The Zamboanginian Fighter returns in ONE: Quest of Heroes on 22 September. Jomary Torres is sure to Jomary Torres once dreamed of playing basketball as a pro.
Football is widely regarded as the most popular sport in the world, but in the Philippines, basketball has become woven into the cultural fabric of the country where the overall lack of height does not interfere with the love of the game.
Like many other Filipinos in the archipelago, homegrown mixed martial arts prospect Jomary “The Zamboanganian Fighter” Torres had a simple dream of becoming a basketball player when she was a young girl.
“I really wanted to play basketball,” she shared. “Most men play basketball in our country. Since it is like our national sport, I was fascinated by it,” she said.
Having played in fiestas and for her school, Torres thought that she could eventually find a way to make a career out of her hobby.
“It’s natural for Filipinos to play basketball. You can see hoops everywhere. We play the game every single day. Like many of my countrymen, I was good at it. I thought of playing in the professional ranks and have the chance to earn money from it,” she said.
However, circumstances in life would not allow Torres to pursue a professional career in basketball.
Torres and her older brother were actually left under the care of their grandmother since they were infants.
Despite not having a stable business as a source of income, Torres’ grandmother found ways to provide, such as picking up extra work at a school cafeteria.
“Instead of letting my grandmother work even more just to get me through college, I decided to stop going to school and find a job to help her out,” she said.
Torres eventually shelved her hoops dream and emerged as a promising mixed martial arts talent from the Philippines. She has compiled an undefeated professional record of 4-0.
The 22-year-old Zamboanga del Norte native directed her career path to ONE Championship in 2017, winning her first three assignments in astonishing fashion.
When she made her promotional debut against Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige in August 2017, Torres stole her thunder on that fateful night by submitting the Thai martial arts heroine in the second round of their exhilarating contest.
Three months after she forced Ishige to wave the white flag in her maiden ONE Championship appearance, Torres out-grappled Indonesia’s Nita Dea en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Her most recent triumph came at the expense of Team Lakay’s April Osenio, whom she finished in just 40 second with a thunderous slam last January.”‹
