Defeat Forced Changes for Former WEC Champion Torres

Miguel Torres wants to regain the World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight championship, and his first step towards doing so will be a doozy.

The 29-year-old former titleholder will meet once-beaten Urijah Faber protégé Joseph Benavidez in the WEC 47 “Bowles vs. Cruz” co-headliner this Saturday at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Torres has not set foot inside the cage since his brutal knockout loss to Brian Bowles in August.

“The loss to Brian was the best thing to happen to my career,” Torres said. “You’re going to see a lot more dangerous Miguel Torres.”

The defeat to Bowles was his first in nearly six years and marked the first time he had ever been finished. It came just 3:57 into the first round of the WEC 42 main event, forced Torres to look inward and resulted in changes to how he approached training. As the owner of the Torres Martial Arts Academy in Hammond, Ind., he had split his time between the business of running a mixed martial arts gym and ensuring his survival as one of the world’s premier fighters.

“For about two or three years, I didn’t have anyone to train me,” said Torres, who studied under the late Carlson Gracie until his death in 2006. “I was running my gym full-time, and I coached myself. It was working, but everyone was catching up. I got caught up where I was doing a lot of traveling and business stuff. It’s possible to do both, but it’s a lot to handle at once.”

Torres, a longtime regional draw, burst on the international scene in 2008, when he submitted Chase Beebe and captured the WEC bantamweight crown. Three successful title defenses against Yoshiro Maeda, Manny Tapia and Takeya Mizugaki followed, as he pushed his streak of consecutive wins to 17. Still, the East Chicago, Ind., native had little real-world experience upon which to draw, and Bowles’ heavy hands brought it all crashing down around him.

“No one in my family has been in this situation, running their own business and being a world-class fighter,” said Torres, who spent time training with UFC veteran Kurt Pellegrino in advance of his WEC 47 return. “The fact that I was able to do all those things without coaching is a testament to my hard work and skills.”

Benavidez, himself a world-ranked bantamweight, stands as a formidable obstacle as Torres attempts to summit the 135-pound mountain once again, especially since one of the Team Alpha Male standout’s primary strengths -- wrestling -- mirrors the former champion’s most glaring weakness. Benavidez stopped Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya on first-round strikes in just 95 seconds at WEC 45 three months ago. Torres knows what to expect.

“I think game planning an opponent is important, but you can’t rely on your game plan,” said Torres, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has delivered 31 of his 37 career wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission. “Guys change all the time. It’s going to be my length and my jiu-jitsu versus his inside dirty boxing and wrestling.”

Ultimately, Torres desires to sharpen his potent skills, not only to rebound against Benavidez but to better prepare himself for the high-profile matchups that almost certainly lurk around the corner, a potential rematch with Bowles included.

“It’s not about getting better just to beat Joseph,” Torres said. “I like to consider myself a martial artist. I got back to my roots and focused on getting my skills better and what got me where I’m at.”