Rivalries: Angela Hill

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Angela Hill’s patience was rewarded, and she now has the chance to avenge one of the missteps on her résumé.

The Alliance MMA rep will rematch Tecia Torres in a UFC 265 women’s strawweight feature this Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston. Torres defeated Hill, then an unbeaten prospect, in their first Ultimate Fighting Championship encounter a little more than six years ago. Hill enters the Octagon having won four of her past six bouts. She last competed at UFC Fight Night “Edwards vs. Muhammad” in March, when she landed nearly 100 total strikes and earned a unanimous verdict over Ashley Yoder.

Ahead of Hill’s forthcoming showdown with Torres, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape her career to this point:

Tecia Torres

“The Tiny Tornado” improved to 6-0 when she took a three-round unanimous decision from Hill in a UFC 188 women’s strawweight showcase on June 13, 2015 at Mexico City Arena. All three cageside judges scored it for Torres: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Hill struggled to string together any meaningful offense across the 15-minute encounter. Torres executed takedowns in each of the first two rounds and spent the majority of her time working from half guard, dropping short elbows and punches while building what became an insurmountable lead. She ran out of steam in Round 3—Hill denied her bids for takedowns and scored on the feet and in the clinch—but the outcome had long been decided on the scorecards.

Livinha Souza

Hill showed her quality and laid claim to the Invicta Fighting Championships strawweight title, as she was awarded a split verdict over “The Brazilian Gangster” in the Invicta 17 co-feature on May 7, 2016 at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California. All three judges struck 48-47 scorecards: Michael Bell and Jackie Denkin for Hill, Ron McCarthy for Souza. Hill waded through considerable danger until she reached the finish line, dodging various submission attacks from her grappling-centric adversary. The narrative began to shift in Round 2, where “Overkill” turned away takedowns, brought her jab into play and proved effective on the counter. Souza made a final pass at victory in the fifth, but her bids for a guillotine choke and an armbar were denied in the last 30 seconds. Suddenly, after seven professional appearances, Hill was a champion.

Jessica Andrade

The Parana Vale Tudo star continued her rapid rise on the women’s strawweight ladder, as she overcame a game but outmatched Hill in a UFC Fight Night 104 showcase on Feb. 4, 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston. Andrade swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks from the judges. Hill withstood a ferocious and sustained offensive barrage from the Brazilian powerhouse. Andrade peppered the former Invicta titleholder with savage punches to the body and head, crashing forward with no apparent regard for her own well-being. The nails-tough Hill had her moments—she opened a cut under her counterpart’s right eye with a second-round knee strike—but lacked the firepower she needed to give the surging contender real pause despite obliging her with a number of wild standup exchanges.

Ashley Yoder

Everything went according to plan for Hill, as the former Invicta titleholder outstruck and outmaneuvered “The Spider Monkey” to a unanimous decision in the featured UFC Fight Night 187 prelim on March 13, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 30-27. Yoder was woefully ineffective in their rematch. Hill drove home one clubbing right hand after another, kept her honest with occasional leg kicks and blew up any efforts to turn the tide in the clinch. She enjoyed her clearest success when she targeted the body with straight punches and gnarly close-range knee strikes. Hill faced almost no adversity in the 15-minute bout, and even though she conceded two takedowns, she managed to stay active on the bottom and steer clear of any danger. Hill now owns a 2-0 advantage in her head-to-head series with Yoder, having previously beaten her at “The Ultimate Fighter 25” Finale in 2017.