First-ever repeat MMA champion, “Shorty” Torres, now dedicated to mentoring Chicago-area youth
By Marie Saavedra, Edie Kasten
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — A Chicago man who made history as the first-ever two-time mixed martial arts world champion is now expanding his reach and serving as a mentor to others.
Whether Jose “Shorty” Torres is in or out of the ring, he is known to be a perfectionist. But he’s also known as a brother, a son, and an advocate.
“I’m, I think, an average shorty in the neighborhood, trying to do my thing; trying to stand out in my own little way,” Torres said. “I’m a professional MMA fighter, UFC veteran, brave former champion, and just a person keepin’ on keepin’ on.”
Anyone who knows him will tell you Torres is also the guy you want in your corner, and the guy who will show up.
“I sponsor kids in the Middle East, and Peru, and South America, and Mexico, and everywhere, just because I know the struggle,” he said.
Torres grew up on Chicago’s Southwest Side and in west suburban Cicero. His success as an MMA champion didn’t come easily, with a childhood he calls “rough.”
“My father was a gang member—an active gang member,” he said, “and he neglected me on purpose, because he goes, ‘If I hang out with my son too much, he’s going to try to be like me; try to do the things I did.'”
It was Torres’ mother and older brother who consistently showed up for him.
“My mother was very, very smart and still is today, where she would tell me what to do, and again, luckily, I was smart enough to listen,” Torres said. “My mother made sure I stayed off the streets and always was active in baseball, football, karate, wrestling — very single sport.”
His love for sports took “Shorty” to the gym almost every day, where he learned even more about life.
“The gym can give you some type of morals, a sense of responsibility, a boost of confidence,” he said. “It’s one of those places, if you’re not humble, you’ll be humbled very, very quickly.”
Torres was a state qualifier in wrestling at Morton East High School and an all-American at Triton College. He earned a full scholarship to McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois.
The day he graduated, he won his second national MMA championship and became the first-ever two-time MMA world champion months later. With eight world titles, mixed martial arts have taken him around the world, including Bahrain.
“Hey, I’m from the South Side of Chicago. I’m traveling to the Middle East; literally get to shake hands with royalty, and they’re sponsoring me,” Torres said.
He pays his success forward with his Team Shorty Foundation. He speaks at schools, coaches kids and sponsors athletes regardless of their ability.
“I don’t sponsor (only) good athletes. I don’t care how good you are. You can be horrible at the sport. I want to sponsor good people,” he said.
His generosity stretches across the globe. A friend told him about Edgar Torres — no relation — a young man who lives in a small concrete house with his mother in Peru. “Shorty” helped him get a slot in a crucial fight and more.
“I ended up taking spme part out of my paycheck to pay for everything so he could be a part of that card,” he said. “I flew him in, I paid for part of his hotel, I paid for his food, and he stayed with me — and he was like my little brother.”
“Shorty” travels the world now, but he’s still most at home in the old neighborhood around McKinley Park. But where does he go from here?
“I’m going to keep on trying to achieve more, no matter what,” he said, “because if you give up here, you’re going to give up in life as well. So I never gave up, and I never plan to.”
“Shorty” also credits his success to the many role models he had along the way, and to the discipline they instilled in him.
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