Tecia Lyn Torres MoncaioMixed martial arts show results Date: June 20, 2020
/ref> (born August 16, 1989) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who is currently competing in the strawweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of October 24, 2022, she is #8 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings.

Background

Torres was born in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount ...

, but moved to Coral Springs with her single mom, older sister and a younger brother at the age of five. Torres has been involved in martial arts since age 3. She began in

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...

as a child, and received her black belt after twelve years practicing the sport. She also has an amateur

muay thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

record of sixteen victories and four losses. Torres graduated at 20 years old in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in Criminal Justice and Sociology from

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 1 ...

. She earned her master's degree in Criminology from the same college in 2017. She is of Puerto Rican,

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

and Irish descent. Her family has roots in Maunabo, Puerto Rico.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Torres started her amateur mixed martial arts career in 2011. She won each of her seven bouts, obtaining 115-pound titles in ''MMA Solutions,'' ''US Freedom Fighter Championship'' and ''American Battle Championships''. In 2012, Torres moved to professional mixed martial arts and signed with

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

Invicta Fighting Championships

Torres made her professional and promotional debut against Kaiyana Rain on October 6, 2012, at Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama. She won via unanimous decision. Torres faced Paige VanZant on January 5, 2013, at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt, winning on all judges' score cards. She then won a unanimous decision over

Rose Namajunas Rose Gertrude Namajunas (born June 29, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist. She is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the women's strawweight division and is the former two-time UFC Women's Strawwei ...

on July 13, 2013 at Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg. Her final bout of 2013 was against

Felice Herrig Felice Nicole Herrig (born September 18, 1984) is an American retired kickboxer, Muay Thai fighter, and mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the strawweight division. Background Herrig was born in Buff ...

on December 7, 2013, at Invicta FC 7: Honchak vs. Smith. She won via unanimous decision.

''The Ultimate Fighter''

In December 2013, Torres was announced as one of 11 women signed by the

(UFC) for its newly created strawweight division. It was also announced that she would compete as a cast member on ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen ...

'' reality series, as part of a tournament to crown the inaugural strawweight champion. In the season premiere of ''The Ultimate Fighter'', Torres was selected by Team Melendez with the second pick. Third-ranked Torres was matched against #14 Randa Markos. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Torres was the overall no. 3 seed in the tournament and picked second by coach

Gilbert Melendez Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightwe ...

. She faced

Randa Markos Randa Cemil Markos-Thomas (born August 10, 1985) is an Iraqi-born Canadian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Personal life Markos wa ...

in the preliminary round of the show. In a surprise upset, Torres lost the fight via unanimous decision over three rounds. She, however, was allowed back into the tournament when

Justine Kish Svetlana Nasibulina (born 13 April 1988), known professionally by her ring name Justine Kish, is an American mixed martial artist that competes in the Flyweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional since 2010, she has also competed in the Ult ...

injured her knee in training. She was transferred to the team run by

Anthony Pettis Anthony Paul Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of th ...

and defeated

Bec Rawlings Rebecca Anne Rawlings (born 11 February 1989) is an Australian mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer, who currently competes in the flyweight division. She was ranked as a contender strawweight (106-115 lb) fighter according to th ...

in the preliminary round by unanimous decision. She faced

Carla Esparza Carla Kristen Esparza (born October 10, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is a former two-time UFC Women's Strawweight Champi ...

in the quarter-finals and lost via majority decision in two rounds.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Torres made her UFC debut against fellow ''Ultimate Fighter'' competitor Angela Magaña at The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale on December 12, 2014. She won the fight via dominant unanimous decision, out-striking Magaña two-to-one over the course of three rounds. Torres next faced TUF 20 alum Angela Hill on June 13, 2015, at

UFC 188 ''UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum'' was a mixed martial arts event held on June 13, 2015, at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship unification bout between then champio ...

. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Torres was next expected to face former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion

Michelle Waterson Michelle Eileen Waterson (born January 6, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist and model who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion. Between 2013 and 2014, she was ranked the ...

UFC 194 ''UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 12, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was originally scheduled to take place on ...

. However, Waterson pulled out of the bout on November 24, 2015, citing a knee injury. She was replaced by promotional newcomer Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger. Torres won the fight by unanimous decision. Torres faced

in a rematch on April 16, 2016, at UFC on Fox 19. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Torres next faced

in a rematch at UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. The Korean Zombie on February 4, 2017. At the weigh-ins, Rawlings came in at 117.5 lbs, over the women's strawweight limit of 116 lbs. As a result, Rawlings was fined 20% of her purse, which went to Tecia Torres and the bout proceeded at a catchweight. Torres won the fight by unanimous decision. Torres faced Juliana Lima on July 7, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale. She won the fight via submission in the second round, making this the first stoppage victory in her professional career. The win also earned Torres her first ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Torres faced

on December 2, 2017, at UFC 218. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Torres faced

Jéssica Andrade Jéssica Fernanda da Costa Andrade (born September 25, 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. Andrade is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the women's Flyweight division and is a ...

on February 24, 2018, at UFC on Fox 28. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Torres faced former strawweight champion

Joanna Jędrzejczyk Joanna Jędrzejczyk (; born August 18, 1987) is a Polish former professional mixed martial artist and Muay Thai kickboxer. She has been called the greatest female strawweight mixed martial artist of all time, including by Daniel Cormier, who cred ...

on July 28, 2018, at UFC on Fox 30. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Torres faced

Zhang Weili Zhang Weili (; born August 13, 1989) is a Chinese mixed martial artist. She is the former Kunlun Fight (KLF) strawweight champion and competes in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current ...

on March 2, 2019 at

UFC 235 ''UFC 235: Jones vs. Smith'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 2, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Torres faced

Marina Rodriguez Marina Alcalde Rodriguez (born April 29, 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist (MMA). She currently competes in the Strawweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 8, 2022, she is #5 in the UFC women's stra ...

on August 10, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 156 ''UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 156'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 14'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 10, 2019 at Antel Arena in M ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Torres was scheduled to face

Mizuki Inoue , nicknamed , is a Japanese female kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Inoue has fought in the kickboxing promotion J-Girls and MMA promotion Jewels. She won the 2010 Jewels -56 kg Rough Stone Grand Prix tournament at 16 years of age, becomi ...

on March 28, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the event was eventually postponed . Instead, Torres face Brianna Van Buren on June 20, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov. She won the fight via unanimous decision. A rematch with Angela Hill was expected to take place on December 12, 2020 at

UFC 256 ''UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, Unit ...

. However, Hill tested positive for COVID-19 and pulled out of the fight. Torres instead faced promotional newcomer

Sam Hughes Sir Samuel Hughes, (January 8, 1853 – August 23, 1921) was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I. He was notable for being the last Liberal-Conservative cabinet minister, until he was dismissed from his cabinet pos ...

. She won the fight via doctor stoppage between round one and two after Hughes said she couldn't see out of one of her eyes. The rematch with Angela Hill was rescheduled and took place on August 7, 2021 at

UFC 265 ''UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 7, 2021, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background An interim UFC Heavyweight Championshi ...

. Torres won the fight via unanimous decision. Torres faced

Mackenzie Dern Mackenzie Lynne Dern Santos (born March 24, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. She is a former world No. 1 ranked IBJJF competitor, currently ranked 6th among the female divisions. She is ...

on April 9, 2022 at UFC 273. Despite surviving deep submission attempts in the second round, Torres lost the close bout via split decision.

Fighting style

Torres employs constant lateral movement while combining elements of

and

karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

. She frequently utilizes kicking techniques, occasionally following a high or low kick with a fast side kick. When punching, she will often press forward with a flurry of high strikes. Torres does not often utilize submission techniques, but has demonstrated submission defense.

Personal life

Torres is

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, t ...

, claiming to have never used any

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

and other

recreational drugs Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

in her life. On the

World Mental Health Day World Mental Health Day (10 October) is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global m ...

of 2019, Torres revealed having struggled with her mental health issues – depression and

attachment disorder Attachment disorder is a broad term intended to describe disorders of mood, behavior, and social relationships arising from unavailability of normal socializing care and attention from primary care giving figures in early childhood. Such a failu ...

– for several years. She is openly part of the LGBTQ+ community and is married to former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Raquel Pennington.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(One time) *MMA Solutions Global **MMA Solutions amateur strawweight title (one time) *US Freedom Fighter Championship **USFFC amateur strawweight title (one time) *American Battle Championships **ABC amateur strawweight title (one time) *Women's MMA Awards **2013 Strawweight of the Year *AwakeningFighters.com WMMA Awards **2013 Strawweight of the Year **2013 Newcomer of the Year *

Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Au ...

**2013 WMMA Fight of the Year vs.

on July 13

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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References

External links

*
Tecia Torres
at AwakeningFighters.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Tecia 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Fall River, Massachusetts Mixed martial artists from Massachusetts American female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent American Muay Thai practitioners Female Muay Thai practitioners American female karateka Strawweight mixed martial artists American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners American female taekwondo practitioners American people of Portuguese descent American people of Irish descent Lesbian sportswomen LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT mixed martial artists LGBT people from Massachusetts Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters LGBT Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners LGBT karateka LGBT Muay Thai practitioners LGBT taekwondo practitioners

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Invicta Fighting Championships

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Fighting style

Personal life

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

See also

References

External links