The WEC 37 will headline Miguel Torres (34-1-0) vs. Manny "The Mangler" Tapia (10-0-1) as the main event, two Mexican-Americans who look to "represent latinos" in the WEC bantamweight division (135 lbs.). Latinos have proven to be some of the best boxers in the world as indicated by Torres:
"This is huge for Hispanics…I’m fighting Manny and we’re both at 135, the main event of a televised
MMA fight. It’s a big honor. There’s not too many Hispanics in the
sport, but latinos are here to stay and a force to be reckoned with. We
rule boxing, especially in the lower weight classes and we’ll do the
same in MMA. We have to represent latinos and on December 3rd you will
see the best Miguel Torres and the best Manny Tapia…My dad is very proud of being Mexican…When Chavez would step on the ring and the Mexican national anthem
would play he would cry. I knew he was proud and I wanted him to be
proud of me one day. I hope he’s proud of me now that I’m representing
Mexicans and Mexican-Americans."
Torres looks forward to taking on the very tough and undefeated Manny Tapia this Wednesday night. Although he respects Tapia’s stand-up skills, he still feels that his strength and ground experience will easilly overpower him. Torres emphasizes the fact that his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is far more superior than that of Tapia’s. However, Tapia tells us that he has been in wrestling competition since high school and has trained mixed martial arts for 8 years. We’ll simply have to see where the fight goes on December 3rd.
Here’s how Miguel Torres breaks down the fight against Manny Tapia:
"He’s a very good striker, but I’m good at striking, at Thai boxing and
at jiu-jitsu. I know he’s preparing for the ground game, but you can’t
compare three months of training to 10 years of jiu-jitsu…He doesn’t throw any kicks and doesn’t throw big knees on the inside.
I’m gonna be able to pick him apart. I’m coming in with a lot of knees
and elbows and the ground isn’t too far from there…Once I take him into deep waters we’ll see if he can swim or not…In the gym I have five or six guys who can mimic his style and I doubt
he has anyone in his gym that fights like me. I’m ready for anything
and everything he brings at me."
