Torres (39-3, 1-0 UFC) beat Antonio Banuelos by unanimous decision at UFC 126 last week, cruising to a 30-27 sweep of the judges' scorecards by using a relentless left jab. According to FightMetric, Torres outstruck Banuelos 73-10 in the fight.
The win was Torres' second straight after a two-fight losing streak for the first time in his career. At WEC 42, Torres was knocked out by Brian Bowles – losing his title and a nearly six-year-long, 17-fight winning steak in the process. He followed that up with a submission loss to Joseph Benavidez at WEC 47 last March.
But a move to the Tristar Gym in Montreal for the bulk of his training, where he now works with coach Firas Zahabi, has apparently paid dividends for Torres. Before the win over Banuelos, Torres submitted Charlie Valencia in his WEC finale at WEC 51.
Pickett (20-5, 3-1 WEC) is also coming off a win, a unanimous decision victory over Ivan Menjivar at WEC 53, the promotion's last card before its merger with the UFC, in December. Coincidentally, Menjivar trains at Tristar Gym.
Pickett fought mostly in his native England before signing with the WEC in 2009. He submitted Kyle Dietz in his debut at WEC 45, then won a unanimous decision over Demetrious Johnson at WEC 48. The American Top Team-trained bantamweight lost to Scott Jorgensen at WEC 50 before rebounding with his win over Menjivar.
UFC 130 is scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It will be headlined by a lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who fought to a draw at UFC 125 last month. Also on the card, former light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will fight Matt Hamill; Frank Mir and Roy Nelson meet in a heavyweight bout; Thiago Alves fights Rick Story; and Stefan Struve takes on Travis Browne.
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