-3. The Fight of the Night went to a split freakin’ draw.

As you can imagine, few of us did well in our MMA FightPicker pools. Even our great leader Aaron Rampey didn’t win first place in any of his, though he did manage to tack on 112 chips to his grand total, and still sits comfortably in first place. This seems like a good time to mention that I, BG, tied with Rampey in our Contender Pool, while BF failed about as hard as we all figured he would. Surf_Finland won our pool (congrats!), which helped him move to the #2 spot in FightPicker’s current Top 5:

Aaron Rampey: 1,758
surf_finland: 829
Me: 800
Peetee: 800
ToothGuy: 796

Now that that’s behind us, what do we have to look forward to this week?

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Axe-Wound of the Day: Miguel Torres

Miguel Torres cut WEC 47 Joseph Benavidez
Miguel Torres twitter WEC MMA
(Image courtesy of twitter.com/MiguelTorresMMA)

Yeah, that’s a bad one. In the co-main event of WEC 47 on Saturday, Joseph Benavidez struck a gusher on Miguel Torres‘s forehead before finishing him with a guillotine choke in the second round. Now, the former bantamweight champ will have a very prominent scar to remind him of the ugly loss. So what happened? Is Torres slipping, or was he undefeated for so long just because he never faced opponents as dangerous as Benavidez and Brian Bowles? Your thoughts, please.

A photo of the stitched up aftermath is after the jump…

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WEC 47: Recap, Results, and Bonuses


(Looks like someone deserves a lollipop for being such a brave boy. Photo courtesy of Brian Bowles‘s Twitter.)

Fans were treated to a night of upsets at WEC 47, as favorites Brian Bowles and Miguel Torres both went down to unceremonious defeats in Columbus, Ohio. As you see in the above photo, Bowles wasn’t kidding about that injured hand. He claims to have broken it on the very first punch he landed, which then threw his whole game off and eventually prompted him to relinquish his title when he couldn’t continue past round two. That makes Dominick Cruz your new 135-pound champ, and the way the title’s been bouncing around lately he better get all the enjoyment he can out of it while it lasts.

In another minor shock, 5’4” Joseph Benavidez swarmed all over former champ Miguel Torres before securing a guillotine choke in the second round that forced Torres to tap out. With the victory, Benavidez claimed the $10,000 bonus check for Submission of the Night. The other bonus awards went to Anthony Pettis for his Knockout of the Night-winning finish of Danny Castillo, and to George Roop and Leonard Garcia, who earned Fight of the Night in a three-round draw during the prelims.

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WEC 47 Weigh-Ins Go Smoothly, Violence Now Imminent


(Brian Bowles: kicking ass, letting his personal assistant take the names.)

All fighters made weight for the WEC 47 in lovely Columbus, Ohio this afternoon. While the spray tan crowd at the Arnold Classic won’t have UFC action to look forward to this weekend, as they have in previous years, at least there’s guys like Brian Bowles and Miguel Torres there to hurt people for their entertainment. Check out the official weigh-in results below.

By the way, you made your FightPicker picks yet? You know, this isn’t like buying a Mother’s Day gift. You can’t keep waiting until the last minute and trusting that the kindness of the gesture will pull you though.

Brian Bowles (134.5) vs. Dominick Cruz (134)
Miguel Torres (134.5) vs. Joseph Benavidez (135)
Jens Pulver (145.5) vs. Javier Vazquez (145)
Deividas Taurosevicius (145) vs. L.C. Davis (144.5)
Bart Palaszewski (155) vs. Karen Darabedyan (156)

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MMA FightPicker Head-to-Head: WEC 47 Edition

Attention MMA FightPicker players: WEC 47 goes down tomorrow, which means it’s time to get off your lazy asses and make some predictions. As we do every time there’s a notable MMA event over the weekend, BF and I decided to join the same FightPicker pool in order to compete in an absolutely meaningless pissing-contest over bragging rights. But as soon as we entered Contender Pool 10 #635, we knew that this week wouldn’t be like all the others. Right there at the bottom of the player’s list was Aaron Rampey, FightPicker’s capo di tutti capi. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, since Aaron is entering pretty much every pool at this point, but the stakes just got a little higher. Will the Bens be able to outgun FightPicker’s point-leader and creep up the rankings themselves? Will it matter, since Rampey has probably learned how to game the system by hedging bets over multiple pools? Be sure to check back in on Monday to see how it all plays out, and read on to see our picks for this week…

Brian Bowles vs. Dominick Cruz @ WEC 47: Who will win?
BG: Bowles. Cruz is a very worthy challenger, but Bowles has been so dominant in his WEC career that there’s really no reason to bet against him.
BF: Agreed. There’s just no way I can go against Bowles, who reminds me of a grown-up Dennis the Menace, only heavy on the menace.

Will Bowles vs. Cruz make it to round 3?
BG: That’s a tough one. Bowles usually doesn’t need more than two rounds, and Cruz has gone to the cards in his last four. But I have to assume that Bowles will impose his will and blow Cruz out like everybody else he’s faced.
BF: Honestly, I’ll be surprised if it makes it to round 2. I think we’re looking at about 3-4 minutes of action, much like your wedding night, BG, only with less sobbing.

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Miguel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez Likely for WEC 47

Miguel Torres WECJoseph Benavidez WEC
(Torres celebrates a victory; Benavidez mourns a fallen hero.)

Seven months after finding himself on the business end of the 11th-greatest knockout of 2009, former WEC bantamweight ruler Miguel Torres will return to the cage at WEC 47 (March 6, Columbus), according to a new report by MMA Mania. Torres is likely to face off against Team Alpha Male product Joseph Benavidez (11-1), who recently defeated Rani Yahya by first-round TKO at WEC 45. Benavidez’s sole loss came in August against Dominick Cruz, who is now slated to take on Bowles for the 135-pound strap at WEC 47.

Torres has been laying low since his loss to Bowles, but according to his Twitter page, he’s been splitting his time between training, watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and working it. In other words, when it’s time to throw down with Benavidez, he’ll be ready.

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Brian Bowles to Defend WEC Bantamweight Title Against Dominick Cruz in March

Brian Bowles Miguel Torres WEC
(Bowles didn’t just shock the world — he threw a toaster into the tub while the world was trying to relax in it with a glass of red wine and the latest Nora Roberts novel.)

After scoring one of the biggest upsets of the year in August — knocking out the seemingly-indestructible Miguel Torres in the first round of their bantamweight title fight at WEC 42Brian Bowles is ready to defend his crown. The WEC announced yesterday that Bowles (8-0) will next compete at WEC 47, which is slated for March 6th at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. His opponent will be 15-1 contender Dominick Cruz, who has won his last four WEC fights by decision, and whose only career loss came in a featherweight bout against Urijah Faber back in March 2007. Cruz most recently won a unanimous decision over much-hyped up-and-comer Joseph Benavidez at WEC 42, earning the event’s Fight of the Night award.

Miguel Torres is also slated to compete on the card against a yet-unnamed opponent. And even though he basically retired in June, Jens Pulver will be fighting at the Columbus event as well. WEC 47 — which will take place during the weekend of the annual Arnold Sports Festival — will mark the organization’s first show in Ohio.

Semi-related: No matter how his fight against Ed Ratcliff turns out this Saturday at WEC 45, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone plans to drop to featherweight for his next fight.

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Videos: Miguel Torres “Hurt” Highlight, UFC 103 Extended Preview + More


(Props: Machinemen via CRE)

Some must-see vids to get you through the rest of the afternoon: First up, a fantastic Miguel Torres highlight reel that reminds us why he’s one of the most entertaining fighters in the world. After the jump, the UFC 103 extended trailer re-introduces Vitor Belfort to all the TUF noobs out there, sets up Cro Cop vs. Dos Santos as a meeting between an MMA legend and a dangerous up-and-comer, and plugs the #1 welterweight contender match between Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann. "If Swick’s looking at the GSP fight before me, he’s gonna make a big mistake, ’cause I’m gonna fuck him right up," says Kampmann. Also, the Octagon Girls are not quite ready for prime time.

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Bowles Knocks Out Torres at WEC 42; Frank Mir on Suicide Watch


(Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Nothing lasts forever — even cold November rain, and the seemingly untouchable bantamweight championship run of Miguel Torres. No, Torres did not ruin Brian Bowles’s boyish face at last night’s WEC 42, as many (everybody?) assumed he would. Instead, Bowles nearly knocked the former champ’s mullet off during a violent belt-taking that was reminiscent of Brown vs. Faber 1.

Torres was in trouble from the beginning of the match, as Bowles sent him to the canvas with a heavy right hand. After Bowles dropped some elbows from the top, Torres was able to kick Bowles off of him. Moments later, Torres launched forward with a barrage of punches that had Bowles on his heels, but Bowles fired off a sharp right hook that dropped Torres again, and started throwing down bombs until Torres was in dreamland. Brian Bowles — who picked up a $10,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for his shocking of the world — is the new WEC bantamweight champ. “No excuses,” Torres said after the fight. “Brian is going to be a good champion, but he’ll see that the responsibilities that go along with being the champion are not easy.”

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Miguel Torres Now Sort Of A Part Of Baseball History, Kind Of

Miguel Torres
(Many years from now baseball historians will trace the explosion of the wildly popular MLB mullet fad to this one magical moment.)

As you may have heard by now, Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle made history today by throwing a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays.  What you probably didn’t know was that the man who set the tone for that outing was WEC champ Miguel Torres, who threw out the first pitch.  And sure, you could argue that the person who throws out the first pitch at a baseball game has absolutely nothing to do with the events of the game itself.  All I know is that when Mario Lopez threw out the first pitch at the Dodgers-Mets game a couple months ago, no such perfect game occurred.  Coincidence? 

Yeah, probably.  But we are not going to let you take this moment away from Miguel, you heartless sons of bitches. 

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Preview Video: Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles at WEC 42 (8/9)


(Props: MMA Mania)

The WEC’s next title bout will go down August 9th in Las Vegas, with undisputed bantamweight ruler Miguel Torres (37-1 confirmed record, 5-0 WEC) making his fourth belt defense against exciting contender Brian Bowles (7-0, 4-0 WEC). Despite the large difference in experience, the above promo video does its best to convince you that Bowles is a serious threat. "If I have to pick anybody out there, if I was Miguel Torres’s manager, who I would want to avoid, it would have been Brian Bowles," says WEC analyst Frank Mir, proving why he’s paid to fight and do color commentary, not manage careers. "To beat me you have to kill me," Torres says. "To beat me, you gotta take my heart out of my chest, and stab me with a knife." Luckily, Bowles has been training with MMA legend Mola Ram.

WEC 42 will also feature a possible #1 bantamweight contender match between Joseph Benavidez and Dominick Cruz, and the return of Leonard Garcia against Jameel Massouh.

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Urijah Faber Throws Like a Featherweight

Urijah Faber throws first pitch
(Sandals at the ballpark? Oh, you California kids.)

Behold, Urijah Faber throws out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game last Friday.  We’re just busting his balls with the headline.  His throwing motion is acceptable for a fighter, though the intense look of concentration on his face reminds me of a six year-old playing Nintendo, suggesting that Faber really did not want to screw this whole first pitch thing up and look stupid in front of literally dozens of people at the Stockton Ports game. 

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Videos: Fedor vs. Aoki, Genghis Con’s “Coming Attractions” + More


(Props: Fightlinker)

At long last, we present the video of Wednesday’s grappling exhibition between Fedor Emelianenko and Shinya Aoki at DEEP/M-1 Challenge 3rd Edition. As you’ll see, the whole thing was really just a good-natured joke, with both fighters putting on a display that was more slapstick than combat. (But man do Emelianenko’s throws look smooth when they’re done with a 160-pound training dummy.) Fun stuff. Now let’s see the UFC do this with Lesnar and Penn

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Miguel Torres to Throw Out First Pitch for White Sox on 5/6

Miguel Torres WEC MMA
(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:

Though he’ll be throwing out the first pitch likely in front of tens of thousands of fans, Torres said there won’t be any nerves — despite the best attempts from friends to give him some jitters.
 
"All my buddies are already makin’ fun of me," Torres said. "They’re like, ‘Dude, you’re not gonna make it (to home plate)!’ or ‘You’re gonna look like a punk!’ They’re all trying to mess with me, trying to scare me. But I think I’ll be good…
 
It’s not just an honor — it’s huge as far as fighters being recognized to be invited to do something like this. Especially (for me) fighting at 135 pounds — for the WEC, it’s a huge thing."

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:

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Betting Post-Mortem: WEC 40

Ben Henderson WEC
(Do you have to be so smug about my misfortune, Henderson? Photo courtesy WEC.tv)

Potato Nation, let me level with you here.  The old Gambling Addiction Enabler had himself one hell of a bad night on Sunday.  As in, he has spent all day talking himself out of cutting his wrists with shards of the beer bottle he smashed against the wall just after Jeff Curran lost.  The fact that this horrible gambling outing came after his great success at UFC Fight Night 18, that just makes it hurt so much more.  The highs are high indeed, and the lows so miserably low.  The Snoop Dogg posters I bought with my UFC 96 winnings, they mock me even as I write these words.  

On to the sad particulars, and let’s see if we can’t learn from this disaster.

The Bet: $20 on Shane Roller
The Result: Lost, due to possibly bullshit stoppage
Thoughts: I refuse to beat myself up for this bet.  Roller had Henderson hurt early and nearly finished him with a guillotine.  Alas, it wasn’t to be.  I have to admit, this fight does make me rethink my betting philosophy for WEC events.  When two relatively inexperienced guys both drop each other within the first two minutes of the fight, picking the winner is basically a crapshoot.  Lesson learned?

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Torres and Mizugaki Given $10,000 Bonuses for Fight of the Year

(Torres discusses his war with Mizugaki in the post-event press-conference. Props: MMA Mania)

Yes, it’s only early April, but last night’s WEC main event between Miguel Torres and Takeya Mizugaki established itself as a 2009 Fight of the Year front-runner that might not be touched in the next nine months. (We’ll post the video as soon as it turns up, but the Internet is failing us right now.) Honestly, Torres/Mizugaki made Torres/Maeda look like Lashley/Guida. And the fight was a lot closer than the scorecards (or Frank Mir‘s biased, nuthugging commentary) would suggest.

Mizugaki shocked the crowd by fearlessly outstriking Torres in the opening round and keeping up an inhuman pace through 25 minutes; wisely, he avoided following Torres to the ground when the champion baited him. Torres may have had the edge in the later rounds, but he was never able to put the tough-as-nails challenger in danger of being finished. Still, he fought relentlessly, and once again proved himself the rightful owner of the 135-pound crown. His next thrilling victory will likely be in August against currently-sidelined #1-contender Brian Bowles.

For their efforts, both Torres and Mizugaki picked up $10,000 Fight of the Night bonuses. (That’s the best you can do, WEC? Now we know why Miguel wants to chase larger paydays in ill-advised weight classes.) Also taking home the extra 10 G’s were Anthony Njokuani for his Knockout of the Night over Bart Palaszewski, and Rani Yahya for his Submission of the Night (via first-round rear-naked choke) over Eddie Wineland.

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WEC 40 Quick Results

Miguel Torres WEC 40 Fred Sanford MMA
(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

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Videos: Miguel Torres Hustles Harder, Fedor vs. Python

(Props: MMA Mania)

In part one of a new video feature from the WEC, bantamweight king Miguel Torres gives us a look at his fight preparation, his family (including his father, the true originator of the Torres Mexi-Mullet), and the sacrifices he makes to guide the next generation of martial artists. Torres will make his next belt defense at WEC 40 (April 5th, Chicago), where he’ll be welcoming Shooto/GCM standout Takeya Mizugaki to the U.S.

Below: On a recent episode of Sports Science, Fedor Emelianenko out-choked a python, then choked-out the show’s host. ("You’ll be okay, don’t worry," says Fedor, trying in vain to console the human test dummy.) It’s an interesting look at the mechanincs behind how fighters get choked out, and how little effort it really takes to make that happen. For the beginning of Fedor’s segment click here. Sorry for the video quality; please turn up your sound.


(Props: TheGarv)

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Quick Hits: Baby Names, Weight Class Jumps, Opinionated Rants, + More


(Welcome to the world, Jameson twins.  You’re screwed.)

Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson have put the unfathomable power of their two super-brains to work and come up with names for their newborn twins: Jesse and Journey Jett. 

You know, considering who their parents are, I’d say these kids got off pretty easy.  Although it is a bit of a screw-job to give one kid a normal name and then name the other after a band that won’t even be ironically cool anymore by the time they’re in junior high.  But hey, as long as they’re both carrying around the illustrious Jameson surname neither one of them is going to be lacking in emotional baggage.

In other news…

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Video: Miguel Torres Rolls Out of Bed to Co-Host “MMA Live”

A slightly hungover-looking Miguel Torres showed up to co-host this week’s edition of ESPN’s "MMA Live," and despite looking like he wants to throw up a couple times he does a pretty good job.  I mean, he’s no Kenny Florian, but MMA’s best internet TV show is such that they can plug almost anyone into the fighter seat and Jon Anik and Franklin McNeil can carry them across the finish line.  Anyone, except Stephan Bonnar, who shows up midway through this episode to stare blankly and stumble through sentences like a robot that is running out of power.

One of the more interesting topics in this episode is whether the delay in the Brock Lesnar/Frank Mir heavyweight showdown helps or hurts Lesnar.  Given his relative inexperience with MMA (particularly the old submissions game, if you know what I mean), you might think that more time in the gym would only benefit the big man.  But Torres offers the fighter’s perspective, suggesting that what will really benefit him is getting in the cage as soon as possible and becoming a better fighter through experience.

What are your thoughts, Potato Nation?  Does this rescheduling give Lesnar more time to develop, or does it simply screw with his training schedule?

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