Home favourite Manuel Torres will look to make it a night to remember when he takes on experienced southpaw Drew Dober in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight category in Mexico City on Sunday, March 30. (More Sports News)
Coming off a tough loss to Ignacio Bahamondes at Noche UFC, the recently-turned-30 Torres is looking to make amends in the co-main event. Even though he only has 14 career wins as against Drew's 27, Torres is confident of a good showing.
“Well, I'm very confident because of the work I've been doing with my team. I always imagined that one day I would fight with Drew Dober," he tells 바카라. In fact, he adds, "...we even talked about it before they gave us a fight. We coincided in the UFC Apex and sat down to talk. A friend of mine was in the middle because I don't speak English. Dober said, 'Maybe we should fight in Mexico'.
"I said, 'I would be delighted because you are one of the best in the world, you've fought with everyone, you've been in the top 15'. It's exciting, but I'm confident in my work and what I want is to go climbing. I feel very assured of the work that we put in.
The home support at his disposal is an added advantage. "It's very exciting. It's my third time fighting here in Mexico City. The fans here are very extreme. They scream; they make a lot of noise.
"The last time I fought here, there was a little bit of a melee, a little bit of chaos in my fight too. People were fighting in the stands after I won my fight. They have got my back. It's awesome to fight in front of such an extreme and exciting crowd," Torres says.
The Mexican is looking to put the disappointment of defeat in the previous fight behind him, and has "learnt a lot" from it. "I had to put the cards on the table. It's an experience. It's learning. I feel happy it's over now. We have to recover. I feel smarter and more confident. I want to go back to the cage and prove what I've been doing. This is an opportunity for us to show the evolution to everybody," he gushes.
Torres doesn't believe the age of Dober (36) will have a huge bearing on the fight. He puts forth: "I don't think he's (Dober) that old. I don't think it'll be easy. He has a lot of experience. He's been in the best rankings. He's fought everyone in the division. He fought the best. It's not easy, but it's exciting for me. I'm going for my victory. That's what I care about."
