The UFC heads to Tampa this weekend for UFC on Fox 19, and after the shuffling of the deck following Lyoto Machida’s removal from the card there is a new co-main event. No. 3-ranked Tecia Torres meets No. 6-ranked Rose Namajunas in a rematch from 2013.
In the early days of Invicta FC, Namajunas and Torres were two of the brightest prospects of the organization. Torres was just 23 years old and Namajunas had just recently turned 21. The two strawweights are still young today, but watching them compete with just four professional bouts between them was watching two extraordinarily green talents compete against one another.
Torres would edge Namajunas on the scorecards. The final tabulations from the judges would read 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
How has each woman changed since their first meeting as raw talents?
Tecia Torres
Torres’ striking instantly made her one of the top, if not the top, prospects to watch at 115 pounds. The question about her development would be if she could put together a credible grappling game together to compete with the top end of the division.
She has worked tirelessly at American Top Team to round out her development, but she is not exceedingly more fine from her 2013 self. Is she better? Sure, but only marginally so.
On The Ultimate Fighter, she lost in her opening fight against Randa Markos. She was allowed back in the competition to fill in for an injured participant before losing in the quarterfinals to Carla Esparza. Those losses only went down as exhibitions so she has kept her record perfect.
But she hasn’t truly impressed in her UFC tenure.
Torres is still, largely, the same fighter we saw turn pro in 2012. That is slightly concerning, and especially so when matching her up against the growing list of fun, talented, 115-pound women making their way up the ranks.
Rose Namajunas
On the flip side of this is Namajunas. She showcased exciting grappling in her first two wins, but also solid striking. The loss to Torres was a setback but also a great learning experience.
Her performances on The Ultimate Fighter earned her the title shot in the finals. En route to that title bid, she upset Joanne Calderwood and Randa Markos, finishing all three of her fights via submission. The showing on The Ultimate Fighter put rose-colored glasses on the fans (pun fully intended). This was their introduction to most, if not all, of the women, and here was a young lady wrecking everyone. She was compared to the likes of Ronda Rousey.
Her title tilt with Carla Esparza did not go as she would have hoped, but it may have just been too early in her career for that level of fight. She was stopped in the third round.
It was almost a year before she would fight again, but when she did she easily took care of Angela Hill. Then she came in on short notice against rising star Paige VanZant and gave her a ridiculous beating for more than four rounds.
The performance against PVZ truly announced her as a legitimate title contender.
What’s changed since 2013 for Torres and Namajunas is an education for fans in how difficult it is to project which talents will realize their potential. Torres has plateaued to a degree, but Namajunas has come into her own as a new, unique threat to anyone in the division.
Torres is now the underdog per the sportsbooks, and it is a result of her not developing at the same rate as Namajunas. Torres is still squeezing out decisions with a basic game plan while Namajunas is a destroyer of worlds.
After Saturday, fans can compare the fights against one another to see just how much each woman has grown. Can Torres replicate her 2013 win? Possibly, but this will be a much different fight because of Namajunas’ evolution.
The co-main event of UFC on Fox 19 is a showcase of two young fighters that have grown at exceptionally different rates.
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