072__Ayaka_Hamasaki

Invicta FC 16: A Deeper Look

Invicta FC returns to Las Vegas on March 11 with a very exciting fight card. The two headlining bouts will crown an atomweight and interim flyweight champion.

The main event will be a bout to remember, as the current champion, Ayaka Hamasaki, will look to defend her belt and improve to 13-1 against prospect Amber Brown.

Hamasaki is one of the top female fighters on the planet. Having only one setback in her career against Claudia Gadelha, she has been dominant. Hamasaki holds notable wins over Herica Tiburcio, Emi Fujino and Lacey Schuckman.

Amber “The Bully” Brown (6-1) is unbeaten in Invicta FC, and has finished the majority of her opponents. Most recently, she submitted Shino VanHoose in the first round at Invicta FC 15 to become the top contender for the champion. In addition, she has defeated Catherine Costigan and Liz McCarthy all under the Invicta banner.

The co-main event is a rematch for the interim Invicta FC flyweight championship, as the current champion Barb Honchak needed some time off. Fighting for the belt will be Brazilians Vanessa Porto and Jennifer Maia.

Porto and Maia fought previously back in 2011 in Brazil. Porto won the match in the second round by an arm lock to become Maia’s first professional loss.

Porto is a veteran of 24 professional fights, with a combined record of 18-6. She earned the title shot after defeating Zoila Frausto and Roxanne Modafferi. Her last loss was in 2013 against Honchak by decision. In her career spanning back to 2005, she has fought some of the best; Carina Damm, Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, Tonya Evinger, Amanda Nunes and more.

Maia (12-4-1) has gone 1-2 in Invicta FC, holding a win over the aforementioned Frausto. She lost to title contender DeAnna Bennett in her last fight in Invicta. She has won her last three fights, two by TKO.

The next fight on the main card is a strawweight bout between Alexa Grasso and Stephanie Eggink.

Grasso is unbeaten as a professional mixed martial artist, holding a record of 7-0 (3-0 in Invicta). In her last fight against Mizuki Inoue, she was awarded fight of the night. She has also defeated Alida Gray and Ashley Cummins in Invicta.

Eggink (4-2) looks to get her first Invicta win. She made her debut for the organization in 2014, and lost to then-champion Katja Kankaanpaa by submission. Prior to joining Invicta FC, Eggink was the XFC strawweight champion, which she earned after submitting Angela Magana. She has defeated Brianna Van Buren and Heather Clark.

UFC veteran, Jessamyn Duke, will look to get back on the winning track against Invicta FC title contender Irene Aldana. Duke started her professional career in Invicta, finishing Suzie Montero and Marciea Allen. She appeared on The Ultimate Fighter and fought Peggy Morgan in her UFC debut. Duke won by decision, but is in the midst of a three-fight skid.

Aldana defeated Morgan and Colleen Schneider by a rear-naked choke in the Invicta cage, earning her a shot at the champion Tonya Evinger in July of 2015. She lost to the champion by TKO in the fourth round. This will be another tough test for the explosive prospect.

The main card is stacked, but the prelims will have a lot of exciting match ups as well. Strikeforce veteran Roxanne Modafferi will take on contender DeAnna Bennett, Jinh Yu Frey will fight former champion Herica Tiburcio, Sarah D’Alelio will fight fan favorite Andrea Lee, Kelly McGill will fight rising star Amberlynn Orr, and Sarah Click will fight Ashley Greenway.

The fights will be available to watch on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET, or you can catch them live at the Trinidad Pavilion at the Tropicana Las Vegas.


This article was authored by guest writer, Matthew Pearlman. You can find more of his work at TeensOnSports.com.

IFCRadio-Ep6

Episode 6: Invicta FC 16’s Amber Brown and Irene Aldana

TJ De Santis is back with another edition of “Invicta FC Radio.” On this edition, De Santis is joined by Invicta FC 16 headliner Amber “The Bully” Brown, bantamweight Irene Aldana, president Shannon Knapp and matchmaker Julie Kedzie.

New Mexico’s Brown discusses getting the call and earning the shot at atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki. The Fit NHB product also talks the road to the title, what she will have to do to come out victorious, and what this bout means to her and her teammates.

Aldana makes her return to the Invicta FC cage for the first time following her title fight with Tonya Evinger. Sheย discusses her journey back, why the Evinger bout is not indicative of her talent, and what she thinks about her opponent Jessamyn Duke. The Team Grasso trained fighter also talks aboutย her fans and how she feels that Las Vegas will be filled with Mexican supporters.

President Shannon Knapp joins the program to discuss Invicta FC 16, the schedule for the first half of 2016, the future of the 125-pound division and what we can expect from the leader in women’s mixed martial arts.

Julie Kedzie joins to discuss a variety of different bouts on the card, weight cutting, and other exciting Invicta FC news.

IFC16

Invicta FC Returns to Las Vegas on March 11

Kansas City, Mo.ย โ€”ย Invicta Fighting Championshipsย is headed back to Sin City for its 16th event.

Today the promotion announced that it will visit the Trinidad Pavilion at Tropicana Las Vegas on Friday, March 11. The eventย willย stream live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The main event will see recently crowned atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki (12-1) make her first title defense against the hard-charging Amber Brown (6-1). Japanโ€™s Hamasaki captured gold last July with a decision win over Herica Tiburcio at Invicta FC 13. Brown, meanwhile, has won three straight in the Invicta cage, including back-to-back, first-round submission finishes. She topped Shino VanHoose at Invicta FC 15 in January via guillotine choke.

In the co-main event, the promotion will crown an interim flyweight champion as Brazilians Vanessa Porto (18-6) and Jennifer Maia (12-4-1) face off. Both fighters enter the match-up riding three-fight winning streaks. Porto was most recently in action against Roxanne Modafferi at Invicta FC 12, while Maia will return to the Invicta cage after three bouts in her home country.

The rest of the card is stacked with exciting match-ups. Unbeaten Mexican phenom Alexa Grasso (7-0) meets former title challenger Stephanie Eggink (4-2) at strawweight, recent bantamweight title combatant Irene Aldana (5-2) welcomes UFC veteran Jessamyn Duke (3-3) back to the promotion, veteran Roxanne Modafferi (18-12) will face DeAnna Bennett (8-1) in her return to the flyweight division, former atomweight champion Herica Tiburcio (9-3) takes on Jinh Yu Frey (4-1), and Andrea Lee (4-1) will clash with Sarah Dโ€™Alelio (8-6) in her flyweight debut.

Rounding out the card, bantamweight Kelly McGill (2-0) returns from injury to meet newcomer Amberlynn Orr (0-0), while strawweightsย Ashley Greenway (0-0) and Sarah Click (0-0) make their professional debuts.

The fight card for Invicta FC 16 can be found below:

Atomweight Title:ย Ayaka Hamasaki (12-1) vs. Amber Brown (6-1)
Interim Flyweight Title:ย Vanessa Porto (18-6) vs. Jennifer Maia (12-4-1)
Strawweight:ย Alexa Grasso (7-0) vs. Stephanie Eggink (4-2)
Bantamweight:ย Irene Aldana (5-2) vs. Jessamyn Duke (3-3)
Flyweight:ย Roxanne Modafferi (18-12) vs. DeAnna Bennett (8-1)
Atomweight:ย Herica Tiburcio (9-3) vs. Jinh Yu Frey (4-1)
Flyweight:ย Andrea Lee (4-1) vs. Sarah Dโ€™Alelio (8-6)
Bantamweight:ย Kelly McGill (2-0) vs. Amberlynn Orr (0-0)
Strawweight: Ashley Greenway (0-0) vs. Sarah Click (0-0)

Tickets for Invicta FC 16 go on sale Friday, Feb. 19. Tickets will be available for purchase at the Tropicana Las Vegas Show Tickets desk, by calling 800-829-9034, or online atย troplv.com.


About Invicta FC:

Invicta Fighting Championships is a world championship, all-pro mixed martial artsย (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform toย hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executiveย Shannon Knapp, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of womenโ€™sย MMA by promoting the best possible match-ups between female competitors andย identifying and developing future superstars of the sport. For more information,ย visitย InvictaFC.com, follow Invicta on Twitterย (@InvictaFights) and like Invicta onย Facebook (Facebook.com/InvictaFights).