maia2

Jennifer Maia vs. Agnieszka Niedźwiedź Headlines Invicta FC 26

Kansas City, Mo. — Invicta Fighting Championships will return to action on Friday, Dec. 8, from the historic Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, Mo. The event streams live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. CT.

In the night’s main event, flyweight champion Jennifer Maia (14-4-1) will defend her 125-pound title against undefeated Polish fighter Agnieszka Niedźwiedź (10-0). Brazil’s Maia is coming off back-to-back “Fight of the Year” contenders against Roxanne Modafferi and Vanessa Porto. Niedźwiedź, meanwhile, kept her perfect record intact in May, besting the aforementioned Porto in the Invicta FC 23 main event.

The co-main event features the return of Japan’s MIZUKI (12-4) against Brazilian Janaisa Morandin (9-1). The 23-year-old MIZUKI enters the contest having won four straight, including a second-round armbar finish of Lynn Alvarez in her most recent Invicta appearance. Morandin thrilled in an action-packed bout at Invicta FC 25, taking home “Fight of the Night” honors for her battle with former champion Livia Renata Souza.

Also on the card, former flyweight title challenger Vanessa Porto (18-8) takes on Australia’s Jessica-Rose “Jessy Jess” Clark (7-4, 1 NC).

The current fight card for Invicta FC 26 can be found below:

Flyweight Title: Jennifer Maia (14-4-1) vs. Agnieszka Niedźwiedź (10-0)
Strawweight: MIZUKI (12-4) vs. Janaisa Morandin (9-1)
Flyweight: Vanessa Porto (18-8) vs. Jessica-Rose Clark (7-4, 1 NC)

Tickets for the event go on sale Saturday, Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. CT via Tickeyfly.com. Additional bouts for the event will be announced at a later date.


About Invicta FC:

Invicta Fighting Championships is a world championship, all-pro mixed martial arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible match-ups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport. Follow Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (Facebook.com/InvictaFights), and Instagram (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.

Pancrase

Invicta FC and Pancrase Form Talent-Sharing Partnership

Kansas City, Mo. — Invicta Fighting Championships has a new partner in the growth of women’s mixed martial arts.

Joining the world’s top women’s only-promotion in an exclusive talent-sharing partnership will be Japanese promotion Pancrase. Formed in 1993, Pancrase is one of the sport’s oldest promotions. The deal will provide fighters from both organizations with opportunities to fight in both Japan and the U.S. It will also help promote women’s MMA on a global scale.

“It’s an honor to be able to partner with Pancrase, one of MMA’s most storied promotions,” said Invicta President Shannon Knapp. “In addition to all past and present ‘Kings and Queens of Pancrase,’ pioneers and contemporary stars alike have passed through the Pancrase organization at one time or another. Through our talent-sharing agreement, we hope to be able to capitalize on the wealth of female fighters being developed by both Invicta and Pancrase in a mutually beneficial way.”

Pancrase President Masakazu Sakai also shared his thoughts on the agreement, “From this partnership, the world’s best fighters from Invicta will get an opportunity to fight in Pancrase, and at the same time, Japanese fighters will get to experience fighting Invicta fighters that are at the world level. In addition, Japanese fighters would get a chance to fight in Invicta. This might open the door for fans in Japan to see Japanese fighters under the Invicta contract, such as Mizuki and Takayo Hashi to fight in Japan as well. Both Invicta FC and Pancrase are currently on UFC Fight Pass and by exchanging fighters we are looking to increase opportunities for fighters to compete more often.”

Look for fighters from both organizations to compete against one another in the near future.


About Invicta FC:

Invicta Fighting Championships is a world championship, all-pro mixed martial arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible match-ups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport. Follow Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (Facebook.com/InvictaFights), and Instagram (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.