Manuel Torres is stepping into his first UFC main event on Saturday, headlining in Baku against Rafael Fiziev in a lightweight clash.
Torres arrives at his milestone moment just weeks after a major shakeup at the top of the division, where Justin Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria by fourth-round corner-stoppage TKO in the main event of UFC White House to become the undisputed UFC lightweight champion for the first time. Topuria entered that bout as a large betting favorite.
Watching from the outside, Torres admitted he was taken aback by how the title fight played out. “It was surprising because if you think about it, they went to four rounds, he couldn’t do it,” Torres said. “He couldn’t get it done against Gaethje. He had four rounds that he was trying, he was actually giving his best. He was. Big shots he was trying to [land], hitting him once in a while. but it wasn’t putting him down.”
Torres added, “He was finding him at times. At one point, you saw that the body shots and the liver shots, but he couldn’t finish it, and at the end, Justin just proved to be stronger. I think that now, I think this makes the division flow more. It [will] give opportunity to other fighters. I was surprised [how the fight went], but I was kind of going for Justin on that one. I had him. It went well for me at the end of the day.”
Now the focus turns to Baku, where Torres meets Fiziev, who was stopped by Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 325 in January and has lost four of his past five bouts, including two decision defeats to Gaethje among those recent setbacks.
For Torres, the chance to headline is deeply personal. Calling it “A dream come true,” he said, “That means that the work has paid off, that with that, what I’ve done, has enabled me to actually get this opportunity. I’m happy that what I’ve done has led me to this: The opportunity to be in a main event and, God willing, I hope everything goes well this Saturday.”
“[I’m thankful for] the opportunity to advance in the rankings, but feeling very proud of what I’ve done and the job we’ve been able to accomplish [so far],” Torres added, as he prepares for his first taste of UFC main-event spotlight.
