Jose “Shorty” Torres: Trials, Tribulations & Triumphs

BRAVE Combat Federation 55 is in Rostov on Don, Russia, on Saturday, November 6, where Jose “Shorty” Torres fights Ali Bagautinov in the last semi-final bracket of the BRAVE Flyweight Tournament.

With a win, he will fight Velimurad Alkhasov for the inaugural BRAVE flyweight championship.

Founded in 2016, BRAVE CF was established with a vision to reform the MMA industry from an event business to a sports business and give opportunities to fighters and the entire industry around the world regardless of marketability, language, nationality or religion. The founder’s vision believed that talent should be the only variable. 

Born in the Southside of Chicago, McKinley Park neighbourhood on August 2, 1992, to parents Jose Orlando Torres and Irma Maria Torres, Jose Angel Torres announced himself to the world and his older brother Jose Orlando Torres Jr. Who was 8 yrs older than baby Jose.

Growing up in a dangerous neighbourhood and being the son of a Harrison gent, whose father was born into purple and black (gang colours), it was naturally in Shorty’s blood, and that shadow always followed him.

“I was labelled as my father’s son, so naturally, I didn’t have to be initiated, I was technically in the gang, and still today, you could say I’m technically in the gang.

“I never represented or did anything bad, and I never did anything illegal, I never did anything to get me in trouble because that was never my life; it was my father’s life. 

 “It just so happened that because I was always around my father, I represented my father and his colours, which also happened to represent the gang. I always got into a lot of trouble and had many scuffles growing up, but I represent my father; I don’t represent the gang.

“That’s something that I always try to show the whole city of Chicago is that I’m not trying to represent a gang.  The gang raised my father, and that gave me the childhood I had, and I honestly can’t complain because I had one of the best childhoods I could have asked for, but it definitely could have been better, again, the gang life is what raised my father, and I cherish it.”

Growing up, it was Shorty’s mum who kept the household together. 

“My mom is the smartest person in our family and the most independent person I know. 

“She is the reason why I am so smart, independent and even athletic; I get most of my attributes from her.  My mom and I are very identical and just naturally very strong. She’s the person I keep fighting for today to give her a more peaceful life, hopefully.”

Shorty’s older brother Torres Jr had a very different life compared to Shorty.  Being eight years older, the Torres family never had much money and less so for babysitters, so Torres Jr became the rebel of the family and neglected his father.

“My dad treated him [Torres Jr] so badly growing up, he was forced to do a lot of labour and be beaten up if he hadn’t done said chores right, or because my dad was just mad. 

“My dad wasn’t the best father growing up. He had his ups and downs, but he didn’t have a father that raised him, so he didn’t know best. 

“He is the best big brother I could have, the good, bad big brother like ‘here I did all the bad things so don’t do this, you should go left instead of right because I went right, and it didn’t go well – (a little chuckle). So go left.’  So, he made all the proper mistakes so I could succeed, and he made sure of that.”

“My older brother is my biggest hype man.”

Aged 22, Torres Jr was jumped, and someone made an attempt on his life by hitting him with a baseball bat in the back of the head twice: “He practically bled out, and his brain almost exploded in his head.  He now has traumatic brain injury (TBI), and he is deaf on one side of his ear.”

Torres Jr was no stranger to getting into trouble; after all, it was the only way of life he ever knew and was ever shown by his father.

When Torres Jr was 31, he was stabbed multiple times in the stomach, arms, and other places and bled out so much that he lost 16 pints of blood and had to have a blood transfusion.  He died twice and was resuscitated twice and thankfully is still alive today, although he is technically physically disabled, to a certain extent.

“My brother got into lots of fights in Chicago, and he was into graffiti which in Chicago is almost like gangs. My brother is very much a graffiti legend, and he’s phenomenal at it and still does it today; however, back in the day, he had a lot of wars.

“He went through a lot of bad stuff, traumatic stuff to make it out, but he succeeded, he is now a family man with three children (1 from a previous relationship) and gets to live his life through me, and it has been a journey.

“A lot of my fights have been for him because I’ve never been a fan of fighting or a huge person about it, but he’s always wanted to be a professional athlete, and this allows me to do this for him.

“I’m his little big brother. I’m the little brother that takes care of him. Without me, he would be in a tough place, so I push through to keep him motivated and keep him pushing forward.”

“If you’re ever in Chicago and see the tag name DTEK, that’s my brother.”

Despite the chaotic life Shorty was born into, by the age of 4, he started training in Shotokan Karate. His mother would travel around the country so Shorty could compete in the national Karate competitions.

“My dad was very aggressive, either playing fighting with us or actually beating us.  He had a hard time raising us, and we learned the rough way to defend ourselves.  Plus, with my brother being 8 yrs. older, I always had to be on my toes. I started Shotokan Karate at the age of 4 but was made to fight before then.

“My dad was a street fighter and a good boxer.  So, I always leaned more towards boxing and toughness.  The grit of all Latinos (Puerto Rican and Mexican), so I always needed to defend myself and could never back down.”

When ‘Shorty’ was 16, he began training with legendary hall of fame coach Bob Schirmer, and still does to this day, founder of Combat-Do. Master Bob taught Shorty the arts of Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do, Boxing, Kickboxing, Pankration, San Shou, Muay Thai, and Wrestling. As a result, Shorty secured a full university scholarship for his wrestling and merit.

‘Shorty’ became a world champion aged 21, is a two-time IMMAF Bantamweight Gold Medallist (2014-2015) and went 25 – 1 in his amateur career.

His first loss was his first amateur fight in which he lost via a split decision. Since then, ‘Shorty’ continued his amateur career with a 25-win streak.

With a resume like that, ‘Shorty’ had offers to turn pro. But, instead, he chose college and a wrestling scholarship to Division II McKendree University over getting into the paid ranks.

“I graduated high school and college with a bachelor’s degree in Leadership and sports and exercise science.  I graduated from McKendree University on a full-ride and was part of the national honours’ society.  I played too much in high school but became serious with it once I went to college.”

Graduating in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Leadership and sports and exercise science, Shorty also achieved a number of awards including the; International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Championship (135lbs), 2x Gold Medallist in Pan-American Kickboxing Championships (125lbs) & Thai Boxing Association (TBA) Champion (125lbs).

Now that Shorty had finished university, he decided it was time to turn pro facing Travis Taylor in his pro debut and made the process fast, in just after the first minute, he gets a takedown and sinks in a guillotine 2:09 in R1.

That was the start of a fantastic pro career with Titan FC, with Shorty gaining the Bantamweight belt and Flyweight belt and defending them both successfully.  Shorty was the Champ Champ.  Shorty was also the first person in Titan FC to be a double champ and successfully defend his belts.

After that fight, Shorty got signed to the UFC, with his first opponent of that being Jarred Brooks.  Shorty took the win in the 2^nd rnd via KO/TKO, and if you remember this fight as I do, it was due to an incredible body slam!

Shorty’s next assignment was against Alex Perez; unfortunately, that night was not his, and he received his first loss in his professional career.

After his fight with Perez, Shorty left The UFC (due to the fact at that time, the UFC were getting rid of the flyweight division, I mean even the GOAT of the flyweights Demetrious Johnson had left and gone to ONE) and signed to his current home BRAVE CF.

Aged 26, Shorty has always wanted to give back to the city of Chicago, and so he set up the “Team Shorty” foundation with 100% of the proceeds from his sales going straight to the foundation to help kids, teens, and young adults stay inside the gym and off the streets. 

On April 19, 2019, at BRAVE 23 in Amman, Jordan, Shorty debuted in BRAVE with a unanimous decision win over the previously undefeated Amir Albazi. That earned him a shot vs Marcel Adur for the inaugural BRAVE CF Flyweight title, at BRAVE CF 29, on November 15, 2019, in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Shorty’s father had recently passed away, but Torres is a warrior and pressed on.

However, Shorty was in the final stages of fight preparation when his body and soul collapsed.  The fight was cancelled. Many thought his fight career was over. 

Shorty was selected for the greatest flyweight tournament in MMA history, and at BRAVE 42 in Kombat Kingdom, he fought in an epic back and forth battle against Sean “Shorty Rock” Santella, the pair fought to a draw. When “Shorty Rock” Santella was injured in training for the rematch, Torres was offered a bye but declined, choosing the warrior’s path, fighting through the tournament.

At Brave 49 in the Kombat Kingdom, he beat SBG Ireland’s Blaine O’Driscoll, and earned his way to the final semi-final fight, vs Ali “Puncher King” Bagautinov, at BRAVE Combat Federation 55.

Shorty now splits his time between Cicero, Illinois and Port St.Lucie in Flordia, residing with Din Thomas, one of his coaches at The Firm, where he currently trains with combat-do, The Goat Shed Academy, Gambler BJJ and KHK MMA.

BRAVE CF events are broadcast worldwide, delivering exclusive live events and fight and combat sports content on demand. BRAVE CF has delivered 50+ shows in 24 different countries and five continents and has hired 500+ athletes from 70+ nations across the globe, highlighting the truly global aspect of the organisation.

BRAVE Combat Federation 55 is in Rostov on Don, Russia, on Saturday, November 6, and you can watch it exclusively on bravecf.com for free.  The card starts at 1 pm GMT.