Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight fighter Miguel Torres was released on Thursday (Dec. 8, 2011) after the former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champion posted a controversial rape joke on his official Twitter account.
Many fans and pundits have argued the punishment does not fit the crime, especially in light of two prior high-profile instances involving Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans. The former made light of rape's prevalence in the media while the latter tried to use the Jerry Sandusky scandal as a pre-fight punchline.
Their employment, as of this writing, remains secure.
Torres, however, will be forced to continue his fight career somewhere else. In the meantime, he's already released a statement (via MiguelTorresMMA) on how this experience will assist him in "becoming a better person."
See for yourself:
"I have a lot to be thankful for in my life, I have my beautiful wife and daughter, my family, my health, my gym, and in terms of my career, I succeeded to the biggest stage in the sport of mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. I am very sorry for upsetting my bosses at the UFC, and also to my fans and everyone else who was upset by the language in my tweets. I understand it was wrong, and I meant no harm or disrespect. Given the chance, I will do whatever it takes to make things right. I am going to learn from this. I think life throws you opportunities that can make you a better person, and so that’s what I’m going to do here. That is how I am going to react. I am going to use this to improve myself, and I hope that my fans will continue to support me."
Torres (40-4) was last seen in action against Nick Pace at UFC 139: "Shogun vs. Henderson," taking home a unanimous decision win just last month in San Jose, California, and pushing his Octagon record to 2-1.
While it was far from a lock, there were rumblings about a future title fight against the winner of Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz, had Torres continued his winning ways.
Now, not so much.
How about it Maniacs, are you satisfied with Torres' apology? Or is it one he shouldn't have been forced to make in the first place? Where do you stand on this controversial topic?
Opinions, please.
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