Torres on UFC Release: I’ll Do Whatever it Takes to Make Things Right

---

UFC President Dana White announced Thursday that he had released bantamweight contender Miguel Torres due to a controversial tweet Torres made the day prior.

On Friday, Torres issued the following statement on his website responding to his release:

“I have a lot to be thankful for in my life. I have my beautiful wife and daughter, my family, my health, my gym, and in terms of my career, I succeeded to the biggest stage in the sport of mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

“I am very sorry for upsetting my bosses at the UFC, and also to my fans and everyone else who was upset by the language in my tweets. I understand it was wrong, and I meant no harm or disrespect.

“Given the chance, I will do whatever it takes to make things right. I am going to learn from this. I think life throws you opportunities that can make you a better person, and so that’s what I’m going to do here. That is how I am going to react. I am going to use this to improve myself, and I hope that my fans will continue to support me.”

The tweet in question was reportedly a reference to the Comedy Central sitcom “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

“If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them,” Torres wrote. “Everyone likes surprises.”

Torres committed his offense on the same day that former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans made a controversial comment while engaging in a back-and-forth with opponent Phil Davis at the UFC on Fox 2 press conference in Chicago. Evans referenced the widely publicized sexual abuse allegations against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

“I guarantee you’ll be the first one to take a shot,” Evans told Davis, a Penn State alumnus, “because I’m going to put my hands on you worse than that dude did to them other kids at Penn State.”

Evans has not been released, nor will he be punished, according to White, who told Sports Illustrated on Thursday that he spoke with Evans regarding the matter after the press conference.

“Rashad walked me through what he did... Rashad wrestled for Michigan [State]. [Davis] went to Penn State. [Evans] wanted to slam [Davis] and Penn State,” White told SI.com. “Rashad is sorry for what he said. He truly is. He said it in the heat of the moment. He definitely took the wrong choice of words. He knows it, and I know he knows it.”

On the other hand, it appears Torres crossed a line with the UFC boss that could not be mended.

“There’s no explanation for that [tweet]. There’s absolutely nothing I could say to make any sense of that,” White said on Thursday. “And the fact that [Torres] even thinks that’s funny or that’s a joke, it disturbs me. It bothers me.”