Strawweights Angela Hill and Tecia Torres will meet for the second time this December.
On Monday, MMA Junkie was first to report that Hill (12-9) and Torres (11-5) would meet at UFC 256, in a rematch of their 2015 fight at UFC 188. Torres later confirmed the pairing on social media.
The rematch finds two fighters at very, very different stages of their careers from that original meeting. When the pair first met, it was only Hill’s third professional fight. Torres entered the bout at 5-0, and would carry her undefeated streak for a few more bouts. “The Tiny Tornado” won that first meeting via unanimous decision.
Five years later, and Hill has eclipsed Torres in terms of overall fights, setting the record among UFC athletes for most fights in a 12-month period. That Cerrone-like pace and willingness to fight anyone has raised her profile considerably — but “Overkill” will enter her second fight with Torres on a two-fight skid. In her past two bouts, she’s suffered defeats to Claudia Gadelha and Michelle Waterson.
Torres, meanwhile, snapped a four-fight skid in June by earning a unanimous decision against Brianna Van Buren. Prior to that, she had dropped fights to Marina Rodriguez, Weili Zhang, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and Jessica Andrade.
Lost on no one is the murder’s row that comprised that four-fight skid, however. Two former champions, the woman who is now the current UFC strawweight champ, and a top contender in Rodriguez.
UFC 256 is set to take place on December 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Amanda Nunes defends her featherweight title against Megan Anderson in the main event. Petr Yan, meanwhile, puts his bantamweight crown on the line against Aljamain Sterling in the co-feature.
