Former Champ Miguel Torres Talks Loss to Mighty Mouse

In an interview on the Savage Dog Show on Sherdog.com, former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 135-pound champion, Miguel Angel Torres, felt he earned the win versus opponent, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, in their recent matchup at UFC 130 on May 28.  Instead, Torres lost a unanimous decision, and was down every round on each of the judges’ scorecards.

At 5’9” with a 10” reach advantage, Miguel, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, knew he’d have his hands full versus the 5’3” wrestler.

“Demetrious did a good job. He was real tough,” states the Tristar fighter.  “I just thought I was on offense the whole fight. I had him defending. I thought I landed 100 percent of the strikes. … I don’t take anything away from him. I just thought I did enough to secure a victory, but the judges didn’t see it that way and it is what it is.”

Proceeding into the third and final round of their mixed martial arts (MMA) battle, Miguel thought he was beating the much shorter, yet muscular, Johnson.  When he managed to gain top control with approximately two minutes left of the bout, Torres’ corner suggested to maintain position, and ride out the remaining minutes.

“My trainer, Firas, wanted me to hold position more and not attack submissions so much because going into it, we knew he was a good scrambler and he’s really short, has short limbs and a short, stocky neck,” explains the Indiana born fighter.  “I wanted to attack. I wanted to put on a show for the fans. I didn’t want to lay on the guy and not do anything. Maybe in hindsight I should have done that.”

As Miguel Torres replays the loss in his mind, he hopes to learn from his mistakes, and welcomes another chance to redeem himself.

"I know what to do for my next fight,” exclaims the former bantamweight champ. “People might not like it. It might be a little boring, but the biggest thing is to secure a win however I can. If that means laying on somebody or just holding them down, it’s going to have to be that way.”

Roland Riso is a contributing writer for Bleacher Report.  All quotes were obtained from Sherdog.com