She’s Next – WMMA Prospect of the Week
Each week, I’ll highlight one women prospect on my radar and in action in the upcoming days
*A small change is coming to my weekly column on women’s MMA prospects around the world. To make my writing and research more efficient, I will now focus on one prospect per week. To launch this updated format, I am featuring Regina Tarin, who will be competing this Saturday in Costa Rica.*
Regina “Kill Bill” Tarin Malpica
Record: 6-0 (3 knockouts, 2 submissions, 1 decision)
Weight Class: Flyweight
Age: 21 years old
Training: UFC Mexico Performance Institute
Combined opponents record: 19-11
If you follow the regional MMA scene even a little, the name Regina Tarin might already sound familiar. She was in the running for a spot on Dana White’s Contender Series earlier this summer, but contractual issues with her previous promotion prevented her from taking a fight that would have matched her with Brazilian prospect Jeisla Chaves. Only 21 years old, Tarin already holds a promising resume with six wins, including five finishes. She also benefits from strong support at the Mexico Performance Institute, where she has been training since this year. Her main training partner there is Melissa Martinez.
Regina Tarin began her professional career on December 1, 2023 at Budo Sento Championship with a first round submission win over Citlalli Alcantar, then followed up on April 12, 2024 with a unanimous decision victory against Andrea Garcia. She later caught the attention of Combate Global, an organization known for elevating many Hispanic fighters. She added two more wins under their banner, first a first-round submission against Fernanda Marrufo and then an impressive knockout against former SFH champion Gisela Luna, who represented a major step up in experience for her. This strong run earned Tarin a championship opportunity at Budo Sento. The Mexican fighter secured her fifth professional win with a fourth-round knockout of Luisa Cifuentes, becoming the promotion’s bantamweight champion. We last saw Tarin in June when she earned a statement victory over TUF and PFL veteran Kaytlin Neil by second-round knockout back with Combate Global.
The 21-year-old returns to action this Saturday for the first time outside Mexico and the United States, heading to Costa Rica. She will face Yurivia Jimenez (3-1) in the co main event of Tough N Xtreme 1125.
Tarin is the kind of pressure fighter who immediately sets a tone the moment the cage door closes. Her style is built on constant forward movement, physicality, and a willingness to make fights ugly in a way that forces opponents to operate outside their comfort zones. She marches down opponents with a fierce look in her eyes, living up to her “Kill Bill” nickname by projecting intensity and confidence at all times. Once she closes distance, she becomes a serious problem. Her clinch work is already one of her best weapons, marked by strong positional control against the fence, steady dirty boxing, and clever use of short elbows and trips. She uses her size extremely well for the division and often appears bigger and stronger than her opponents, which allows her to impose a grinding fight that compounds over rounds. Her kicking game adds another level of unpredictability. She throws axe kicks, spinning attacks, and a wide variety of looks that force opponents to respect her at range. When she does step in, her boxing is sharp and heavy for WMMA, especially her close-range punching, which is far more dangerous than her long-range entries. Her ground and pound is the most punishing part of her arsenal. If she gets to top position, she is ruthless and decisive with elbows and punches.
The downside to this style is that her success depends heavily on controlling the direction of the fight. At long range she can be predictable, relying heavily on 1-2s and struggling to get into range when her footwork is not active. Skilled strikers with better timing or longer frames may find opportunities to tag her, especially since she has faced mostly smaller opponents so far. She also backs up in straight lines at times, which creates defensive openings that a more polished fighter could exploit. Her grappling presents the biggest unknowns. Her takedown defense has not been tested in any serious way, and her comfort off her back is a complete mystery. Given how much she likes to clinch and how often she sets her weight forward, opponents with strong level changes could expose gaps in both her wrestling and her scrambling ability. Even offensively, her grappling lacks refinement. She relies on basic trips rather than true wrestling entries, and when she does land in dominant positions, she often continues striking even when submissions are readily available. This suggests she has not yet developed a full understanding of when to transition from damage to control or finishing opportunities.
Despite these flaws, Regina shows many markers of a real prospect. She has proven cardio, visible physical strength, high-level composure, and the kind of confidence that cannot be taught. She is comfortable in chaos, which is often the hardest environment for less-experienced opponents to handle. The question moving forward is how she evolves when her forward pressure does not work or when she is forced to fight off her back foot. If she can sharpen her entries, build a reliable takedown defense system, and round out her BJJ, she has the potential to become a very dangerous fighter in her division. For now, she is a raw but compelling talent with a violent, crowd-pleasing style and plenty of room to grow.
Cédric Dumas