Tecia Torres Shines In Victory At UFC On ESPN 11 In Las VegasFacing a potential must-win situation, Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres responded with one of her best performances to date tonight at UFC on ESPN 11: “Blaydes vs Volkov” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Torres took a clear Unanimous Decision win over rising star Brianna “Tha Bull” Van Buren.

In addition to Torres’s impressive strawweight showing, the UFC on ESPN 11 preliminary card also featured a pair of women’s flyweight matchups. Gillian “The Savage” Robertson and “Lucky” Lauren Murphy both moved up the ladder at 125 pounds with crucial victories in their bouts tonight.

 

Torres (11-5-0) and Van Buren (9-3-0) battled back and forth throughout the opening round and Van Buren’s clinch work eventually led to a takedown shortly before the bell. Torres picked up the pace in a big way to begin round two and she carried that momentum all the way until the end of the fight. With a varied arsenal of switch kicks, body kicks and even a spinning hook kick, Torres kept Van Buren guessing in the final ten minutes. Van Buren did land a hard back elbow strike to Torres’s left eye in the final stanza, but it did little to slow down Torres’s momentum and she closed out the fight with side kicks and punching combinations.

All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Torres, whose Unanimous Decision victory gets her back into contention in the ultra-competitive women’s strawweight division following four tough setbacks against former champions and divisional standouts. Tonight’s performance was one of Torres’s strongest to date, and came just when she needed it the most. Meanwhile, Van Buren, who won a one-night Invicta FC tournament last year and upset Livia Renata Souza in her Octagon debut, had a six-fight winning streak snapped with tonight’s defeat.

 

Making history for her country, grappling ace Robertson (8-4-0) capped off a dominant performance against Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey (9-8-0) tonight with a rear-naked choke finish late in the final round. Robertson became the first Canadian fighter to win a fight at the UFC Apex and she did so in convincing fashion by dominating Casey on the mat in all three rounds. Save for an armbar attempt in round two, Casey was never able to get much of anything going and Robertson controlled the fight with positional dominance and ground and pound. She passed from side control to Casey’s back late in the final round, and that allowed her to sink in a rear-naked choke for the tapout win at the 4:36 mark of round three.

Earlier on the card, Murphy (13-4-0) earned her third straight victory by outpointing 16-year veteran Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi (24-17-0) after three competitive rounds. Murphy effectively countered Modafferi’s forward pressure with overhand rights and leg kicks in round one, and she threatened with a rear-naked choke after countering a takedown attempt in the middle stanza. Both women had success on the feet in round three, but Murphy held a slight edge in the striking exchanges and a late-fight takedown sealed the fight in her favour. Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Murphy, who took the Unanimous Decision win and has now become a top contender in the flyweight division.

 

 

(Photo Credit: UFC)