Fall River's Tecia Pennington wins UFC fight against former champion

Fall River's Tecia Pennington is back in the win column.

After losing consecutive split decisions, the 'Tiny Tornado' defeated Carla Esparza by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a competitive strawweight fight (115 pounds) at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. The fight was the last of Esparza's career, a two-time UFC champion.

In the fight, Pennington, 35, found success in the stand-up battle and with her leg kicks. Esparza, one of the top wrestlers in the organization, found her success by taking Pennington down.

Tecia Pennington UFC's record

Pennington joined the UFC after competing in the 20th season of the Ultimate Fighter in 2014. She lost in the quarterfinals to Esparza, a bout that was officially recorded as an exhibition.

After starting her professional career at 4-0, Pennington won her first three fights in the UFC before losing to future champion Rose Namajunas. She's fought many of best female fighters in the UFC's history including Zhang Weili and Joanna Jędrzejczyk.

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Pennington has 14-7 overall record, including a 10-7 mark in the UFC.

Who is Tecia Pennington's wife?

Pennington, whose maiden name is Torres, is married to UFC bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington. The couple has a 16-month-old daughter named Alayah.

Raquel (16-9) is the UFC Bantamweight champion and will also be fighting Saturday night. Her belt is on the line against Julianna Peña (12-5) in the co-main event.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River's Tecia Pennington wins UFC fight against former champion