Jose Torres feels he’s ‘just getting started’, aiming to be a multi-divisional champ at Brave CF
At just 29-years-old, Chicago’s Jose Torres has already accomplished a lot in his MMA career. His upcoming fight at Brave CF 55 has his undivided attention, but Torres has monumental goals set out for himself as well.
In this interview with Torres, he details his plans of becoming a multi-divisional champion, what it’s been like traveling the world since signing to Brave CF, where he ranks himself in terms of the world’s best flyweights/bantamweights, and more.
Torres went a perfect 13-0 as an amateur fighter from 2013-2015. During that span, he accumulated championship belts for a few different promotions including the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF). Then, just two years after turning pro, Torres had been crowned double-champ for Titan FC after going 7-0 for the promotion. Now, Torres aims to become a champion across multiple weight classes under the Brave CF banner also.
Jose Torres Interview
“I’m trying to go one step at a time, but I like to do things differently,” he began, “I don’t just wanna be a champion, I want to be a dominant champion and a multiple weight class champion. I did it for IMMAF where I won it twice, the first ever to do it in history. I did it for Titan FC. Not just claiming both belts, but defending both belts, one of them twice. I tried to do it in the UFC, but sadly I got signed to a promotion that had a dying weight class.”
“But with Brave (CF), they’re hiring some of the best individuals around the world like Dustin Ortiz and Ali Bagautinov,” Torres replied. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase my skills and to not just say I’m a double-weight class champ again, but to beat dominant individuals in the process. I want to be a multi-divisional champ and my first goal is to win this flyweight tournament.”
The matchup with Ali Bagautinov at Brave CF 55
“Fighting Ali’s a dream come true as well because as I was turning amateur he was slowly becoming a very high-level pro,” Torres said, “He was already established in the amateur ranks, all the Sambo world championships, and all the accolades he was able to acquire. He’s fought legends of the sport and to be able to fight him, I mean he’s a legend of the sport now too. For me, I’m like Oscar De La Hoya and he’s like Julio Cesar Chavez. This is like a passing of the torch, but it’s not gonna be easy. I have to push the pace and rise to the occasion. I think my aggressiveness, my pressure, and my youth will be the game changer in this fight.”
Fighting & training around the world
“Being able to travel and train overseas has been a dream come true,” Torres confirmed. “I’m just a small shorty from Chicago so not just to be able to travel and train, but to have people overseas support me, it’s a phenomenal experience. People who don’t even speak the same language as me supporting me and pushing me to win has honestly just been phenomenal. And just to fight overseas, that’s one of the best things about Brave CF. I get to travel the world and see places that I’ve never even thought of seeing like Bahrain, Jordan, and now Dagestan. So being able to enjoy different experiences, environments, and people has just been a dream come true.”
Jose Torres on where he ranks compared to other flyweights
“I do consider myself one of the best flyweights in the world,” he affirmed, “I never thought so until I started working on my personal mental health and realizing how many respect me because of the accolades that I’ve been able to attain. Also, being able to accept those accolades and say to myself, dude it’s fact, I’m not being cocky or overconfident, it’s still being humble to showcase my skills all around the world and help individuals come up just like me and hopefully one day better.”
“So I do believe I’m one of the best in the world,” Torres continued, “I’m only 29. I’m just entering my prime and I have so much more time to accomplish things and it’s just getting started. There’s so much more time to go and I’m excited to see what’s next.”
Make sure to catch Torres take on Bagautinov in a few weeks at Brave CF 55. Torres is 10-1-1 as a pro and he’s yet to be defeated since joining the Brave Combat Federation back in 2019.
If you enjoyed this interview with Jose Torres, make sure to check back for more exclusive conversations with the world’s greatest mixed martial artists.
