UFC 130: torres vs Johnson ad (or good, depending on perspective) news out of the Brad Pickett camp. "One Punch" has suffered an injury and been forced to pull out of his scheduled UFC 130 contest against Miguel Torres. Taking his place will be Demetrious Johnson, who was already slated to appear on the May 28 card in Las Vegas, Nevada. His former opponent, Renan Barao, will get a new opponent shortly, but "Mighty Mouse" will move into a potential number one contender bout. Dana White announced the switch late last night: "The fastest man in the division has answered the call, and Demetrious Johnson will move.
After the trio of UFC 130 Facebook fights at 6:45 EST, Spike TV will air two more preliminary bouts at 8 PM EST before the live pay per view starts. Tim Boetsch will make his middleweight debut against TUF 3 winner Kendall Grove, and in what's sure to be a lively turnout, former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres takes on Demetrious Johnson.
Interestingly enough, footwork should be the key factor in both of the Spike TV prelims, with a secondary emphasis on controlling range. Both Grove and Torres are long, lanky strikers who will look to keep their more compact opponents on the end of their punches. Conversely, Boetsch and Johnson, though hardly what I would call weak in the stand-up department, will be more dangerous parrying in tight quarters. So it becomes a game of distance, dictated by footwork, angles, and timing.
I'll start with the little guys first and tackle Boetsch vs. Grove in a separate piece this evening. Torres and Johnson both displayed rousing improvements to their game at UFC 126, each notching technically impressive wins, and it's the match-up many fans are anticipating the most.
This Saturday May 28th, 2011, two mixed martial art fighters meet at UFC 130 with much to prove. Miguel Torres, a Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt takes on the up and coming wrestler Demetrious Johnson in a bantamweight clash. The fight will be shown as one of two live on Spike TV. For Torres, it’s a fight as important as when he became the Bantamweight Champion of the now-defunct World Extreme Cagefighting.
For UFC fans who have yet to see the longtime ruler of the WEC Bantamweight Division, Miguel Torres earned a reputation as a dangerous submission specialist early in his career with WEC where he quickly captured the Bantamweight title in 2007. Just as his career began peaking, the championship fighter was dealt a major set back at the hands of Brian Bowles with his surprising knockout loss in 2009.
After the shocking reality check Miguel received courtesy of Bowels at WEC 42, the humbled Torres did what any true champion would, he acknowledged that he needed to make some changes in order to survive and thrive as a fighter. The former champion has also been reinventing himself with the assistance of Firas Zahabi from Tristar Gym. Zahabi, head trainer for Georges St. Pierre. Zahabi has been helping a fighter known for wild brawls hone his skills and refine his style. His affiliation with Zahabi should help make Miguel Torres the total package.
Demetrious Johnson is coming off a win in his debut at UFC 126. Miguel’s victory at that same show was particularly disappointing considering his reputation as a guy who finishes fights. This match will be a struggle for attention and positioning in the Bantamweight division as Torres needs a decisive win in order to prove to Dana White that he’s a worthy contender on the world’s biggest stage for mixed martial arts fighters.
Don’t get me wrong, this is an equally important contest for Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson who has a bit of a submission game of his own. He’s a wrestler with great conditioning and explosive speed that could put Torres on his back and keep him there. If Johnson can pull off the upset by defeating the more experienced and well rounded Torres, the victory would create an opportunity to move quickly up the ladder in the bantamweight division early is his career.
I’m anticipating a brawl between two warriors who need to make a bigger impact than they did in their last performances or face losing the attention of the UFC elite and fight fans. At UFC 130, Torres has a chance to
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