Rose Namajunas (5-2) evened the score at UFC on FOX 19 on Saturday night (April 16, 2016) by defeating Tecia Torres in a rematch from their first bout at Invicta FC 4 in 2013.
Namajunas, 23, won the bout by unanimous decision inside Alamie Arena in Tampa, Fla and handed Torres her first career defeat. All three judges scored the fight 29-28.
It was a closely-contested battle, but Namajunas striking on the outside and a pair of well-timed takedowns proved to be the difference in the bout.
In the second round Namajunas began to find great success on the outside and used to reach advantage landed several nice punches. Torres, the No.4-ranked UFC women's strawweight, landed a pair of side kicks. Later on in the round Namajunas slipped badly while trying to throw a jump kick. Torres fought off a diving takedown attempt by Namajunas late in the round and found herself in trouble in the closing seconds as Namajunas landed several punches, which rocked her backward.
Torres had a much better round in the third and utilized more of her low-kicking game to land strikes on Namajunas. "The Tiny Tornado" landed her best combination of the night when she scored with a big left right combo inside of "Thug's" clinch. Namajuna landed a late takedown on Torres toward the end of the fight, but could muster anything after landing it.
Great win for Namajunas, who has now won two straight. She isn't too far off from a title fight if she continues on this track. She is now 3-1 in UFC competition. Tough break for Torres, who loses for the first time in her career. She shoudn't lose too much momentum in what is a highly competitive division. Torres falls to 2-1 in the UFC.