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#2 Best: Torres and Andrade go to war
While Ben Saunders and Alan Jouban were granted $50k bonuses for ‘Fight of the Night’ I actually felt that the semi-main event between Jessica Andrade and Tecia Torres was the best scrap on offer last night. There were high stakes involved – a likely Women’s Strawweight title shot – and both girls gave their absolute all, exchanging strikes at a ridiculously fast pace before Andrade won a decision.
The difference appeared to be in sheer physicality – Torres didn’t possess the striking power to truly hurt Andrade despite landing plenty of clean shots, and the Brazilian was able to overpower her in the clinch and deliver some bone-shaking slam takedowns – but the fight was so good that I could easily see Torres challenging for the title somewhere down the line too.
Andrade obviously lost in a previous title challenge in 2017, but having beaten Claudia Gadelha before this fight she’s clearly the top contender for whoever wins the rematch between Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk next month. Judging on her sheer aggression in this fight, it should be fireworks whoever she challenges.
In a nutshell both women made me want to see them fight again, and surely that’s what prize-fighting is all about.
