We wondered if Miguel Torres would ever get his killer instinct and trademark aggressiveness back. He looked so shell shocked in his last fight that there was a lot of doubt as to whether he could recover. If this fight would provide the definitive answer then boy did he answer the call. One of the most impressive performances of his career inside the blue cage.

The first was very tentative by both fighters. Torres was staying patient and pawing with his left hand, as usual, while Valencia tried to find the range. When Torres did push, it was with shots to body that led to a clinch against the cage. He further frustrated Valencia with some solid dirty boxing before they reset. An errant nutshot on a switch kick marred the round a bit but he made up for it by dropping him towards the end and bringing a flurry of punches and elbows. He couldn't quite finish, and Valencia executed a firemen's carry suplex as the round ended, but it was a big confidence builder going into the second.

You could see the difference in Torres in the second. After some circling and a sloppy shot from Valencia that Torres easily stepped back and avoided, Torres tagged him again and down he went. He looked to grab his neck but couldn't quite get the finish. Back to the feet and another shot put Valencia down. He quickly took his back and got the body triangle before opening him up with punches to sink in the rear naked choke to force the tap.

A very impressive performance that puts Torres right back in the swing of things at 135lbs.