Torres recently spoke with Tatame on the importance of speaking English:
Are you already studying English?
I am trying, I will have to study. I saw how much this is important to the athlete, I went with Marlon to Japan now and I saw how it is important to speak English. I have to study and I think that it will help me very much to close fight. There is Dedé (André Pederneiras) helping me a lot, but I have to learn to develop with the guys there.
Torres is one of the UFC's newest editions to its lightweight division. He's a highly touted Brazilian most noted for submitting PRIDE veteran Luiz Azeredo. I can't stress how important it is for these foreign fighters to learn enough of the English language to heed to instructions from referees, and to relate to the fans. Wanderlei Silva is a prime example for foreign fighters. Not only does he come in the octagon to put on an exciting fight, he is also able to conduct post fight interviews to express his humility and thankfulness to the fans. It may seem petty, but it goes a long way in establishing yourself within a fan base. The same goes for American fighters going over to Japan.
It's really just like any other job out there. In certain areas I work with a large percentage of students that speak Spanish. So to make my job easier, what did I do? I learned enough Spanish in which I could at least answer basic questions. Props to Torres for recognizing this and maybe more fighters will following his example.
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