“Loco” wants to be like “Iron Mike.”
No. 15-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight Manuel Torres headlines his first UFC event this weekend when he takes on No. 11-seeded Rafael Fiziev in the main event of UFC Baku, which goes down Sat., June 27, 2026, inside Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan.
For Torres, the assignment is simple: Create violence.
Throughout his career, both inside and outside of UFC, the 31-year-old Mexican brawler has been must-watch television. Well, actually,
don’t-blink television because his fights usually do not last very long.
In his 20-fight professional career, Torres has only been out of the first round once. That came back in 2018 against Enrique Gonzalez, where he won a split decision. Every other fight has ended in the opening round, win or loss (like this).
That includes all six of his UFC fights, with Torres earning “Performance of the Night” bonuses in all five of his Octagon wins.
So, yeah, he is not exactly paid by the minute.
But Torres said that mindset has always been there.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I just wanted to finish the fights; I wanted to get out of there and to knock my opponent out,” Torres told UFC.com recently. “That’s how things have happened, and I’ve always thought that’s how you become the best in the world, and that’s what I want to do — I want to be the best in this.
“I want to be feared,” Torres continued. “I want to be the Mike Tyson that people fear, and I have the mentality that I’m gonna be the best in the world, and I’m gonna beat them all.”
Torres is already well on his way to becoming one of the most feared knockout artists in the most stacked division in all of mixed martial arts (MMA).
And if he goes out and starches Fiziev — something only two other fighters have been able to do — it would be a massive statement win for “Loco.”
It would also move him much closer to the top of the Lightweight division.
“I thought about this, about what this means, and it’s that I will be one step closer to going for the title,” Torres said. “God-willing, if that’s what’s supposed to happen, a nice win on Saturday puts me closer to a title shot.”
That is a pretty big opportunity for Torres.
Fiziev is trying to rebound in front of the Baku crowd, while Torres is trying to crash the party, snatch his ranking, and prove he is more than just a bonus-machine brawler.
He wants to be feared, and at UFC Baku, Fiziev gets the first chance to find out if that fear is real.
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