UFC's Torres eager to compete in Orlando
Tecia Torres loves to compete in almost everything she does. If you don’t believe it, there’s a constantly updated scoresheet on her breakfast table that will tell you otherwise.
Whether it’s playing dice games with her fiancée or working toward the best grades in graduate school, the former South Florida resident strives to be the best — especially when it comes to her chosen profession of mixed martial arts.
Torres, one of the top contenders in the UFC’s strawweight division, will try to keep her Octagon winning streak alive Feb. 24, when she faces Jessica Andrade as part of UFC Fight Night at Amway Center. Tickets for the event go on sale today.
Torres lives in Colorado Springs with fiancée and fellow UFC fighter Raquel Pennington, who is also her coach. The pair have a morning ritual, playing the dice game 10,000 or the card game 13 before their morning workout.
“If she doesn’t win, she doesn’t let me leave breakfast until she wins,” Torres said. “It’s just in your nature when you’re an athlete to be competitive in everything.”
Once their workouts start in earnest, another level of competitive fire kicks in for both fighter and coach. Torres said it can be hard to douse that fire once they leave the gym.
“It becomes kind of a struggle sometimes, the coach/partner relationship, because it’s hard to separate the gym and home life,” Pennington said. “Sometimes in the gym I might not be the best student, then at home, I just want to be your partner, not the not-best student you had today.”
Pennington, who is recovering after breaking her leg in an ATV accident, is in line for a UFC title shot soon — but she’s a bantamweight, not a strawweight like Torres.
“What’s better than having one of the best in the world to train you?” Torres said. “Luckily, she’s in a different weight class, so we can have the same goal and make both of our dreams happen.”
Torres was born in Massachusetts, but her family moved to South Florida when she was in elementary school. Many of them are planning trips to Amway Center next month.
“I’m excited because my mom will just be able to drive up and my brother will be able to go to this one — he just had a baby,” Torres said. “Some girls from my high school soccer team are coming. It’s hard when you fight somewhere else and everybody has to plan big trips, but this one is quick and easy.”
Before moving to Colorado late last year, Torres got a master’s degree in criminology at Florida Atlantic. She has said she wants to fight crime for the government after her Octagon career is over.
But during her studies, she maintained a hectic schedule of classes and workouts. The only loss of her pro career, to Rose Namajunas, came during this time, though she refuses to make excuses for the defeat by the current strawweight champ.
“Prior to getting back into college, I had lots of free time, so I was like, ahhh, I’ve always wanted a master’s, let’s go do it. As soon as I signed up, I had no time. The one fight I did take during that time, I did lose. It was my one loss. I wouldn’t say it was because of the schooling. I was just more in my head that fight,” Torres said. “But when I was at that fight, I was trying to cut weight, do my final exams, my final essays and see my family. It was a lot to take on, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Torres, well-known as a stand-up fighter who specializes in striking and karate, has six weeks left to prepare for Andrade. She expects the Brazilian to go for takedowns to get Torres off her feet, so that has been a point of emphasis in her training.
“My striking, I think, is already on point, so I just want to gather up some more skills in jujitsu before I get into this fight,” Torres said. “Andrade is a tough and powerful fighter and she likes to take things to the ground, so I’m focusing there.”
Torres has a not-so-secret weapon in her preparation — Pennington, who has fought Andrade twice, most recently in 2015.
“In my back pocket, I’ve got Raquel,” Torres said. “They’re 1-1 with each other, the last one being Raquel choking her out, so I’ve got that in my back pocket, a little bit of intimidation.”
Sounds like they have plenty to talk about — just maybe not at the breakfast table.