Former Brave CF bantamweight champion Jose Torres is fighting for more than just the promotion’s 135-pound championship at Brave CF 82. He’s fighting for his own pride and redemption.

Torres defeated South Africa’s Nkosi Ndebele via split decision to capture the title at Brave CF 73 in August 2023, but in the rematch at Brave CF 80 four months later, Ndebele came storming back to stop “Shorty” and win the title after Torres pulled himself out of the fight, with both eyebrows badly cut and his face covered in blood.

Now the pair are set to meet again in a huge trilogy bout with the championship belt on the line once again. And Torres is using the sting of defeat last time out as fuel as he targets his old title once again.

Brave CF

“I’m going to try my best to prove myself, to not just the world but to myself as well,” he said during an Instagram chat.

“I know how good I have been. I have achieved so much, but I want so much more.”

Torres also revealed that his win over Ndebele in their first meeting gave him a false sense of security heading into the rematch, and he didn’t take his opponent seriously enough.

“With this opponent, I took him too lightly in the last fight. I was playing around and I got beat up for it,” he admitted before pointing to his eyebrows, which were badly busted up during his second fight with Ndebele.

“Now, I also have a price to pay because I am going in there slightly handicapped, so the same thing could happen.”

The trilogy fight will see the pair face off for a third time, in a third title fight, on a third different continent.

Their first meeting took place in Bogota, Colombia, while the rematch was held in Isa Town, Bahrain. Now they’re all set to face off in Mauritius in a huge main event clash on May 11.

And, after the punishing nature of his defeat to Ndebele last time out, Torres said he’s ready to fight through adversity to reclaim bantamweight gold once again.

“So, for me, can I push through that this time?” he said.

“Can I push through and not let this happen and show how good I really am by doing the things I need to do, preventing all this from happening again, or something new (and) show the world how good I am?

“So, that is my goal. It is the road to redemption.”

Brave CF