Ten years ago, there was no place for a mixed martial artist like Miguel Torres (Pictures).
Fighting at 135 pounds, the lanky bantamweight, ranked ninth in the world by Sherdog.com, finally has an opportunity to showcase his skills thanks to World Extreme Cagefighting's focus on lighter divisions. Wednesday in Albuquerque, N.M., Torres fights WEC 135-pound champion Chase Beebe (Pictures) live on the Versus network.
Torres, 27, spoke to Sherdog.com about the title shot and its implications for the former Carlson Gracie Sr. student's increasingly popular division.
Martins Denis: Miguel, you appeared in Brazil as a Carlson Gracie Team member, but after Carlson's death in 2006, we didn't hear much about the team. How is that now?
Miguel Torres (Pictures): I am a part of the Carlson Gracie Sr. team. When I met him, he only had about two or three fighters from his main gym in Chicago and various fighters from different Carlson Gracie affiliations. When Carlson passed two years ago, it was so sudden. I was just with him before he left to Stephan Bonnar (Pictures)'s fight with James Irvin (Pictures). He was a little under the weather, but he was in the gym helping me and Stephan get ready for our fights. When he got back, he took a turn for the worst. He was such a strong man that his illness did not get the better of him until it was too late to do anything about it. In the hospital I was with him the day before he passed, and he was still fighting with everyone. He told me to bring him a radio so he can listen to his music, even though the doctor did not permit it.
When he was around the gym, there were always tons of guys from all over the world to train with. He was still in the process of building a team. After he passed the gym did not fall apart -- it was just not the same anymore. I tried going in for a couple of weeks, but there was a lack of training partners, and my gym was growing at the same time. So I just stopped going to the gym in Chicago. I know that Carlson Jr. is running a great BJJ program now and even has brought brown and black belts from Brazil to help run the gym, but for me it was not MMA-oriented enough.
Denis: Once I talked to Stephen Bonnar about the team and Carlson Jr.'s also. He wasn't clear enough about the situation. Carlson Jr. isn't close to MMA training, so where are the MMA students of the Carlson Gracie Team?
Torres: I don't know about his affiliate schools, but I do know that Stephan is in Las Vegas now; he is training and living there. I have not heard from Tom Murphy (Pictures) in a while, but I still keep track of my friends in Brazil. I know that Ivan Jorge (Pictures) "Batman" is still training and competing. I just saw him in Florida about two months ago. He seems to be doing well. One of Carlson's black belts, Jeff Neil, has his own program in the suburbs of Chicago and has a full MMA facility.
Denis: What can you tell us about Torres Martial Arts?
Torres: Torres Martial Arts was a gym that I started about six years ago. I never wanted to teach or train other people until I retired from fighting. My thought process was that I would not be a good teacher until I learned everything there was to learn. What I ended up finding out was that when you can teach and break down a concept to people, it will also make you learn and understand more. When I was 21, I tore my ACL training and could not train without risking permanent damage to my knee, so I began teaching three guys from work. After about three months, I had about 50 students and was making good money on the side. I quit my job and dedicated myself to teaching and training. Now my gym is doing very well, and I have a strong MMA team that helps me prepare for my fights.
Denis: What changed in your training regime since Carlson's death?
Torres: The only thing that has changed in my training since Carlson's death is that I don't have the old man to yell at me when I do something good or bad. His advice and instruction was priceless, let alone the fact that I had a legend in the sport who believed in me. Other than that, my training remains the same. I use only what works. I believe in being prepared to push the entire fight and attacking from every position and angle. Nonstop pressure will eventually break anyone.
Denis: Every time Carlson talked about you, he mentioned your troubles gaining weight. You're in the 135-pound category now. How's your weight nowadays?
Torres: My weight was a major topic for Carlson because he could not believe that a 135-pound fighter had so much heart and fearlessness. He wanted to do so much for me but could not because the weight class was not very popular at the time and the fights that were offered were for a couple hundred dollars. I was making very good money in my hometown fighting, and it was not feasible to take fights for less money. Now I have the opportunity to fight for the WEC and for good money. My weight is good. I used to be 135 and fight at 135. Now I walk around at 145 and cut from there. I am very comfortable with this weight class and plan on being here for a while.
Denis: Before entering the WEC, in which weight classes had you already fought and which one was the hardest to deal with?
Torres: When I first started fighting, I fought in the lightweight class, which was 130 to 160. I would say that was the hardest because there were guys that cut from 170 or 175 to be in that weight bracket. I am very comfortable when I fight someone who weighs the same as me [after] I think back of the old days. The bigger guys were very tough in the first couple of rounds, but my conditioning always pulled me through.
Denis: Tell us the belts you captured in MMA.
Torres: I have fought for lots of different titles in the Midwest. I have won the Ironheart Crown, Total Fight Challenge, Mixed Martial Arts Invitational, Superbrawl, Shooto Americas, Total Combat and Extreme Shoot Fighting titles. These events were the building blocks of my career and helped develop my fight game and how to handle pressure. The WEC title fight is the biggest title that I have fought for so far, and I am ready for it. I have been preparing myself for this moment my whole career.
Denis: Your résumé is superb, 20-1, with the single loss avenged. Why do you think you delayed popping up in a MMA promotion like WEC?
Torres: The main reason for not getting into a major promotion was that the money to fight was not good. I know how much I put into training and am a serious athlete. I have been waiting for a good payday for a long time, and now it has presented itself. When I first started fighting, it was pure. There was no money, and I did it for honor and to test myself. My dad found out and smacked me in the head and told me not to be an idealist. He told me my time and sacrifice was worth money, so I started to look at things from a business standpoint from that moment.
Denis: Your title bout is against the champion, Chase Beebe (Pictures). What are your thoughts about him?
Torres: Chase is a very tough guy. I have seen him fight live twice and before that never heard of him. From watching him, I can tell that he is a strong wrestler and likes to ground-and-pound. He will box until he is hit and then will resort to his strength, which is wrestling. I know that I have the tools to beat him standing or on the ground. I will not get tired like his previous opponents and will maintain pressure the whole time. It will be a good fight, and I know that he will be ready for me. I cannot wait to meet him in the cage -- this is what I live for.
Denis: He showed good cardio in fighting five rounds against Eddie Wineland (Pictures) and five against Rani Yahya (Pictures). Do you think this is his main weapon? How do you overcome that?
Torres: I am old fashioned when it comes to fighting. I believe in hard work and perfection of technique. His cardio is very good, but to overcome it, I will hit him. I know that this will take his steam away as well as the fact that I also have tremendous cardio. I only lost one fight and was not well prepared for it. Ever since then, my cardio has been a part of my whole game plan. I believe we will be well matched here and what will make the difference will be clean striking and consistent BJJ technique. Fighting me is like fighting an octopus in quicksand.
Denis: Is this a Chicago match? I mean, you are from East Chicago (Indiana), and Beebe is from Chicago (Illinois). So will we see who's the Chicago's badass?
Torres: You could say this is a Chicago match. It is just too bad that we are not doing it in Chicago. This fight is big to me because his gym is mainly a wrestler's gym, and my gym is mainly a BJJ gym. In my heart I still represent Carlson Gracie Sr. He would have looked at it that way. So for the BJJ community in a whole, I believe it is a huge fight.
Denis: Is this the most important fight of your life? I mean, even though you have 21 fights on your résumé, this one is for the title and for an important MMA organization.
Torres: This is not the most important fight of my life. When I tore my ACL, I could not train for almost a year. When I had my surgery, I trained about six months and was to fight against a fighter at my weight. He broke his hand, and they brought a fighter in that had a totally different style than what I trained for. After the first round, my legs felt like cooked noodles and he beat me by a decision. The fact that I lost did not hurt. What hurt was to see my fans so sad, and some even cried. I vowed to never feel like that again. That was the best thing that happened to me because it changed my whole training regimen. When I rematched the guy (Ryan Ackerman (Pictures)) who beat me, it was a very big deal. Carlson was there, and the stadium was packed. That was the most important fight I have had so far.
Denis: Miguel, what do you think is lacking for fighters from 145 pounds and 135 pounds to have the same popularity and reputation of 155 pounders and up?
Torres: The main thing that is lacking is exposure. Once American fans get to see more of the weight class, they will see that some of the more exciting fights are at 135 and 145. The more promotion and spotlight that we get, the more fans we will build. I am a firm believer in the lighter weight classes.