Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres was cut from the UFC yesterday. Torres’ termination came in the wake of a controversy concerning a joke he made about rape vans on Twitter. It was a bold move by the UFC and there’s no telling what the long term ramifications will be for the organization.

On Wednesday, Torres tweeted:

@MiguelTorresMMA: If a windowless van was called a surprise van, more people wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises.

On Thursday, he was fired. Ready for the double-standard? In November, former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin tweeted a rape joke. He was not fired. During Wednesday’s UFC On FOX 2 press conference, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans made a joke about the Penn State scandal, directed at former PSU wrestler, Phil Davis. He was not fired. Here’s Dana’s explanation.

To be fair, that wasn’t Torres’ only rape joke this week.

@MiguelTorresMMA: Your mouth says no but my roofies say yes.

If Torres is in any other sports league, he’s looking at a nice little fine. In the UFC? He gets fired by Dana White who went on an expletive-filled tirade against reporter Loretta Hunt a few years ago where he called her a “fucking dumb bitch.” (He also referred to an anonymous source as a “pussy and a fucking faggot” during that rant.)

Was Torres’ firing the example that the UFC had to set now that they’re working with FOX? Maybe. If Torres wants to say something stupid, that’s his right as an American. I guess it’s also the UFC’s right to fire him. I would say that this sets a dangerous precedent for the UFC, but that’s not true.

For years Zuffa has handled each incident they have been faced with on a case by case basis with little to no consideration for any previous example. Some guys test positive for performance enhancing drugs, they get fired. Some guys test positive, they sit out for a little while and get a title shot. It all comes down to who is making the UFC money. Right now, Torres isn’t doing that. While the former WEC champ is 2-1 in the UFC, he’s had all three fights go to decision. Gone is the exciting non-style that pushed his career record to 37-1 in 2009 and thus, gone is the contract.

[Twitter, MMAJunkie, Getty]