"A lot of people counted her out" - UFC strawweight Angela Hill reveals her pick for female fighter of the year

Valentina Shevchenko (left), Angel Hill (central), Rose Namajunas (right) [Images Courtesy: @bulletvalentina @angieoverkill @rosenamajunas on Instagram]
Valentina Shevchenko (left), Angel Hill (central), Rose Namajunas (right) [Images Courtesy: @bulletvalentina @angieoverkill @rosenamajunas on Instagram]

UFC strawweight contender Angela Hill has revealed who her pick is for female fighter of the year. The World MMA Awards recently revealed that the following athletes have been nominated for the award: Mackenzie Dern, Kayla Harrison, Valentina Shevchenko, Rose Namajunas and Manon Fiorot.

All five of these fighters have put on exemplary performances so far, making it a very hard pick for most. However, Angel Hill only had one name in mind. That name being the UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas, who reclaimed her 115lb title this year, knocking out Weili Zhang with a picture-perfect head kick.

UFC 261: Usman v Masvidal 2
UFC 261: Usman v Masvidal 2
"Rose Namajunas," stated Angela Hill. "The fact that she was able to come back and just knock out Weili Zhang like that. It was really impressive. And a lot of people counted her out. So I would have to say Rose is my female of the year."

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Angela Hill vs. Tecia Torres

As impressed with Namajunas as she is, Angela Hill's primary focus at the moment will be centered around her upcoming fight with Tecia Torres at UFC 265. This will be a rematch between the two fighters, as they previously clashed in 2015, where Torres came out on top in a decision victory. Hill is now relishing the chance to even the score with Torres:

"I feel like I haven't been this pumped in a fight for a while... I feel like Tecia poses almost less threats for me on the ground with her takedowns than Ribas did. I'm just really excited to get this win back as well. It's a rematch that I've wanted for a few years now and I wasn't sure if I ever was going to get it. So I'm really excited for all those things," said Angela Hill.

As well as there being a personal rivalry between the two fighters, there is also the rise in rankings for the winner. Angela Hill is currently ranked at 12th whilst Torres sits at 10th. A win for either woman would catapult them back into the top 10 of the division and see them move closer to the ever desired UFC title.

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Edited by John Cunningham