Tecia Torres: ‘The Tiny Tornado’ Could Become UFC’s Newest Leading Lady

Tecia Torres has an undefeated record and a big opportunity in front of her — to become the UFC’s newest, and possibly biggest, female fighter.

The 115-pound MMA contender is set to take part in the next Ultimate Fighter reality show, one that will actually award the winner with a UFC belt. To promote the show and the new 115-pound women’s division, UFC brought over most of Invicta FC’s top fighters, and Torres may be the brightest star of all.

“I’m upping my game in all aspects – striking, Jiu Jitsu, wrestling – so I can be ready for every single thing,” Torres said. “All my coaches and teammates who have been on TUF or Fight Master before have given me advice.”

The UFC just added women last year, with Ronda Rousey defeating Liz Carmouche to for the first-ever women’s bantamweigh. Since then several female stars have emerged, namely Rousey and Miesha Tate, but with her extensive background Torres has the chance to eclipse them all.

Nicknamed “The Tiny Tornado,” Torres was actually ready to give up MMA just a few months ago.

“I thought I could do this for awhile and go back to kickboxing if I needed to,” she said. “I didn’t think of it as a career until Invicta signed me. But even then, I was coming to a point where I was going to probably have to stop fighting full-time. Invicta treats the girls well but it wasn’t enough to make a living off of. I’m 24 now and I told my mom that if, by 25, it doesn’t happen for me in MMA, I would realistically go back to work.”

Tecia Torres had only one shot to continue her fighting career — if the rumors that UFC was going to take Invicta’s top fighters for its own expansion would pan out. Torres said she heard the rumors, but wasn’t sure what to believe.

Then she got the call.

“I got a call and it was from a Nevada number,” she recalled. “My boyfriends said, ‘that’s Dana White,’ but I thought that was crazy. It was also like 10pm. But then I answer it and the voice says, ‘Hi, this is Dana White.’ I thought, ‘No [expletive] way. But he said, ‘yeah it’s me.’ ”

White told Tecia Torres that he wanted her for the Ultimate Fighter reality show, and that she would have a chance to win a league title. The show itself once seemed unlikely given that White initially said there wouldn’t be expansion in the women’s divisions “for a long time,” but Torres now begins her UFC career as a title favorite.

But she’s not looking at it that way. Tecia Torres said she is starting 0-0, with a long climb ahead of her.