Tecia Torres vs Mackenzie Dern on tap for UFC 273 in April
Currently riding one of the best win streaks of her career, with three consecutive victories, Tecia Torres is getting her wish and the biggest opportunity of her career. Picking up wins over Brianna van Buren, Sam Hughes, and most recently Angela Hill, Torres, who is ranked seventh in the UFC’s strawweight division, called for a fight against a Top-5 ranked opponent and that wish has been granted.
Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie reported on Wednesday that Tecia Torres will get the Top-5 strawweight matchup she called for when she’ll take on Mackenzie Dern at UFC 273 which is scheduled for April 9. The UFC 273 event currently does not have a scheduled venue or location. Following the report, Torres confirmed the fight on her own Twitter page.
I got my Top 5 fight 🌪🌪🌪🌪🌪 Cracking into that Top 5 April 9th at #UFC273 👊🏽 #TeamTiny #ToTheTop #TorresVsDern #LetsGo #ThisIsMyYear #Climbing @ufc pic.twitter.com/tvyY4OsZGE
— Tecia Pennington (@TeciaTorres) January 12, 2022
The current winning streak for Tecia Torres is the third time in her career she’s gone on such a run throughout her UFC tenure, and the one she’s currently riding comes after a disappointning four-fight skid. When she began her professional career with Invicta FC in 2012, Torres started off with a four-fight winning streak, all under the Invicta FC banner.
Fifth-ranked Mackenzie Dern will be looking to rebound from her last fight, which was her first UFC main event fight when she dropped a unanimous decision loss to Marina Rodriguez. Before suffering the loss to Rodriguez, Dern was riding a four-fight winning streak. In her professional record she’s won 11 of her 13 fights, with her only losses coming to Rodriguez and another UFC strawweight contender, Amanda Ribas. In four of her six wins under the UFC promotion, Dern has secured a submission victory, putting her among the very best female submission artists in the promotion.
Coming up to the biggest opportunity of her UFC career and a chance to crack into the Top-5, Tecia Torres will welcome a fight against Dern, where the winner could place themselves among the conversation for future title contenders in the near future.
While there is no venue or location set for UFC 273, earlier this week it was announced that two title fights were being moved from UFC 272 to UFC 273 and other fights continue to be added to the event. Here is how the UFC 273 card currently stands:
- Alexander Volkanovski vs Korean Zombie (featherweight title)
- Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan (bantamweight title)
- Irene Aldana vs Aspen Ladd
- Tecia Torres vs Mackenzie Dern
- Pat Sabatini vs Gavin Tucker
- Mickey Gall vs Mike Malott
- Kelvin Gastelum vs Nassourdine Imavov
