He is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world with a record of 37-1. He carries a five-year, seventeen-fight win-streak. He is the current WEC Bantamweight Champion and will be defending his title this weekend at WEC 42 against Brian Bowles.

Frank Mir, who is known for singing the praises of Miguel Torres, is reported as saying if he was Torres’ manager, Brian Bowles would be the one person he would have the champ avoid.

However, this Sunday, Torres won’t be avoiding anyone. He wants to defeat Bowles and get on with his bigger mission of becoming a legend. “I want to make history. I want to be the most dominant champion at 135 lbs. in the world,” said Torres on this week’s edition of Pro MMA Radio.

One might think since Torres may be running out of competition at bantamweight, however, he mentioned Benavidez, Cruise, Curran, and Yamamoto as names of other 135 lbs. fighters that he has not fought and would make for intriguing match ups. He wants to leave no stone unturned. “I do not want to retire one day and have it said about me, he was good, but he never fought this guy,” said Torres.

Many fighters are satisfied with just winning, but Miguel Torres likes to defeat his opponents at their own game. If they are good strikers, he likes to out-strike them. If they are known for grappling, he wants to submit them.

As dominant a champion as Miguel Torres is in the WEC, there is a large discrepancy between what he makes as a title-holder and what many of the UFC champions are making. The champ admits it gets to him sometimes, but he also understands the WEC is not the UFC. “It’s frustrating but I know what’s going on. I understand they’re not on pay-per-view and they’re a growing promotion,” said Torres.

Torres sees himself helping the WEC grow as he grows. He considers himself a forerunner of better things to come. He feels he is doing the “grunt work,” and those fighters that come after him “will reap the benefits.”

“I noticed the strategy is a lot different in the UFC. The reason I like fighting for the WEC even though the pay is not where it should be yet, is the fact that the fighters who come to fight in the WEC fight to win. The guys don’t hold anything back. We go out there 100 miles per hour and we don’t stop until we get the job done,” said Torres.

Torres is on his way to becoming a legend in the sport, but first things first — Brian Bowles.

Torres sized up the number one contender. “I think he’s real explosive, very strong. He’s going to come out and try to throw big bombs, big combinations. He’s not much of a boxer. He’s gonna come out and try to bang, try to land that one big shot, try to get a takedown, and try to do some ground and pound and land that knockout shot,” said Torres.

Bowles has stated he plans on knocking our Torres. Is Torres concerned about the possibility of that happening? He explained, “I’ve never been knocked out or submitted in my career, and I don’t see him being the first one to do it.”

One of Torres strong points is his conditioning. He realizes few fighters are prepared for his level of intensity when they step in the cage. “To have one guy come at me and think he’s going to keep that same pace that I can keep is not going to happen,” said Torres.

Will Miguel Torres continue his reign of dominance? Find out this Sunday night Aug. 9 as WEC 42 airs live on Versus.

To listen to the entire interview with Miguel Torres on Pro MMA Radio episode 57 go to www.prommaradio.com. Pro MMA Radio with host Larry Pepe airs every Monday evening at 6:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. PT and can be listened to live at www.prommaradio.com.  Archives are available free for download.

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