MANILA, Philippines — Filipina atomweight sensation Jomary Torres burst onto the ONE Championship scene in spectacular fashion back in 2017, shocking the world in her promotional debut with an upset submission victory over Thai mixed martial arts star Rika Ishige in Macau.
Torres only continued to rise in her next assignments, as she cruised past Nita Dea via unanimous decision before putting on a dominant performance in a 40-second TKO victory over top contender April Osenio.
Torres’ masterful display of power against Osenio was enough to get people talking about her as a legitimate contender to the women’s atomweight title, currently held by Singaporean MMA star Angela Lee.
Unfortunately for the 22-year-old Filipina, her meteoric rise came to halt at “Conquest of Heroes” in Jakarta, Indonesia, last September 22. She fell flat against hometown favorite Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol.
Torres was hell-bent on scoring takedowns, but was ultimately unsuccessful in her endeavor as Gaol outworked the Filipina en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision victory.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Torres, who found herself on the wrong end of the judges’ scorecards for the first time in her professional career.
“It’s frustrating. This is definitely something that I don’t want to experience again,” Torres said of her maiden career loss.
“Instead of making the necessary adjustments, I kept on forcing the issue. I really wanted to take her down, but I just couldn’t do it, and Priscilla capitalized on that. She was the better competitor that night,” she added.
Now, faced with the unfamiliar task of needing to bounce back from a loss for the first time, Torres admits that some of the pressure of preserving an unbeaten record intact has been alleviated.
“I have to admit that it’s kind of a relief for me because, I can focus on getting better and becoming an even more well-rounded mixed martial artist,” she said.
Armed with a renewed sense of motivation and the determination to avoid the undesirable feeling of defeat, Torres vows to come back a better and stronger competitor.
“It’s just one loss, it’s just my first loss. This is definitely not the end for me. I promise I will be back,” she exclaimed.