A homecoming hit

By Andy Samuelson

Sunday, April 5, 2009 | 12:40 a.m.

Miguel Torres grew up learning the fight game on the streets of his hometown in East Chicago, Ind.

The 28-year-old Torres developed his skills and a loyal following from fans in the Windy City as many of his early fights took place at small shows in nearby Chicago.

Torres doesn’t plan on disappointing those diehards tonight when he returns to his roots for a World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight title fight against Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40 at the UIC Pavilion.

“He's coming into my backyard to face me. He's not just facing me, he's facing my friends and family,” said Torres, who is fighting again in Chicago for the first time in two years.

It’s been five and a half years since Torres suffered his only career setback, and he said that streak would not stop at the hands of Mizugaki, a late fill-in for the injured Brian Bowles.

“I think Takeya is going to bring a good fight, and I'm ready for anything he's going to show me. I feel like this is my time to shine,” Torres said of the Cage Force champion, who will be making his American debut.

Torres (35-1) has done plenty of that.

The gifted Torres has torn through opponents since his lone loss, a unanimous decision to Ryan Ackerman in November of 2003 that came in his first fight after recovering from a torn ACL.

Torres, who owns and operates a mixed martial arts academy in Hammond, Indiana, has won 16 straight — only one of those fights has went the distance. The rest, including a first round knockout of Ackerman, have usually ended by stoppage or submission before the third round.

Since joining the WEC in September of 2007, Torres has won all four fights by submission or knockout.

The only one that went to the third round was a contest against fellow Japanese striker Yoshiro Maeda.

"I kind of train to fight the style of any guy,” Torres told Fox Sports. “There's not much he's going to show me that I haven't seen in there.

“I think I'm very dangerous anywhere the fight goes. And if he's not ready for that, if he's not ready to come with a strict game plan to nullify my game, which is almost impossible, then he's going to have a hard time.”

Torres’ near perfect record and well-rounded skill set has placed him in several conversations whether or not he’s the pound-for-pound best in all of MMA.

While Yahoo and Sherdog.com both list Torres in the Top 5, current UFC interim heavyweight champ Frank Mir says he believes Torres deserves the top spot.

“I think he’s the number one fighter in the world right now,” Mir said. “He has a warrior mindset. I think some guys make the mistake of thinking that being well conditioned and having technical skills gives you what it takes to be a champion, and it doesn’t.

“There are so many things you have to deal with emotionally and in your mind. You have to conquer yourself. And that’s the difference between him and his opponents right now. He’s just mentally above everybody else.”

But Mizugaki (11-2-2) believes otherwise and says he’s got a shot to ruin Torres’ homecoming.

"No matter who the opponent is, I'm going to keep going forward, attack and attack, never back off,” Mizugaki told AOL Fanhouse.

“I can do everything. I'm a mixed martial artist. But to finish the fight I always go for strikes. Whether standing or on the ground, I want to finish a fight with a knockout."

Torres wouldn’t mind that either, but he said he feels something special might happen in his return home.

“Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a fighter. Everything I've done has moved me to this goal,” Torres said. “I feel like it's my destiny.”

Andy Samuelson can be reached at [email protected] or 702-948-7837.