Tecia Torres

After defeating Tecia Torres at UFC 273, who is next for Mackenzie Dern?

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Mackenzie Dern, ufc

This past Saturday on the main card of UFC 273, we saw a pivotal matchup in the women’s strawweight division. Top ten contenders battled it out as Mackenzie Dern (12-2) took on The Tiny Tornado, Tecia Torres (13-6).

Both of these ladies were looking to take a step towards title contention with a win. Going into the fight, everyone thought that if the fight touches the ground, Dern would pull off a submission. However, the fight on the feet was going to favor Torres.

We saw that in the first round. While Dern was being extremely aggressive, Torres remained composed and was doing a good job of landing counters. Dern was looking a little frustrated and I personally thought that Torres won the first round.

In the second round, the fight hit the mat. I immediately thought that Dern would get the submission win at UFC 273, but Torres defended extremely well and survived the round. However, she definitely lost the round and I had it all square.

The final round was back and forth with both fighters having their moments. Personally, I thought that Tecia Torres did enough to get the decision. However, the judges sided with Dern and Dern picked up a split decision win at UFC 273.

What’s next after UFC 273?

This win at UFC 273 was a big deal for Dern as it was her first fight since she lost to Marina Rodriguez last year. Dern had knee surgery following that loss and she needed a win to get things going down the right path in 2022.

Regardless of how you feel about the decision, Dern got her hand raised. With that in mind, what should the UFC do with her next? Well, I think there are a few options and one option would be looking at the main event in a couple of weeks.

Jessica Andrade will be taking on Amanda Lemos. Whoever wins that fight could be a good opponent for Dern. However, if Andrade wins, she will likely get her third fight with Rose Namajunas should Namajunas successfully defend her title at UFC 274.

Last week we also learned that Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili will be running things back in June. Whoever wins that fight might be in a good spot for a title shot. However, the loser would make for a great opponent for Dern. There are some good options and the UFC will get her a quality fight next.

Mackenzie Dern edges Tecia Torres at UFC 273

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On the main card of UFC 273, we saw a pivotal matchup in the strawweight division. Top ten contenders battled it out as they looked to take one step closer towards a title shot as Mackenzie Dern (11-2) took on the surging Tecia Torres (13-5).

For Dern, she was looking to bounce back after a loss to Marina Rodriguez in her last fight. Prior to that, she had won four straight fights, finishing three of them. There’s always been a lot of hype surrounding Dern in the UFC and she was looking to take another step towards the top tonight.

However, standing in her way was Tecia Torres. The Tiny Tornado went through a rough stretch from 2018 to 2019 where she lost four fights in a row. However, it’s important to remember her competition. Three of the losses came against former UFC champions and one was to top contender Marina Rodriguez.

After the Rodriguez loss, she’s won three straight fights to earn this shot against Dern. Both ladies had a lot to prove in their fight this evening.

UFC 273 Recap

Round 1

The UFC 273 strawweight contest kicked off with a touch of the gloves. Dern opens with some wild hooks but nothing lands. Lots of pressure from Dern to open this one. Nice right hand counter lands for Tecia Torres. Leg kick from Torres and Dern tries to get a body lock, but Torres shrugs her off.

Dern looking to work the jab. Torres is being very evasive here in the first couple of minutes. Nice right hand lands for Dern and she uses that to get a body lock. However, Torres reverses the position and she’s controlling Dern against the fence.

Nice cage pressure from Tecia Torres here. Good knee to the body from Dern and the two separate. Nice right hand over the top lands for Torres. Good leg kick from Torres and she’s doing a good job of landing as Dern advances.

Dern looks a little sloppy here as she tries to close the distance. She’s trying to work her jab, but Torres is landing more here. Low kick from Torres. Dern looks for a big right hand but it misses the mark.

Good body kick from Dern and she lands a big power shot behind it. Torres was wobbled there for a second. Side kick from Torres grants her some separation. Round comes to a close and I lean towards Tecia Torres in the first at UFC 273.

Round 2

Entering the second at UFC 273 and the first round could have gone to either fighter. Dern immediately presses forward and looks to work the jab to start the second. Both ladies exchange kicks in the middle of the octagon.

Torres and Dern end up in a body lock. However, as soon as they are there, Dern hops on Torres and starts working for submissions. Dern attacking a kimura here. They end up on the ground and Dern is cranking the submission, however, Torres is defending well.

Torres survives, but Dern is chaining submission attempts. We are in Dern’s world right now and Torres is just trying to survive. Torres is stacking Dern here trying to prevent her from getting any leverage here.

Dern switches to attacking the leg and she’s working a knee bar. Torres still surviving and defending well with 30 seconds left in the round. Nice ground and pound here from Dern and it looks like Torres is going to survive. The second is in the books at UFC 273 and it could be all square going into the final frame.

Round 3

Entering the final round at UFC 273 and whoever wins this round should win the fight. The final round is underway and these two waste no time. Both open with a big exchange where they both partially landed.

Nice side kick from Torres but Dern counters with a big body kick of her own. Low kick from Torres. Dern is heavy on the pressure here trying to close the distance. Nice side kick to the leg from Torres but Dern walks right through it.

Nice 1-2 lands for Dern. Wheel kick lands for Torres but Dern is able to catch a leg. Nice trip from Dern and she gets a takedown. However, a nice upkick from Torres immediately gets Dern off her and Torres quickly gets back up.

90 seconds left in the round and this is still anyone’s fight. Big right hand over the top from Dern. Body kick lands for Torres. Torres pushing forward and she lands a couple of shots and follows up with a low kick.

Body kick lands for Torres and she’s throwing a lot here in the final minute. Torres much more active than Dern in the final round and she should get the win here but it’s going to be very close.

Mackenzie Dern def. Tecia Torres by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

UFC working on booking Mackenzie Dern – Tecia Torres

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The UFC is off and running for their booking of 2022. Immediately out of the gates, they have been booking some incredible fights in the female divisions and they are working on finalizing another big time matchup. MMA.Ideas was the first to report that the UFC is closing in on a fight between Mackenzie Dern (11-2) and Tecia Torres (13-5).

The bout would take place in the spring, however, there’s no date lined up just yet. The word is that verbal agreements are in place for this UFC matchup. Tecia Torres is getting back in the limelight with this matchup and it’s a chance for her fourth straight win.

Back in 2019, Torres suffered her fourth consecutive loss when she lost to Marina Rodriguez. However, those losses don’t look that bad when you examine her competition. Rodriguez is a top contender and the other three losses came against former UFC champions.

In Torres’ UFC career, she’s only lost to Rodriguez and four of the five strawweight champions in the history of the promotion. Simply put, despite that losing streak, she’s one of the best in the UFC and now, she gets a big time chance to win her fourth straight.

UFC strawweight matchup

Back in 2018, Mackenzie Dern entered the UFC with a ton of hype. She won her first two fights before becoming pregnant with her first child. The pregnancy kept Dern out of action for a year and a half and she lost her return bout to the talented Amanda Ribas.

However, that loss lit a fire underneath Dern. Following the loss, Dern won four consecutive fights. That winning streak led her to a main event against Marina Rodriguez. Ultimately, Rodriguez won that one and now Dern is looking to reset when she takes on Torres.

Whoever wins this fight is going to be in an excellent position in the strawweight division. It should be a good year for the UFC’s 115 pound weight class.

What’s next for Amanda Ribas after UFC 267 win?

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This past Saturday in the featured prelim of UFC 267, Amanda Ribas (11-2) returned to the octagon to face fellow Brazilian and top fifteen strawweight Virna Jandiroba (17-3). Ribas was looking to bounce back after her first UFC loss which came back in January.

So far in her career with the promotion, we’ve seen Ribas display her great skills on the mat. However, her striking has lacked behind just a little. That really showed itself when she took on Marina Rodriguez back in January and got stopped in the second round.

The loss made Ribas go back to the drawing board and address some of the holes in her game. A matchup against BJJ world champion Virna Jandiroba seemed like the perfect opportunity to show off her striking and that is what Ribas did at UFC 267.

Ribas looked like a completely different fighter on the feet Saturday. She was incredibly loose with her hands and mixed up her combinations well. Ribas rocked Jandiroba multiple times on her way to getting a lopsided decision win to get her back on track.

What’s next after UFC 267?

This was a really big win for Ribas at UFC 267. After her first loss with the promotion, she said she had to figure out whether or not she still wanted to fight for a living. There were a lot of doubts, but she proved to herself and the world that she’s going no where.

After that impressive win, what should the UFC do with Ribas next? Well, I don’t think they should rush her right back to the top of the division, but they should give her a solid opponent that’s in the ballpark of her current ranking.

I think that the ideal matchup would be pairing Ribas with Tecia Torres (13-5). The Tiny Tornado has won three consecutive fights and she’s looking for a quality opponent as well. This would be a great fight for both ladies and it would give the UFC a solid contender on the upswing depending on who walks away victorious.

After falling short at UFC Vegas 39, what’s next for Mackenzie Dern?

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This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 39, we saw a pivotal matchup in the strawweight division. Top contenders battled it out as Mackenzie Dern (11-2) took on Marina Rodriguez (15-1-2).

Heading into the matchup, the path to victory seemed relatively clear for both ladies. For Dern, she was going to need to get the fight to the ground. She arguably has the best jiu-jitsu out of any female fighter in the UFC.

She has improved striking, but Rodriguez is so much more seasoned on the feet. Rodriguez needed to keep the fight standing where she was going to have a massive advantage, especially from range.

One of the things that concerned me about Dern going into the fight was her takedowns. Despite all of her submission wins, Dern is not effective at all with her takedowns. Coming into UFC Vegas 39, she was only succeeding at a 10% clip.

While the fight did touch the mat a few times on Saturday, Dern’s inability to take the fight down ended up being her downfall. Rodriguez controlled most of the fight on the feet and survived the grappling exchanges to win a decision.

What’s next after UFC Vegas 39?

For Dern, this fight is a reset. The surging contender had won four fights in a row and she was looking to become the star that the UFC believes she can be. As mentioned, she’s becoming more well-rounded, but she’s still a little too one-dimensional.

With the loss, Dern falls to 6-2 in eight fights in the UFC. She’s still one of the better strawweights in the world, but she has to continue to improve her striking and she definitely needs to improve her offensive wrestling.

If Dern can become a fighter who’s dangerous with takedowns, she can easily become a world champion. Now that her winning streak is snapped, who should be next for Mackenzie Dern?

Well, one fighter I like for Dern is a little down the rankings in Tecia Torres (13-5). Torres is just inside the top ten and she’s won three fights in a row. She’s been begging the UFC for a top contender and I think Dern fits the bill.

She showed great striking in her last fight, but she’s been known throughout her career for her wrestling. It would be an interesting stylistic matchup and it would be fun to see how both ladies would approach it. For Dern, it would be the slight step back she needs while still taking on a tough customer.

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.