Ranked strawweights are set to square off at UFC 273.
Mackenzie Dern (11-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets Tecia Torres (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) on April 9 at the pay-per-view event that doesn’t have a venue or location announced.
MMA Junkie confirmed the bout with two people close to the situation. Torres announced Wednesday on Twitter that the fight was booked.
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 Torres (@TeciaTorres) January 12, 2022
Dern will look to rebound from her unanimous decision loss to Marina Rodriguez in her first UFC headliner last October. Prior to that, the jiu-jitsu ace won four straight, three by first-round submission. Dern also has earned four bonuses in her past five fights.
Meanwhile, Torres is enjoying her best run in years. After dropping four straight bouts from 2018 through to 2019, Torres rebounded by winning three in a row, most recently defeating Angela Hill for a second time at UFC 265 in August.
With the addition, the April 9 UFC lineup includes:
- Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung – for featherweight title
- Champ Aljamain Sterling vs. interim champ Petr Yan – to unify bantamweight title
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres
- Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd
- Pat Sabatini vs. Gavin Tucker
