Friday night’s Titan FC card in Ridgefield, Washington is going to kick off with a bantamweight bout between two fighters that will be making their pro debuts as Jose Torres meets Travis Taylor.
Torres went 25-1 in the amateur ranks and was a two-time world champion. He announced last year following the world championships that he was taking the next step in his career and it was eventually announced that he had signed a four fight contract with Titan FC.
Along with signing the fight contract with Titan, the fight journey for Torres has taken him from the United States to Bahrain and back to the United States. He calls the last six months of his life great and he is extremely thankful for all the opportunities he has received in mixed martial arts.
“The last six months have been great,” Torres told The MMA Report. “After I won the world championships for the second time in July, I went to Bahrain in August and I met KHK MMA. I met the Prince of Bahrain and he ended up helping us all out in a since that we did not have to work or have any other dilemma besides training. I had other people on my team like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Frankie Edgar. He had great fighters on our team — to get a chance to be on that team was just awesome.”
“I was able to get a four fight contract with Titan and I am just ready to start my pro career,” he continued. “This is a huge opportunity for me. The only amateur in the world right now to get a four fight contract with a big promotion like Titan. I was able to watch one of there events, Titan FC 35. Caught up with some old friends and met some new friends. Got the huge opportunity to see what these pros do for a living. Win or lose, it was a great event. For me to go back to San Diego to train. Go back to Chicago to train. I just got back from Columbia, Missouri. Last week I was in St. Louis and now I am driving back to Chicago to finish my last three weeks of training. Overall, the fight has been great to me. I am really excited to get my pro debut and make a statement.”
Initially, he was scheduled to meet Jorge Dominguez on Friday’s card. However, Dominguez is no longer competing on this card and Torres will now meet Travis Taylor. The two debuting bantamweights will be the first fight of the night on UFC Fight Pass and Torres is well aware that there is a ton of mixed martial arts action for a fight fan to take in on Friday. With that being said, Torres gave his reasoning in why you should chose to watch the Titan FC card over the Bellator and RFA cards.
“I am the most decorated amateur fighter in the world,” he explained. “Two world championships. Two national championships. Twenty-five straight wins and to be the only amateur signed to KHK MMA. Also, signed to a four fight contract with Titan FC and no one wanted to fight me after the Titan FC 36 card got canceled is a huge statement. I am trying to make my pro debut and no one wants to give me that opportunity. If you ask the CEO [Jeff Aronson] and COO [Lex McMahon] of Titan to see how hard it was to just find me a fight — I am very happy that people are a little fearful of me, but you are going to get a great show from me. You are going to get a first round stoppage and you are going to get an awesome fight.”