UFC strawweight Brianna “The Bull” Van Buren plans to make a statement at UFC Fight Night 173 on June 20th. This will be her second appearance in the UFC, as she faces 12th ranked strawweight and UFC veteran Tecia Torres.
When speaking on her match up with Torres, Van Buren said:
“I want to be the best. So I need to fight the best, and I need to fight whoever they’re put in front of me to help me get to the top. Tecia Torres, unfortunately, is in my way. Set aside after this fight, we can be friends, but I’m going in, and this is all business for me.”
Being a fighter has always been Van Buren’s dream. Her uncle Anthony Figueroa had an 11-year career in MMA, had fought in Strikeforce, and has his own MMA gym called AntDawg MMA. Figueroa helped raise Van Buren and slowly introduced her to fighting professionally. When speaking on the impact Figueroa had on her, Van Buren said, “I’ve always looked up to him. I thought it was the coolest thing ever to know someone who is a professional fighter. At the time, he was a superstar to me.”
Van Buren wanted to get into boxing in her early teenage years, but Figueroa insisted that she start kickboxing. “I remember telling my uncle, I want to box, I want to box, and he was like if you want to box, you got to learn how to kickbox. You’re going to learn how to kick; you’re going to learn how to punch. You’re going to learn how to do it all,” said Van Buren. From that point forward, Van Buren dedicated her time to kickboxing and began focusing on getting into MMA. At 18 years old, she made her professional debut in the MMA organization Rogue Fights 20 against Charlene Gellner on October 20, 2012. Van Buren knocked Gellner out in the first round and has pushed forward with her career ever since.
Van Buren is coming off a great 2019. She fought in the Invicta FC’s one-night tournament on May 3rd to determine the new strawweight champion. Van Buren defeated Manjit Kolekar, Juliana Lima, and Kailian Curran to win her first championship. When speaking on what it meant to win the strawweight championship, Van Buren said, “I am living proof that if you want something, something so bad you just go out there and you just work your butt off, and it will happen.” She quickly got on the UFC radar and made her UFC debut two months later.
In an impressive showing, Van Buren defeated Livnha Souza by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 155 on July 13, 2019. In the fight, Van Buren showed that she belonged in the UFC and outclassed Souza. After her win, she called for a ranked opponent in her second fight in the UFC. Van Buren was scheduled to fight Hannah Ciferes at UFC Fight Night 166 on January 25th. However, a hand injury prevented Van Buren from competing.
Van Buren is heading into her fight with a ton of momentum. She is on a six-fight win streak and is still getting better. Van Buren is confident she can defeat Torres. When speaking on what to expect at UFC Fight Night 173, Van Buren said, “I’m not taking her lightly. I’m not looking past her, but It’s going to be my night. I’m going in there to finish her, and I’m not leaving it in the judge’s hands.” A win over Torres can put Van Buren in the hunt to become a future challenger for the UFC strawweight championship.
Here is the full interview with Van Buren.