Preview: DWCS Season 3, Episode 9

Steve Garcia vs. Desmond Torres

The bright lights of the Contender Series should not spook Garcia too much, as he has already fought under the Bellator MMA banner and faced multi-division champion Joe Warren. The Jackson-Wink MMA rep sports a 9-3 record, with losses to Warren and DWCS veterans Ricky Turcios and Aalon Cruz. He heads into this bout on the heels of back-to-back wins. The New Mexico native is a southpaw with nice pop in his fists. However, he does not have the most beautiful technique and tends to throw his punches from his waist. His overhand left is his best punch, but he can become predictable when he tries to land it in every exchange. Garcia is at his best when he pressing a high pace, pumping a jab and throwing combinations at his opponent. His kicks to the body are also effective, though he often targets the head, too. The “Mean Machine” makes the mistake of overthrowing his strikes, leaving him out of position as a perfect target for a counterstrike or takedown.

Torres took this fight on just two weeks’ notice but appears to be coming into his own. “The Tyrant” sports a 7-1 professional record with five stoppage victories. The Team Oyama representative has crafted his game while competing in high-level promotions like Bellator, the LFA and King of the Cage. The Hawaiian is a well-rounded fighter. A 22-year-old former flyweight, he might be a little undersized for the 135-pound weight class, but he is an explosive athlete. The southpaw has great variety in his striking, mixing together punches and kicks. Torres likes to rip the body with power hooks when he is inside the pocket but also is an adequate distance striker, preferring to try to end fights with a flying knee or high kick. While Torres is not known for his wrestling, he does well to get his opponents down with trips from the clinch. Once on top, he is an aggressive grappler, often surrendering position to attempt to sink a fight-ending submission. Though he will whiff on submissions on occasion, he chains the attempts together and does well at finding his goal: He has finished his last three opponents, two of them with arm-triangles and another with a triangle choke. The bane of Torres’ existence is his takedown defense, though he does well at working quickly back to his feet or sweeping his opponents to their back.

This is an intriguing pairing between two UFC-ready talents. Garcia is the more experienced fighter, but Torres looks to be the more polished talent. Garcia has raw power and might clip the Hawaiian, but the more likely scenario sees Torres landing the cleaner strikes and mixing in one or two takedowns. The fight will have its ebbs and flows, but Torres will end up getting his hand raised by unanimous decision. However, he will not yet receive a contract offer from the UFC.

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