By David Rouben
Jose “Shorty” Torres notched another title defense to his belt by starching Alberto Orellano in three-minutes and fifty-two seconds at Titan FC 48 to take his pro record to 7-0.
Torres landed the knockout blow by changing levels midway through the fight. At the beginning of the round, he landed a lot of high shots that Orellano was able to see coming. But by switching it up and going low to the body, he was able to land the devastating combination that saw his opponent crumble. It was a well-crafted game plan by Steve Bruno.
While the win was more of the same for Torres, he proved how much deadlier he is at flyweight. This was his first fight at 125-pounds since January 2017, which was his last first-round KO.
“I’m a true flyweight,” Torres said in an interview with MMASucka. “I train with some of the best bantamweights and every time I’ve gone with them, even though I’ve held my own, I just go ‘you know what, these guys are a little too big for me. I’m definitely a flyweight.’ I’ve had three pro fights at flyweight out of my seven and all three were my knockouts.”
Jose “Shorty” Torres is ready and willing to fight anyone
His last two fights prior to this were title defenses at bantamweight, against Farkhad Sharipov and Gleidson DeJesus. They were both wars, and Torres believes the injuries he suffered in those bouts have delayed his long-overdue UFC debut.
Torres didn’t go into the DeJesus fight with the proper mindset. “I kept thinking ‘I’m probably going to be bailed out, I’m probably going to get called up anyways.’ The closer the fight came up, the more I was prepared for the UFC [than DeJesus.]
I was able to get the fourth-round finish, which I’m very happy about, but with all the injuries again it delayed another UFC debut. I denied Tim Elliott twice because of injuries due to the Gleidson fight.”
That’s why Torres approached the Orellano bout with a different mindset. “I thought ‘you know what, I’m not going to depend on the UFC. I’m going to make a statement February 16, and if they want to call me, they’ll call me. If not, then so be it.’”
However, his appearance at Titan FC 48 came on the heels of a cancelled short-notice bout at UFC on FOX 27. While Torres isn’t a fan of last-minute fights, and would prefer to have a full camp for his UFC debut, he was raring to go. But his opponents turned him down, which has become a familiar pattern for Torres recently.
He described his fight with Orellano as “an Apollo Creed-Rocky story where Apollo’s just going to give some random guy a shot so they can make a show.” That wasn’t meant to be disrespectful. Orellano was making his Titan FC debut, and came in on the heels of a two-fight losing streak.
Facing a two-division champion was not going to end that streak, but the matchmakers had no choice. “The no. 2, the no. 3 and the no. 4 guy all denied the fight. Nobody in Titan FC wanted to fight me. And everybody else in Titan FC that was willing to fight me, well, they’re my teammates now.
“The high-ranked guys that I believe are ready for the UFC and want to make a statement don’t want to do so fighting against me. Orellano was a brave one to step up to the plate. And I really commend him for doing that.”
It may seem like squashing tomato cans won’t prepare Torres adequately enough for his UFC debut, which he’s hoping to make at UFC 225 in his hometown of Chicago.
Hold on, did I just hear the @UFC is coming to my home city Chicago?!?! I haven’t fought there in over 5 years! Let me give my crowd what they want!!! Chi Town stand up and show this Shorty your support #UFC225 #WeCan #WeWill #Together #WeAre #TeamShorty #Chicago
— Jose Shorty Torres (@ShortyTorres125) February 4, 2018
But Torres is a consummate professional who will be up for any challenge.
“I’m just ready to fight whoever’s willing to fight me, and so far, only top 10 guys are ready to go. And if that so happens to be the case, that so happens to be the case.
I’d fight Demetrious Johnson, for example, even if I might not be ready.”
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Courtesy of Titan Fighting Championship.
