This past Saturday at UFC Vegas 21, Angela Hill (13-9) returned to the octagon. She took on Ashley Yoder (8-7) in a rematch from their first fight a few years ago that Hill won. Originally, these two were supposed to fight a couple of weeks ago.
However, the day of the fight, Yoder had to pull out due to a positive COVID test in her camp. The UFC rescheduled the bout and the two ladies went to war on Saturday night. Hill was the big betting favorite and it was easy to see why as the fight played out.
Ashley Yoder is very tough and wouldn’t go away, but Saturday belonged to Angela Hill. Hill’s striking was incredibly crisp and her speed gave Yoder problems all night. I was extremely impressed with the body work by Angela Hill
Hill did a fantastic job of mixing up her punches and kicks to the body. At one point in the third round, she unleashed a barrage of six or seven hard knees to the body of Ashley Yoder. Yoder wouldn’t go away, but she had no answer. All three judges gave every round to Hill at UFC Vegas 21.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 21?
This win had to feel great for Angela Hill. Hill looked like she was marching towards the UFC’s top five of strawweight early on in 2020. However, she suffered two razor close split decision losses to Claudia Gadelha and Michelle Waterson.
Now that Hill is back in the win column, I believe it’s time for her to get someone inside the top ten. Hill was supposed to fight Tecia Torres (12-5) in a rematch back in December and that’s still a fight I like.
There is some bad blood there and it makes sense from a rankings perspective. However, if the UFC wants to go in a different route, I like Hill against Marina Rodriguez (13-1-2). This would be a very fun matchup and a win would get Hill close to the top five. Either option would be a good choice for Angela Hill’s next fight.