After an incredible finish that landed him on highlight reels across many platforms in his UFC debut, Jose ‘Shorty’ Torres is ready for his second fight on the big stage.
In his debut, Torres defeated Jarred Brooks by knockout via slam back at UFC Fight Night 131 and his long-awaited arrival into the UFC’s flyweight division started off in style.
Talking about his win over Brooks on the SFLC Podcast, Torres did acknowledge that he was getting the best from Brooks on the feet, but the 50-50 slam was all his doing.
“that was a 50-50 slam, i was hoping for a highlight reel finish that was 100 percent of my own doing. yes, he was beating me up but that’s all my fights, i lose all the first rounds. i give him 50 percent of the credit and I give myself 50 percent of the credit.”
Although Torres got the victory, he acknowledges that there will be plenty of doubt and criticism headed into his next fight so he says he’s looking to silence the critics against Alex Perez.
“it is going to be a mexican boxing style fight, where whoever moves back is going to be the one who loses. that’s what makes it that much better. because of how my last win happened, it makes me more eager to get back in there.”
The arrival of Torres has turned some heads inside the flyweight division as fresh new competition for everyone top to bottom but he says stepping into the Octagon on short-notice once again, should help in future negotiations with the UFC. Torres also knows that another spectacular finish will help his rise inside the division as well.
“usually after two fights you can re-negotiate your contract and so i’m going for a tko. i try my best to put on a phenomenal performance against alex perez especially on the ufc 227 card because it’s such a big card.
taking this fight shows the ufc that i’m helping them. i’ve taken two-short notice fights, i’m a company man and i’m trying to make the flyweight division an exciting division.”
Making his second walk in the UFC on the same card as the flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, Torres says he knows the opportunity to shine could lead to a fight with ‘Mighty Mouse’ down the line in his career, especially since the champion has already noticed him.
“i don’t pay much attention to other interviews but i heard dj talk mention my name as a future title contender. i’m only one fight into my ufc career and the champion is mentioning my name, that’s freaking awesome. it doesn’t put more pressure on me, but it makes me that much more confident.”
When it comes to strategy, Torres says he’s been focusing on Perez’s submission skills and what he’ll do to counter it in their fight.
“the big thing for me will be if the fight does go to the ground, how will i be when it gets back to the feet and where will my energy be so i can counter his attacks?”
The highlight reel finish will always be there but Shorty Torres isn’t looking past his debut and he believes that UFC 227 will be the opportunity for him to make a statement to the flyweight division.
With the champion already mentioning his name, Torres not only knows he can make his name known in the division, but he can work his way up to be a title contender early in his UFC career.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/3/2018