Miguel Torres targeted for WEC 47 fight; win could lead to title shot

With a firm date and location in place for WEC 47, the organization is now looking for an opponent for former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres (37-2 MMA, 5-1 WEC).

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the organization that Torres is expected to fight another top contender at the as-yet-unannounced March 6 event in Columbus, Ohio.

And should Torres earn a win, WEC general manager Reed Harris recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that Torres could be in line for a shot at the belt that he lost to Brian Bowles in August.

"Miguel wants to fight," Harris said. "He's been talking with us. We're trying to get a matchup for him. But I think we're going to have him fight once before he fights for the title again."

The WEC and matchmaker Sean Shelby are traditionally careful not to announce future matchups before both participants are healthy and on board for the fight. As such, Harris was reluctant to say a win guaranteed a Torres a shot at the winner of the Bowles vs. Dominick Cruz fight that will also be contested on March 6.

But Harris was quick to point out that Torres is certainly in the hunt.

"The one thing we don't do is try to plan fights before other fights happen because it just doesn't work," Harris said. "But I would say Miguel is not the No. 1 contender but maybe the No. 2 contender.

"We still feel that Miguel could hold that belt. Definitely. We believe that Miguel Torres, on any given night, could win and take that title."

With back-to-back first-round stoppages – and with his lone WEC loss coming to current champ Bowles – Damacio Page (12-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is reportedly the top candidate to face Torres. However, Page's health may be a concern after he was forced to withdraw from a Dec. 19 contest with Takeya Mizugaki after undergoing surgery on a torn rotator cuff.

With Page's readiness in question, the WEC may look to the winners of a pair of key bantamweight fights at next week's "WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff" for Torres' next challenge: Joseph Benavidez (10-1 MMA, 2-1 WEC) vs. Ranyi Yahya (15-4 MMA, 4-1 WEC) and Scott Jorgensen (7-3 MMA, 3-2 WEC) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2 MMA, 1-1 WEC), both of which air on Versus on the main card of the Dec. 19 event.