The opening main card bout at UFC 188 is a three-round women’s strawweight bout between Tecia Torres and Angela Hill. According to the current betting lines available at Several Bookmakers, Torres is a -310 favorite (bet $310 to win $100) while Hill is a +255 underdog (bet $100 to win $255). MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened up Torres at -315 and Hill at +235, and Torres has held steady as a big favorite. I agree with Torres being a big favorite in this fight as I expect her to defeat Hill in impressive fashion. Here’s why. Torres (5-0) is one of the top women’s strawweight fighters in the division. The 25-year-old American was a competitor on TUF 20, where she went 1-2 in the house with a win over Bec Rawlings with losses to Randa Markos and Carla Esparza. In her pro career she is undefeated at 5-0 with all wins coming by decision. She is 1-0 in official UFC competition with a win over Angela Magana, with four wins in Invicta including victories over Felice Herrig, Rose Namajunas and Paige VanZant. Torres trains at American Top Team and gets better every single fight. She is a very aggressive fighter on the feet, throwing a high volume of strikes and constantly keeping pressure on her opponents. She also has a solid wrestling game and is able to take down most opponents and stop most shots against her, except against the elite grapplers in the division, of which Hill is not. The UFC is very high on Torres and has been marketing her quite a bit before this showcase fight in Mexico. She is going up against a skilled muay Thai striker in Hill, but overall Torres is the better fighter and that’s why you see her as a big favorite. Hill (2-0) was also a competitor on TUF 20. The 27-year-old American comes from a muay Thai background and is a very skilled striker on the feet. She utilizes good kicks, knees, elbows and punches in unison to outstrike her opponents, like Emily Kagan in her UFC debut. However, she is still very raw in the game and only has two pro fights. In her fight in the house, she was tapped out in the first round by Esparza. She has worked on her takedown defence and ground game since then, no doubt, but she still needs more time to get those aspects of her game up to par. Remember, she has only been a pro MMA fighter for just over one year. Going up against an elite, experienced strawweight in Torres in just the third pro fight for Hill seems like a tall task, and that’s why you see her as a big underdog in this fight. I thought the line would be longer on Torres here. I know Hill is a good muay Thai striker, but she’s not truly an MMA fighter yet, while Torres is clearly one of the best mixed martial artists in the women’s strawweight division. If Torres wants to fight the most efficient gameplan, she will look to take Hill down and beat her on the ground, either by controlling her or looking for submissions. But I do think she’ll look to beat Hill at her own game, and I see her outstriking Hill on the feet and mixing in some takedowns to win a clear-cut decision victory. I do see some value at just over 3-to-1, so I would recommend putting Torres in your parlay. I also like the prop on Torres by decision at +110. All of her pro MMA fights have gone to decision and with the strawweights not having much finishing ability I see that happening again here.
