‘Shorty’ Torres says he has signed Brave CF deal, claims it’s ‘multiple times’ better than UFC contract

Jose Torres has found a home following his release from the UFC.

Torres, one of the flyweights recently cut from the UFC roster, has signed with Brave CF, he told MMA Fighting on Thursday, in a deal he describes as “significantly” better than the one had previously with the UFC.

“It’s definitely multiple times more than what I was getting in the UFC,” Torres said. “Not just money wise, but in terms of respect. … Brave is respecting me, not just as an expendable fighter, but as an athlete.”

Torres, 26, only made his UFC debut back in June, beating Jarred Brooks by second-round TKO. The former Titan FC flyweight and bantamweight champion fell to Alex Perez via first-round TKO at UFC 227 in August. Torres (8-1) said last month that he was released by the UFC as part of the gradual abolishment of the promotion’s flyweight division.

In addition to the money he’s making with Brave, a promotion based in Bahrain, Torres said he’ll be given other streams of revenue and opportunity. He’s currently a broadcast analyst for Brave and plans on continuing on in that role and more. Torres said he’ll also be given the chance to compete in Brave’s flyweight and bantamweight divisions, the way he did in Titan. He said the UFC never wanted him to do that.

Torres made a guaranteed $14,000 at UFC 227 for his fight with Perez, but after taxes and training camp expenses he said he only pocketed about half of that. He said he’s looking forward to more money and more chances to stand out in Brave. Torres said he preferred not to discuss the actual financial terms of the contract.

“It definitely means, for sure, more money, which is amazing, because you never hear people immediately making more money when they leave the UFC,” Torres said. “If it’s anything, it’s usually around the same. A few here and there make more. I have multiple incentives as well.”

Torres said he offered to fight at 135 multiple times in the UFC on short notice, but that wasn’t of interest to the promotion. Instead, Torres said he had to go through tough weight cuts with little time in between fights. Torres said he cut 26 pounds in nine days to fight Brooks and then turned around two months later — on 20 days notice — and cut 28 more.

With Brave, Torres said he’ll be given three to four months notice between fights, which is key for him at flyweight due to the hard weight cut.

“They’re respecting the flyweights,” Torres said. “They don’t have an inaugural champ yet. That’s something I want to do, possibly be their first flyweight champion and their first double weight champion.”

Torres said there’s no surprise to him that other promotions like ONE Championship, Rizin, Bellator and Brave are on the come up.

“It shows the UFC isn’t the only promotion,” Torres said. “It certainly isn’t the only promotion that’s gonna respect you. You hear about all these promotions coming up. It’s because of the things the UFC is doing and now it’s starting to come to light.”