Miguel Torres’ Rapid Fall From Grace

Not too many moons ago, Miguel Torres (Pictured) was undeniably the baddest bantamweight in bare feet. He appeared to be untouchable, having rattled off 17 consecutive victories en route to capturing the WEC crown. Furthermore, the man donning MMA’s meanest mullet started out his professional career having lost only one of his first 38 fights – a torrid run that began at the start of the millennium and extended through 2009. Fast forward just a few years and Torres has found himself on the losing end of five of his past eight bouts, including two straight scraps. He was also fired from the UFC on two separate occasions within a nine-month span. He won merely half of his four big league bouts. Torres’ most recent setback came Saturday in a split decision defeat to little known Marlon Moraes in World Series of Fighting’s inaugural event. At his pinnacle, he was the planet’s most dynamic 135-pounder. Present day, Torres looks like just another fighter. Did the 31-year-old simply get old overnight? Is he mired in the Fedor Emelianenko effect, where a fighter has experienced an extensive period of dominance and doesn’t know how to respond when that upset special inevitably gets served up? Has Torres not evolved as quickly as the competitors he was looking down at not too long ago? More importantly, will Torres ever recapture his mojo? Perhaps the most pressing question Torres is pondering is whether it’s time to walk away after 46 pro fights. It appears MMA may already have him in its rear-view mirror.