Tonight’s UFC 273 main card features a key women’s strawweight bout between Mackenzie Dern and Tecia Torres.
Dern (11-2 MMA), an accomplished Brazilian black belt and MMA fighter, will be looking to rebound from her loss to Marina Rodriguez last October. The jiu-jitsu ace previously won four straight fights and is regarded as one of the top female grapplers of her generation.
Meanwhile, Tecia Torres (13-5 MMA) is currently sporting a three fight winning streak, most recently defeating Angela Hill at UFC 265. ‘The Tiny Tornado’ will be looking to put herself in title contention with a win over Dern this evening.
Round one of this strawweight matchup begins and Mackenzie Dern swings and misses with a leaping left. Tecia Torres with a right hook counter. She lands a nice right as Dern attempts to get inside. Mackenzie is pushing the action and shoots in for takedown. Tecia stuffs the attempt and circles out. Dern continues to press forward and the fighters exchange punches in wild flurry. They clinch up and Torres presses Dern up against the cage. Mackenzie breaks free and lands a left hand. Tecia Torres responds with a straight right. She lands a pair of follow up low kicks. Dern goes high with a kick. That is partially blocked. Torres lands a nice inside low kick. Mackenzie attempts to shoot but eats a combination for her efforts. She continues to press forward and lands a right hand. Another right hand lands and Tecia is wobbled. Dern goes in for the attack but a push kick keeps her at bay. The horn sounds to end round one.
Round two begins and Mackenzie Dern comes out firing with a big combination. She lands a right hand but Torres is able to counter with a good hook. Dern forces the clinch and then leaps onto Torres with a body triangle. She attacks the left arm of Tecia and goes for a kimuar. This is a wild position. Dern has this deep. The fight hits the ground and somehow Torres was able to escape. Mackenzie still has a hold of an arm and is looking to secure a submission. Two minutes remain in the round. Dern looks to transition and score a sweep. She pulls it off and attacks the left leg of Torres. She goes for a heel hook and then switches to an ankle lock. While doing so she gets off some nasty back elbows. The horn sounds to end round two.
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— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 10, 2022
Round three begins and Mackenzie Dern is back to applying immediate pressure on Tecia Torres. She lands a hard kick to the body of the ‘Tiny Tornado’. Another body kicks lands for Dern. She follows that up with a low kick. Torres responds with a side kick to the front leg of her opponent. Dern trips Torres to the ground. Tecia lands a big up-kick as Mackenzie was coming in. That appeared to stun the jiu-jitsu ace. Torres scrambles back up to her feet. Dern lands a kick to the body but falls in the process. Tecia thinks about going to the floor and the decides to motion for Mackenzie to return to her feet. Torres with a nice low kick. She goes to the body with another. Mackenzie Dern with a combination. Thirty seconds remain. Dern lands a right hand. She swings and misses with a left. Another big right from Dern. Torres shoots for a takedown but Mackenzie winds up on top. This one is all over as the horn sounds to end round three.
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— ShayMyName2 (@imstillshannon) April 10, 2022
Official UFC 273 Result: Mackenzie Dern def. Tecia Torres by unanimous decision (29-28, 28-29, 28-29)
Who would you like to see Dern fight next following her decision victory over Torres this evening in Jacksonville?