Top strawweight prospect Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres kept her perfect professional record intact with a clear-cut victory tonight at UFC 194: “Aldo vs McGregor” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Torres earned a Unanimous Decision win over late replacement opponent Jocelyn “Lights Out” Jones-Lybarger.
Torres controlled the opening two rounds of tonight’s featured 115-pound matchup by landing crisp combinations and keeping Jones-Lybarger pinned against the cage. She blasted Jones-Lybarger with power punches in the latter half of round three to seal a well-deserved victory on the scorecards.
Torres (7-0-0) mixed things up with combinations of punches and leg kicks in the opening round and Jones-Lybarger fired back with one-twos. Torres pressured Jones-Lybarger with more punches and she kept her trapped against the fence throughout the second half of the round. Torres remained effective in the clinch in round two and she snuck in short punches and knees. She reversed a takedown late in the round and countered Jones-Lybarger’s elbow strikes by raining down strikes from the top.
After a brief clinch in round three, Torres continued to pepper Jones-Lybarger with quick punches and kicks on the feet. Jones-Lybarger’s left eye began to swell up from Torres’s right hooks and Torres picked up the pace in a big way by swarming on her opponent with big flurries of power punches. A wounded Jones-Lybarger retreated to the cage wall and Torres continue to unload with huge shots. Jones-Lybarger stayed calm and finished the round with a left hook, but it was too little, too late.
All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Torres, who took another step towards a shot at the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship. The talented 26-year-old is now 3-0 in official UFC bouts since her time on The Ultimate Fighter 20.
Winner: Tecia Torres by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 7-0-0.
(Photo Credit: UFC)