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Tecia Torres: Everything You Need To Know About the UFC Star

LockerRoom Team
25 June 2021

Tecia Torres is one of the rising stars in the UFC Roster. The Strawweight fighter has been a mainstay in the MMA scene for a long time now and here is everything you need to know about her.

The early career of Tecia Torres

Torres has been practicing martial arts since he was three years old. She began taekwondo when she was a toddler and earned her black belt after twelve years of training. She also has a record of sixteen wins and four losses in amateur Muay-Thai

Torres earned a Bachelor of Arts from Florida Atlantic University in 2010 when he was 20 years old, with a double major in Criminal Justice and Sociology.

She began her MMA career as an amateur in 2011. She won all seven of her fights, earning 115-pound titles from MMA Solutions, the US Freedom Fighter Championship, and the American Battle Championships.

Torres then signed with Invicta Fighting Championships in 2012 to pursue a career in professional mixed martial arts.

Invicta Fighting Championship and The Ultimate Fighter

Torres made her professional and promotional debut against Kaiyana Rain at Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama on October 6, 2012. She was declared the winner by decision. 

Torres defeated Paige VanZant on all judges' scorecards at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt on January 5, 2013. On July 13, 2013, she defeated Rose Namajunas in a unanimous decision at Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg.

Torres was one of 11 women recruited by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for its newly created strawweight division in December 2013. She'll also be a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter reality show, where she'll compete in a tournament to determine the first strawweight champion.

Torres was the tournament's overall No. 3 seed and coach Gilbert Melendez's second choice. In the preliminary round of the competition, she faced Randa Markos. Torres was defeated by a unanimous decision over three rounds in a shocking upset.

When Justine Kish hurt her knee in training, she was permitted back into the event. She was transferred to Anthony Pettis' team and won the preliminary round by a unanimous decision over Bec Rawlings. In the quarter-finals, she faced Carla Esparza and lost by majority decision in two rounds.

Tecia Torres UFC

Tecia has fought multiple times in the UFC following her Ultimate Fighter Run. The run after TUF started with a fight against Angela Hill at UFC 188 and Torres won the fight as well. After this, she fought names like Rose Namajunas, Bec Rawlings, Juliana Lima, Michelle Waterson, Jessica Andrade, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Zhang Weili, Marina Rodriguez, Brianna Van Buren, and Sam Hughes in the promotion building a professional MMA record of 12-5 to her name.

Torres made her UFC debut on December 12, 2014, when she faced fellow Ultimate Fighter contender Angela Magna at The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale.  She won by unanimous decision after outstriking Magna two to one over the course of three rounds.

Torres next fought Angela Hill, a TUF 20 alumna, at UFC 188 on June 13, 2015. She was declared the winner by a unanimous decision. Torres was set to battle Michelle Waterson, the former Invicta Atomweight Champion, at UFC 194. Waterson, however, withdrew from the fight on November 24, 2015, citing a knee ailment. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger, a promotional newbie, took her position. Torres was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

On April 16, 2016, Torres fought Rose Namajunas in a rematch at UFC on Fox 19.  She was defeated by a unanimous decision. 

On February 4, 2017, Torres fought Bec Rawlings in a rematch at UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. Korean Zombie. Rawlings weighed 117.5 pounds during the weigh-ins, exceeding the women's strawweight limit of 116 pounds.

The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale pitted Torres against Juliana Lima on July 7, 2017. She won the fight by submission in the second round, giving her her first professional stoppage victory. Torres also received her first Performance of the Night bonus award as a result of her victory.

Torres fought Michelle Waterson at UFC 218 on December 2, 2017. She was declared the winner by a unanimous decision. Torres fought Michelle Waterson at UFC 218 on December 2, 2017. She was declared the winner by unanimous decision. On February 24, 2018, Torres fought Jéssica Andrade at UFC on Fox 28. She was defeated by a unanimous decision. On July 28, 2018, Torres fought Joanna Jdrzejczyk at UFC on Fox 30. She was defeated by a unanimous decision. Torres fought Zhang Weili at UFC 235 on March 2, 2019. She was defeated by a unanimous decision.

Torres fought Marina Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN+ 14 on August 10, 2019. She was defeated by a unanimous decision. On March 28, 2020, Torres was supposed to fight Mizuki Inoue at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. The event was later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Torres instead fought Brianna Van Buren at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov on June 20, 2020. The fight was decided in her favor. Torres went on to secure two more huge wins after this when she defeated Sam Hughes and Angela Hill. 

Most Searched Questions about Tecia Torres

In this section, we will be taking a look at some of the most searched questions about Tecia Torres.

Tecia Torres Gay

Tecia Torres is openly part of the LGBTQ+ community. She is engaged to fellow UFC Fighter Racquel Pennington. The two fighters had announced their engagement back in 2017.

“Our love began unexpectedly. It started as a crush and grew into an amazing love. At this moment you made my dreams for us come true. Every day you show me a love so true and pure. I am blessed to wake up to you every morning and fall asleep in your arms at night. I can't wait to become Mrs. Pennington.” Torres wrote on the day of the engagement.

Racquel Pennington also had written a message on the same day.

“Couldn't be any more complete. She said YES!!! And we had an amazing day with all our wonderful friends and family celebrating our new home,” Pennington noted.

Tecia Torres and Racquel Pennington

As mentioned, Tecia Torres and Racquel Pennington are engaged since 2017. The announcement of the engagement was made by the fighters through their social media channels.

Tecia Torres Instagram / Tecia Torres Twitter

Tecia Torres is available on Instagram as @teciatorres. She is available on Twitter with the same handle and often posts a lot of fight and fight camp-related content on her Social Media Pages.

Let us know your thoughts on Tecia Torres in the comment section below.


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