Photos courtesy Dave Mandel/InvictaFC
We now have a complete card for InvictaFC’s 50th numbered event.
A last minute drop and the official draw has changed a few things around as we head into the strawweight championship tournament Wednesday night at Reelworks in Denver, Colorado.
Continue reading InvictaFC 50 Weigh-ins: Tournament Draws & Changes Before the Big Event
After an exciting night of fights, the fighters will weigh-in on their wins.
Tonya Evinger wins in dominate fashion over Pannie Kianzad, DeAnna Bennett gets a controversial Judges decision, and Roxanne Modafferi rebounds and looks to be back on the title hunt.
You can watch the post fight presser below.
Sixteen athletes will hit the scales Thursday as InvictaFC has it’s 12th offering Friday.
The main event see strawweight champion Katja Kankaanpää in her first title defense against undefeated submission specialist Livia Renata Souza. The co-main event sees Roxanne Modafferi rematch Vanessa Porto in a flyweight title eliminator.
The weigh-ins start at 4 p.m. central Kansas City time.
InvictaFC will have it’s tenth card Friday night in Houston, Texas, which will stream on UFC Fight Pass starting at 6 p.m. pst/9 p.m. est. Few promotions could say they have that kind of streak being on a major platform.
The last card of the year has eight fights. Two bouts scrapped due to some unforeseen circumstances. Irene Aldana had came down with a case of bronchitis and had to drop off the card. Meanwhile, the Texas Commission nixed a fight between Charmaine Tweet and Faith Van Duin after Tweet was requested to take additional tests due to her age and she had failed one of them. It is not known what test it was.
With that in mind, the eight fights Friday are some of the closest to be booked by the promotion.
All photos courtesy Esther Lin/InvictaFC
Rachael Ostovich (126) vs Evva Johnson (125)
The Fighters:
Rachael Ostovich (1-1): The Hawaiian star has looked impressive, coming off an armbar win over Misha Nassiri.
Evva Johnson (1-0): A staple of the Ohio River Valley MMA scene, Kentucky’s Johnson has been a submission machine in most of her fights.
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The Storyline:
Ostovich is looking to continue what has been a strong run of Hawaiian based female fighters making an impact on the mainland. Johnson will be dropping down to flyweight in hopes to work her way through what has been InvictaFC’s marquee division.
Both are looking to be impressive in their debuts.
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What to expect:
Ostovich doesn’t only have a solid striking game but has a wrestling and judo background. Johnson’s BJJ could be problematic to Ostovich if the fight goes to the ground as Johnson could work submissions off her back.
Jinh Yu Frey (106.25)* vs Cassie Robb (105)
The Fighters:
Jinh Yu Frey (2-1): Frey is coming off a razor thin loss to Jodie Esquibel. The kickboxer has racked up some nasty knockouts over her career.
Cassie Robb (0-2): After a relatively successful amateur career, Robb is seeking her first pro win.
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The Storyline:
Robb was expected to fight in 2013 at InvictaFC 7 but due to her opponent vastly missing weight, the commission nixed the fight. She was promised by Shannon Knapp a match on a future card, and that promise was fulfilled.
Frey’s loss was somewhat controversial in some people’s eyes and is looking to get back in the win column. She is the homestate fighter in the match.
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What to expect:
Frey’s striking is pretty vicious once she gets going, so it’s important for Robb to control the pace. Robb’s striking has improved the past year, and can hang in the pockets with Frey, but only for so long. For Robb to have a chance, she needs to take it to the ground.
*Frey missed weight and decided not to cut the extra 0.25 pounds. Will forfeit 25% of her purse to Robb
Alexa Grasso (115.25) vs Alida Gray (115)
The Fighters:
Alexa Grasso (5-0): The Mexican fighter looked impressive in her InvictaFC debut. The striker is one of the rising stars in the strawweight dvision.
Alida Gray (4-1): Her only loss being to the #1 strawweight on the planet, Gray has had a Knockout of the Year Award.
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The Storyline:
Grasso and her teammate Irene Aldana have put Mexico on the map in terms of a new WMMA hotspot. She is looking to work her way into the InvictaFC strawweight title mix with a win.
Gray is also looking to get into the title hunt, and recover after a heartbreaking loss to WSOF champion Jessica Aguilar.
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What to expect:
If this stays standing, it will be a war. Both have the possibility for getting the knockout. The edge on the ground goes to Grasso, who is a grappling champion in Mexico.
Andria Wawro (147)** vs Peggy Morgan (145)
The Fighters:
Andria Wawro (3-1): On the cusp of the top 10 in the feathweight division, Warwo has back to back wins.
Peggy Morgan (2-2): The TUF 18 vet is returning to featherweight after an unsuccessful run at bantamweight.
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The Storyline:
We dubbed this “The Battle of the Red Heads”. Warwo is looking to make her mark in her InvictaFC debut and work her way into title contention. Morgan is looking for redemption after a heartbreaking loss in her InvictaFC debut.
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What to expect:
Warwo has an experience edge coming in and has been on a roll. Morgan’s drop to 135 made her looked drained and tired. The question will be if Morgan will be stronger and faster at 145 and if Warwo will be a little more drained after trying to cut some more pounds after her first weigh-in.
**Warwo missed weight on the first try at 149. Weighed in at 147 on second try. Will forfeit 25% of her purse.
DeAnna Bennett vs Jennifer Maia (125)
The Fighters:
DeAnna Bennett (5-0): The Utah fighter has finished in 4 of her five pro wins. She is coming off a TKO over Michelle Ould in both their InvictaFC debuts.
Jennifer Maia (9-3-1): The InvictaFC vet is coming off back to back wins in her home country of Brazil.
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The Storyline:
The decision on who will face flyweight champion Barb Honchak next will depend on how this fight and the Modafferi versus Lee fight pans out. #3 ranked Maia has been on the cusp of title contention and needs a win to move forward. Bennett has moved to the #4 spot and will look to make her run for the belt.
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What to expect:
Maia has found difficulty finishing opponents, but has edged out wins in the judges’ eyes. Bennett is stepping up in competition, but has proved to be a finisher. If it goes the distance, the edge goes to Maia, but Bennett could shock the world with a finish once again.
Roxanne Modafferi vs Andrea Lee (125)
The Fighters:
Roxanne Modafferi (16-11): The 11 year vet of the sport snapped a six fight win streak at InvictaFC 7.
Andrea Lee (2-0): The rising star of the flyweight division has been impressive in the first two pro wins.
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The Storyline:
With Vanessa Porto out due to injury, Lee is stepping up in competition for the match. An accomplished striker, a win would move her into the top 10 of the flyweights.
Modafferi has seen a renaissance in her career, with her new striking skills that has made her a more well rounded fighter. A win her will get here one step closer to a rematch with Honchak.
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What to expect:
Although Modafferi’s striking has improved, Lee has had more experience outside MMA and is at a higher level. Modafferi has more experience on the ground, but Lee has a blue belt in BJJ and a brown in judo. If it does goes to the ground it will be an interesting chess match with the patient Modafferi and the more aggressive Lee.
We will see if Modafferi’s overall experience advantage will win the day or if Lee prove to be the next superstar in the flyweight division.
Tonya Evinger vs Cindy Dandois (135)
The Fighters:
Tonya Evinger (14-5): Winner for 5 straight, Evinger’s submission over Ediane Gomes at InvictaFC 8 has made her a contender for the vacant bantamweight strap.
Cindy Dandois (5-1): After a three year absence from action, Dandois is looking to be impressive in her comeback.
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The Storyline:
Evinger’s win streak and no non-sense attitude has made her one of the top stars in the promotion. On the cusp of gold, a win over Dandois would solidify her status.
Dandois will be dropping to 135 for the first time and is coming back after a long absence. She had been training with Miesha Tate off and on over the past year.
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What to expect:
Evinger has seemed to be more focus her past couple of fights after being inconsistent a few years ago. The question mark will be Dandois as she may have changed as a fighter with two years of training and not fighting. Will cage rust effect Dandois or will we see a new star in the making?
Michelle Waterson vs Herica Tiburcio – 105 title
The Fighters:
Michelle Waterson (12-3):The InvictaFC champion has taken the mantle of being the go-top star of the promotion.
Herica Tiburcio (8-2): The Brazilian stand out has 6 of eight wins by submission.
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The Storyline:
Waterson is in need of challengers and with Ayaka Hamasaki set to fight New Years Eve and Seo Hee Ham moving to the UFC, Tiburcio gets the call to get the title shot in her second match at 105.
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What to expect:
This is a huge step up for Tiburcio. Waterson’s striking was on a whole other level in her fight with Yasuko Tamada. Tiburcio strength is in her ground game. If the fight goes past three rounds, there is a big question mark on Tiburcio conditioning.
Sixteen fighters will hit the scales for InvictaFC’s tenth card.
The main event features Michelle Waterson defending her atomweight title against Brazilian star Herica Tiburcio. Also bantamweight Tonya Evinger welcomes a returning Cindy Dandois.
* Frey has 2 hours to cut 0.25 pounds
** Warwo has 2 hours to cut 3 pounds
You can watch the weigh-ins below
Tuesday morning, InvictaFC released the rest of the matches for their upcoming 10th card in Houston, TX December 5.
In what will be a flyweight contender’s match, #3 Unified ranked Jennifer Maia will face #5 ranked DeAnna Bennett.
Maia (9-3-1) has back to back wins in Brazil this year, and will make her return to the promotion. Her last fight in Invicta saw her lose a decision to current UFC fighter Leslie Smith in a title eliminator. A win will get her back in consideration for a title fight.
The undefeated Bennett (5-0) got her biggest win of her career with a TKO win over Michelle Ould at InvictaFC 8. She has finished all but one of her pro opponents.
After a successful debut at lightweight, Charmaine Tweet will return to featherweight to take on #4 ranked Faith Van Duin.
#8 ranked Tweet (6-4) has won 5 of her last 6 fights, with those 5 wins being finishes. In her last outing at InvictaFC 8, Tweet handed Veronica Rothenhausler her first defeat.
New Zealand’s Van Duin (4-1) made her mark winning the Storm Damage one night tournament last August in Australia. She is coming off a loss to Arlene Blenclowe.
After impressive debuts at InvictaFC 8, Mexico’s Irene Aldana and Alexa Grasso will return to action in separate matches against Marion Reneau and Alida Gray respectfully. Also announced, Peggy Morgan, who will be returning to featherweight, will take on promotional debuter Andria Wawro; InvictaFC vets Jinh Yu Frey and Cassie Robb will face off in an atomweight encounter; and Rachael Ostovich and Evva Johnson will make their promotional debuts.
The main event will feature Michelle Waterson defending her atomweight title for the second time as she faces Brazilian Hérica Tibúrcio. The co-main event will see Tonya Evinger and Cindy Dandois in a bantamweight match; and the featured bout will see Roxanne Modafferi versuses Vanessa Porto in a rematch of their 2008 encounter.
InvictaFC 10 will emanate from Houston, Texas December 5th and will stream on UFC Fight Pass.
Coming off a successful strawweight tournament this past spring, Tuff-n-uff announced the participants for their upcoming featherweight and lightweight tournaments starting November 7 in Las Vegas. The winners will receive InvictaFC contracts.
In the 145 tournament semi-finals, Leah Letson (4-0) and Pamela Sorenson (5-0-1) will duke it out in a battle of undefeated fighters.
Letson made her MMA debut late last year and has two TKOs to her credit. She is a student at the University of Wisconsin and an National Guard Airwoman.
Sorenson train out of the Cellar Gym in Minneapolis and has won all of her fights by submission.
In the other semi-final, Heather Wilson (4-1) will take on Paola Ramirez (3-0). Wilson has a solid ground game and has a recent win over Anna Symonds. (You can watch that fight here.) California’s Paola Ramirez has won two of her three fights by TKO.
The 155 tournament sees Jessica Richer (2-0) and Janie Konyek (2-1) battle in the semi-finals. A BJJ ace, Richer recently went bi-coastal and trains with UFC fighter Liz Carmoche.
A vet of the RFA, Konyek started her MMA career in December with back to back wins. She trains with female prospects Jozette Cooton and Lauren Barefoot.
In the other side of the bracket, Leanne Foster (3-1) faces Felicia Spencer (3-1). Foster hasn’t lost since her debut, and has since dropped from 170 down to 155. All of her wins came in the first round.
Spenser also hasn’t lost since her debut. A former teammate of strawweight tournament winner Jamie Moyle, she has a black belt in Taekowndo.
No word as of yet if the fights will be streamed. The semi-finals will happen November 7 at the Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus. The finals will be held in early 2015.
Featherweight Tournament
Lightweight Tournament
With 60 fights in September including the return of InvictaFC, there was some movement in three of the 5 woman’s divisions.
Most of the movement came from the atomweight division. With her loss to InvictaFC champion Michelle Waterson, Yasuko Tamada drops to the #9 spot on the atomweight rankings. Lacey Schuckman takes the #5 spot. With Simona Soukupova off the list due to inactivty in the division, Sadae Numata (now #6), Saori Ishioka (now #7), and Naho Sugiyama (now #8) moves up two spots. Entering the top 10 for the first time is Cage Warrior’s Catherine Costigan.
In the flyweight division, DeAnne Bennett goes from #7 to #5 after her win over Michelle Ould at InvictaFC 8. It pushes Juliana Werner (now #6) and Nina Ansaroff (now #7) down a spot. With Alex Grasso successfully dropping to 115, Aline Serio replaces her at the #10 spot.
In the bantamweight division, Miesha Tate moves up a spot to #3 after here win over Rin Nakai. This drops Sarah Kaufman to #4. Jessica Andrade makes her way to the top 10, replacing Nakai at the #10 spot. Nakai drops to #15.
The featherweight and strawweight top 10 lists stay pat this month.
After what will be an epic return of InvictaFC, we will be live at the post fight press conference. Two champions and the night’s winners will be in attendance live in Kansas City.
You can watch the stream below. Tweet @wmmanews and I will try to get your questions answered.
Ashley Cummins had a lot on her plate mentally before making it to Kansas City in her InvictaFC return.
As a police officer in St. Louis, she was on the front lines at Ferguson where her duties kept her from full time training; not to mention enduring insults and death threats. This did not detour her from still taking on her fight with Alexa Grasso.
We talked to Cummins about balancing work and training and her decision to fight on InvictaFC 8.
After a very long wait, InvictaFC has announced their 8th card, and the announcement didn’t disappoint.
September 6 will be the date for the show, which will once again emanate from Kansas City. All the fights will be live on UFC Fightpass.
The main event will feature atomweight champion Michelle Waterson taking on Japan’s Yasuko Tamada. Waterson (11-3) will be defending her belt for the first time after having won the belt from Jessica Penne last year. She is on a four fight win streak.
Tamada (15-8-3) has won three straight fights under the JEWELS banner and is currently #6 in the Unified rankings. She is a nine year veteran of the sport.
In the co-main event, the vacant InvictaFC strawweight title will be up for grabs as former XFC champion Stephanie Eggink will take on Katja Kankaanpää. Eggink (4-1) won the XFC title by defeating TUF 20 participant Angela Magana by triangle choke in September. She also has a decision win over TUF 20 fighter Heather Clark.
Kankaanpää (9-1-1) is a staple of Invicta, having went unbeaten in nine fights before losing to Joanne Calderwood. With wins over Ais “The Bash” Daly and Mei Yamaguchi, she recently got back on the winning track defeating Alyona Rassohyna in May.
What was the most exciting announcement in our opinion is the rubber match between Roxanne Moddafferi and Tara LaRosa. The first 2 fights are the stuff of legend in the WMMA community. LaRosa defeated Modafferi by unanimous decision in 2006 in their first outing, with Modafferi gaining a split decision win in 2010, garnering it “Match of the Year” at the WMMA Press Awards. The third fight looks to be a show stealer.
India Gomes has foregone her title match and will drop to 135 to face Tonya Evinger on another match announced for the card. Gomes (10-2) was the #1 contender for the featherweight title, but had expressed interest as of late to drop to 135. She has won four straight and has wins over Leslie Smith and Hiroko Yamanaka. Her only losses were to Amanda Nunes and UFC champion Ronda Rousey.
Other matches announce include:
For those wondering about Cyborg Justino – she is set to possibly fight on the next card. She is doing a test cut to 135.
InvictaFC president Shannon Knapp stated she will have more announcement in the upcoming weeks on InvictaFC 9. She is planning on getting at least 2 or 3 cards in before the end of the year.
All past InvictaFC matches are now on UFC Fight Pass, and all of Invicta’s future matches will be as well, including the live ones.
Miscellaneous News
Milena Dudieva is out of her UFC debut against Valerie Latourneau, and Elizabeth Phillips has been tapped to fill the spot.
Phillips (4-1) is a training partner of TUF 18 winner Julianna Pena. With her debut a loss to InvictaFC star Miriam Nakamoto, Phillips went on a four fight win streak including three finishes. She defeated Katie Howard last month by decision.
Letourneau (5-3) lost to Roxanne Modafferi in a “get in the house” fight on TUF 18. Since then she got a 34 second TKO win over Jordan Moore a few weeks ago. She is currently training at American Top Team with InvictaFC’s Ediane Gomes, and TUF 20 participant Tecia Torres.
The match will take place at at UFC 174 June 14 in Vancouver, Canada, will be a part of the televised prelims on Fox Sports 1.
UFC Tonight reported this week Cat Zingano will look to make her return to the UFC in September against Amanda Nunes at a yet to be announce event.
The XFC is going to announce their US plans Friday night. The promotion has been on hiatus since last fall when they lost their TV deal with AXS TV. XFC President John Prisco also stated Pearl Gonzalez will be defending her flyweight title in the fall.
Got some interest in the current stats so far this year. In the pro ranks there has been 211 matches since the end of May with 39 more to go in June. Armbars (25) are leading the submissions. There were only 5 pure KOs this year so far, all of them by Brazilians.
We are asking amateur fighters to please check out our results page here and check to see if we are missing fights. As much as we try, sometimes promoters don’t get results to the major databases.
Goddesses of War will hold an all female amateur card June 14th in Port Richey, FL. The seven fight card will feature a two key featherweight matches as Allison Ainley take on Hannah Fitzpatrick and Mary Kate Hayes battles Amber Rodriguez.
In other bouts:
No word on if the event will be streamed.
Roshambo Pinweight (100 lbs) champ Shauna Carew will be defending her title against a yet to be named opponent July 26 in Australia.
Brazil’s Aspera Fighting Championship is planning a one night grand prix for strawweight and flyweight fighters for September. The promotion is looking for fighters from southern Brazil for the event. More info can be found on their facebook page.
OneFC has signed Russian kickboxer and Wushu champion Irina Mazepa. No word on when she will debut with the promotion, but she will fight at flyweight.
Finnish fighter Eeva Siiskonen, who has been out with a knee injury, will return to the cage at Carelia Fight 10 in Finland on September 6. Her opponent is to be announced.
We will be doing two podcasts this weekend.
The first will be a special Saturday night edition at 9 p.m. pst/Midnight eastern as we’ll will talk to Australian fighter Tammy Taylor about her upcoming fight at Valor MMA. You can listen live here Saturday.
The second will be at our usual time Sunday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est. We will be doing a round-table to discuss the InvictaFC-UFC Fight Pass Deal. You can listen live here.
Rumors
With only three weeks until TUF 20 starts taping, people were asking about our running list of possibles for the open eight slots. Taking away fighters flat out saying they are out, fighters with less than three fights, those with losing records, and certain fighters taking fights since tryouts, here is our current list. The bold one we are wagering are in due to record and resume.
Remember also there are two alternate spots up for grabs. When taping starts, we are expecting a lot of social media to accounts to go quiet since the fighters will be in isolation for six weeks. By process of elimination we should get an accurate list.
There is some speculation that Alexis Dufresne may not be able to make weight for her upcoming fight with Sarah Moras. Set at 135 pounds for July 6th, this past weekend she weighed in at 163 at the BJJ World Championships.
Upcoming Fights
Pro MMA
Rosi Sexton returns to flyweight and her home promotion of Cage Warriors Saturday against an up and coming star in Joanne Jedrzejczyk. Both Sexton (125.1lbs) and Jedrzejczyk (122.9lbs) made weight.
Sexton (13-4) is coming off back to back decision losses in the UFC before she was dropped by the company. In her 12 year career, she was only defeated once at flyweight.
Poland’s Jedrzejczyk (5-0) is currently signed to Invicta and has yet to take defeat. Currently ranked at #5 in the Unified rankings, a win could give her a title shot in either Cage Warriors or Invicta.
Also on the card, Amanda Kelly (132.9lbs) and Kerry Hughes (133.6lbs) look to get back on the winning track after their first losses at Cage Warriors.
Sexton versus Jedrzejczyk will stream on the first main card on MMAJunkie.com at 10 a.m. pst/1 p.m. est. Kelly versus Hughes will stream on the Cage Warriors Facebook at 8:30a.m. pst/11:30 a.m. est.
The XFC will crown it’s first International tournament champs in Sao Paulo, Brazil Saturday.
In the 115 pound tournament, Vanessa Guimaraes will face Gloria Bravo. Guimaraes (3-2) defeated Marcela Yineris in the semi-finals. Bravo lost to Vanessa Melo in semi-finals, but Melo had to pull out of the finals due to injury.
The flyweight finals see Mayerlin Rivas battle Silvana Juarez. Venezuelan Rivas (1-0) defeated Daiana Torquato in her semi-final, while Argentinian Juarez (3-0) defeated Bianca Daimoni.
This will stream for free on XFCMMA.com Saturday night.
In other pro bouts:
Ammy MMA
Tuff-n-uff will have their 20th anniversary card in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday with three female bouts.
In the finals of the strawweight tournament, Molly Wren-Holmes will face Jamie Moyle, with the winner getting an InvictaFC contract.
In two other bouts:
The fights won’t be stream, but the video is expect to be post a day or two after.
In other amateur bouts:
Boxing
WBO, WBC, and WBA welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus looks to continue her undefeated run by taking on Jessica Balogun in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. This will be a rematch of their 2012 fight.
Braekhus (24-0) has faced a who’s who of the division including Chevelle Hallback, Mia St. John, and Anne Sophie Mathis.
Balogun (24-3) has yet to be finished and has 12 KOs to her credit.
In other pro boxing bouts:
Wombat Sports 