Tecia Torres

What’s next for Nina Nunes after her loss at UFC Vegas 23?

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This past Saturday at UFC Vegas 23, Nina Nunes (10-7) returned to the octagon for the first time since 2019. Waiting for her was the surging strawweight contender and BJJ world champion, Mackenzie Dern (11-1).

Heading into UFC Vegas 23, the key for Nunes was keeping the fight standing. While Dern has made a ton of improvements in her striking, the general thought was that if the fight was on the feet, Nunes would have the advantage.

I also thought it would be important for Nunes to stay patient. When you’ve been out for a lengthy amount of time, it takes a couple of minutes to get adjusted to being back in the fire. So for Nunes, it was going to be key to not rush things in the cage.

On the flip side, Dern needed to push the pace at UFC Vegas 23. She needed to be in Nunes’ face to not let her get comfortable and that is exactly what she did. Her aggressive nature allowed her to land some good shots and get a takedown in the first round.

Once Dern had the fight on the ground, she was in full control. I will say, I was impressed with how Nunes defended for the majority of the round. However, in the end it didn’t matter. Dern locked up an armbar late in the round and took the victory at UFC Vegas 23.

What’s next after UFC Vegas 23?

As mentioned, this was Nina Nunes’ first fight since mid-2019. After taking last year off to give birth to her daughter, it was a lot to ask of her to take on someone like Mackenzie Dern in her UFC return.

Now that she’s got this first fight under her belt, I think she could get a quality opponent in her second fight back. There is one fight that I’m looking at for her next which seems like a very quality matchup.

For her next bout, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the UFC book her against Tecia Torres (12-5). Torres has won back-to-back fights which has put her tenth in the UFC rankings. Even with the loss, Nunes is seventh. Torres wants a step up in the rankings and Nunes needs a quality opponent. The matchup makes sense.

What’s next for Angela Hill after UFC Vegas 21?

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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.

After her knockout loss at UFC 257, what’s next for Amanda Ribas?

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Going into UFC 257, Amanda Ribas (10-2) was riding a ton of momentum. She was unbeaten with the promotion and her infectious personality allowed her to be easily marketable for the UFC.

If she was able to win on Saturday, she was expected to receive a huge push from the promotion. However, Marina Rodriguez (13-1-2) had different plans for UFC 257. Rodriguez is known as one of the best and most powerful strikers in the strawweight division.

For Ribas to win on Saturday, she needed to lean on her grappling skills. In the first round of their fight, that’s what she did. Ribas was able to land a takedown and she controlled Rodriguez for the majority of the round.

However, in the second round, there was no urgency to get the takedown. Instead, Ribas seemed comfortable and was willing to trade with Rodriguez. This proved to be a major mistake.

Within the first minute, Rodriguez landed a huge right hand as Ribas was coming in. Ribas crashed to the floor and at the 54 second mark of the first round, Rodriguez derailed the UFC hype train of Amanda Ribas.

What’s next after UFC 257?

This was a bad loss for Ribas at UFC 257, but it wasn’t something that will completely derail her career. She had entered Saturday night 4-0 in the UFC, however, Rodriguez was going to be her first really dangerous opponent.

Yes, she had a win over Mackenzie Dern, however, that was after a lengthy layoff for Dern. We also know that Dern isn’t a striker like Marina Rodriguez. While it is a setback, Ribas is fully capable of bouncing back from this loss.

So what comes next after her UFC 257 loss? In looking at the strawweight division, I think there are a few options for Ribas. One option would be Angela Hill (12-9) who is currently ranked 12th in the division.

Hill was the victim of two razor close split decision losses in 2020. Had those gone her way, she would’ve been riding a five-fight winning streak and she would have been a contender for the UFC title in 2021.

Another option for Ribas would be Tecia Torres (12-5). Torres has won two fights in a row after losing four straight. This has her ranked ninth in the division just one spot ahead of where Ribas is.

The last option I have is a matchup against thirteenth ranked Virna Jandiroba (16-2). Any of those three would make great opponents for Ribas and they are all inside the top 13. Get a win over one of those and they hype train gets moving again.

UFC: Angela Hill – Tecia Torres fight is off

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COVID-19 has struck once again in the world of MMA. This time it’s a UFC 256 women’s strawweight contest that is the victim. Angela Hill (12-9) took to her Instagram account to announce that her fight with Tecia Torres (11-5) is off.

She posted that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and was not able to fight at UFC 256. This fight was flying under the radar, but was considered to be one of the more anticipated matchups on the prelims next weekend.

Since her loss to Yan Xiaonan back in June of 2019, Angela Hill has shown so much improvement. She won three straight fights in the UFC after that loss before she fought Claudia Gadelha back in May.

That night, the two strawweights fought to a split decision and the judges gave the fight to Gadelha. I personally thought Hill won the fight, but the judges are all that matter and it didn’t go her way.

After that, Hill took on Michelle Waterson back in September. It was an absolute war and in the end, two of the judges gave the fight to Waterson. While I think the judges got that one right, it was a tough one for Hill. Two straight razor close split decision losses in the UFC.

UFC’s Plans

At this point, the UFC is undecided on if they will rebook this matchup. If they do, it’ll be at least a month before Hill and Torres will be able to fight because of the UFC‘s schedule.

Hill wouldn’t be permitted to compete at UFC Vegas 17 which means she won’t be able to fight until January 16th at the earliest. The UFC could look to replace Hill and have Torres fight someone else, however, there’s no word on that yet.

This was a rematch from Hill’s third professional fight. She lost to the Tiny Tornado and was hoping to get this one back. Torres snapped a four-fight losing streak in her last fight and was hoping to string together her second straight UFC victory.

UFC books Angela Hill – Tecia Torres rematch (Reports)

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UFC 256 is getting a really solid strawweight contest added to it’s card. According to multiple reports, Angela Hill (12-9) is going to be taking on Tecia Torres (11-5) in a rematch. The two strawweights first fought back at UFC 188.

2020 was shaping up to be a big time year for Angela Hill, however, it’s taken a turn. After defeating Ariane Carnelossi back in September of 2019, Hill opened 2020 with back-to-back UFC wins in the first two months of the year. She rode that momentum into a shot at former title challenger Claudia Gadelha.

It was a very close fight that many believed Hill should have won. However, two of the three judges gave the fight to Gadelha at UFC on ESPN 8. Hill then turned around and got a last minute main event slot against the Karate Hottie, Michelle Waterson.

In a fight that would turn out to be a classic, Hill was once again defeated by split decision. I had the fight scored for Waterson, but many believed that Hill should have won. Had Hill been given those two decisions, she could have been in UFC title contention.

Tecia Torres was able to snap her four fight losing streak back in June. Torres took on and defeated Brianna Van Buren by unanimous decision. A fifth straight loss could have spelled the end of Torres’ current run in the UFC.

UFC Redemption

These two ladies rank 11th and 12th in the UFC‘s strawweight rankings. A loss for either would really hurt their chances moving forward while a victory would get them moving back in the right direction. A lot is on the line at UFC 256.

For Angela Hill, this is a golden opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. She can right the wrong of the last couple of decisions, and she can get back her first loss to Torres. Torres won their first fight by unanimous decision.

This is a very solid strawweight contest that has been added to a very good card at UFC 256. The card is being headlined by the greatest female fighter of all time in Amanda Nunes, however, these two ladies should put on a show in their fight.