Jose ‘Shorty’ Torres excited for UFC debut, focused on future in the Octagon

It’s a debut that many have looked forward to and anticipated but it’s not exactly how Jose “Shorty” Torres wanted his UFC debut to happen. Torres, both the flyweight and bantamweight champion for Titan FC has been on the brink of a UFC call-up for some time, and he finally received the call on short notice.

When Hector Sandoval had to pull out of his fight with Jarred Brooks at UFC Fight Night 131 in Utica, New York on Friday, June 1, Torres received the call with an offer to step in and face Brooks, which he accepted. While the UFC call is one that Torres has been waiting for, a matchup with Brooks doesn’t exactly excite him inside the Octagon.

Back in August of 2017, Torres and Brooks campaigned to fight each other while exchanging verbal jabs during a radio appearance on ChicagoLandSportsRadio.com’s On The Mic. It was during this show that Torres stated that Brooks didn’t excite him as a fighter and he knew he’d have to bring the fight to Brooks.

With the fight finally being made for these two, it’s an opportunity that Torres is excited for, but not the fight he wanted. In fact, Torres told the SFLC Podcast that it’s his UFC debut and the highlight he expects that excites him, not the chance to fight Brooks.

“he has a very counteractive fighting style than mine. I want to stand and bang while he will want to wrestle. i’m a double weight class champ, so i’m not worried whatsoever about this fight.”

When the fight first started getting talked about between the two in 2017, Torres said he wanted to get his UFC debut against a guy at the top of the flyweight division and felt that he’d be “jumping to the back of the pack” in a fight against Brooks. Now that the fight is here, Torres still doesn’t see Brooks as fight to get excited for in his debut.

“i like a challenge, i like putting myself against the best. i’ve beaten some good guys in my career and jarred [brooks] will be another one of them. he only has a chance in the first round. i’m not excited about the fight, i’m excited to make a highlight reel and move on to the next best thing.”

Heading into the fight with Brooks with plenty of confidence is certainly not a bad thing for Torres, but his opponent believes these pre-fight comments are “delusional” and had one quick and easy response to Torres’ comments.

Well the dude must be delusional cutting all that weight and let him have those high ass expectations . All I got to say is the dude is taking an L Friday

— Jarred Brooks (@The_monkeygod) May 24, 2018

It may not be the fight or notice that Jose Torres wanted, but he’s got a very welcoming and motivated challenger in Brooks, and that should make for a very entertaining fight for both sides. He won’t find himself challenging the top of the division in his debut, but Jose “Shorty” Torres brings plenty of accolades with him into his UFC debut, and he looks to make a highlight introduction to the big stage, then focus on the immediate future following this fight.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/24/2018.