Torres-Pickett Slated for UFC 130
Mike Whitman Feb 12, 2011
Miguel Torres (left) will go for three in a row against Brad
Pickett | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Former World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will return to the cage against hard-hitting Brit Brad Pickett at UFC 130 “Edgar vs. Maynard 3,” which takes place May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Torres posted confirmation of the matchup late Friday night on Twitter.
“Got offered a fight with Brad Pickett for UFC 130,” Torres wrote. “My answer was f--k yes, thank you and you’re welcome.”
The onetime king of 135-pounders, Torres has gotten back on track after suffering consecutive defeats in the WEC. After winning 17 straight fights between 2004 and 2009 -- including three defenses of his WEC title -- Torres was knocked out by Brian Bowles at WEC 42. In his next fight, the Indiana native would taste defeat once again, as he was submitted by the powerful Joseph Benavidez at WEC 47.
Making a change in his training regimen, Torres began working alongside UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre at Montreal’s Tristar Gym. Back-to-back victories followed for the former bantamweight titleholder, as he ran through Charlie Valencia at WEC 51 and outpointed Antonio Banuelos in his UFC debut at UFC 126.
Pickett is a veteran of the defunct Cage Rage promotion and has won 10 of his last 11 bouts. The Englishman makes his UFC debut against Torres after earning a 3-1 record inside the little blue cage of the WEC. After impressively submitting Kyle Dietz with a Peruvian necktie at WEC 45, Pickett earned a unanimous decision over Demetrious Johnson at WEC 48. Though the 32-year-old London native was outpointed by title contender Scott Jorgensen, he rebounded with a win over Ivan Menjivar at WEC 53 in December. “One Punch” has finished 75 percent of his career victims and has not been knocked out in five years.
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