Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres is in talks to make his much anticipated return to action against rising contender Joseph Benavidez at WEC 47 in March. News of the bout was first reported by MMAMania.com.

Torres (37-2) will be fighting for the first time since losing the WEC bantamweight belt in his last bout after he suffered a shocking first round loss against Brian Bowles at WEC 42 in August. Prior to the loss, he had won an amazing 17 straight fights, which includes wins in his first five WEC bouts against the likes of Jeff Bedard, Chase Beebe, Yoshiro Maeda, Manny Tapia and Takeya Mizugaki.

Other notable promotions Torres has competed for throughout his nine-year career include Total Fight Challenge, Cage Rage and Absolute Fighting Championships. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has finished 31 of his 37 career wins including an astounding 22 coming by submission. He holds other notable career wins over the likes of Dan Swift and Joe Pearson.

Benavidez, who is a training partner of Urijah Faber, is coming off an impressive first-round TKO win over Rani Yahya at WEC 45 on Dec. 19. Prior to the win, he suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Dominick Cruz in a number one contender eliminator bout at August's WEC 42: "Torres vs. Bowles" event.

Benavidez sports a 3-1 WEC record, with other wins in the organization coming over Danny Martinez and Jeff Curran. The DREAM and Palace Fighting Championship veteran sports a near flawless 11-1 MMA record, with stoppages coming in nine of his 11 career wins. He holds other notable wins over his three-year career against Maurice Eazel and Junya Kudo.

WEC 47 takes place on March 6 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio and will be headlined by a WEC bantamweight title bout between current champion Brian Bowles and challenger Dominick Cruz.