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Janaisa Morandin vs. Montserrat Ruiz Headlines Invicta FC 41 on July 30

Kansas City, Kan.ย โ€“ It’s full steam ahead for Invicta Fighting Championships.

The world’s premier combat sports organization for women will hold its second event of the summer on Thursday, July 30. Invicta FC 41 will take place in Kansas City and just like the promotion’s 40th installment on July 2, it will be overseen by the Kansas Athletic Commission and utilize open scoring. The event will air live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. CT.

In the night’s main event, former strawweight title challengerย Janaisa “Evil Princess” Morandin (10-3) of Brazil will battle Mexico’s Montserrat “Conejo” Ruiz (8-1). The 25-year-old Morandin will be making her fifth appearance in the Invicta cage and hopes that her experience of facing former titleholders Virna Jandiroba and Livia Renata Souza will carry her to victory. Ruiz returns to action after suffering her first career defeat to UFC veteran Danielle Taylor at Invicta FC 33. Prior to the setback, she had won eight straight with four finishes.

The co-main event will feature flyweight contenders as 21-year-old phenom Erin “Cold Blooded” Blanchfield (5-1) tangles with wrestling stalwart Stephanie “Hold Fast” Geltmacher (4-1). New York’s Blanchfield enters the match-up riding the momentum of a second-round, head-kick knockout of Victoria Leonardo at Invicta FC 39. Like her opponent, Oklahoma’s Geltmacher was also last in action against Leonardo, but came up short on the scorecards after a “Fight of the Year” contender at Invicta FC 36.

Joining the headlining bouts will be a featherweight bout between former title challenger “The Striking Viking” Kaitlin Young (10-10-1) and the returning Latoya “Black Mamba” Walker (5-1), who last fought at Invicta FC 17 in 2016. Also on the card, Texas strawweights collide as Cynthia “Sin” Arceo (5-2-1) meets Itzel Esquivel (4-2), undefeated flyweights square off when Florida’s Caitlin “Ginger” Sammons (2-0) faces Colorado’s “Grizzly” Claire Guthrie (1-0), and flyweight newcomers Natalya “The Beast” Speece (0-0) and Alexa Culp (0-0) both make their professional debuts.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,ย Invicta FC 41 will take place behind closed doorsย โ€” sans fans and media. As with any Invicta event, the safety of its fighters, their corners, its staff and commission officials is of the utmost priority. All participants will be tested prior to the event.

The full fight card can be found below:

Strawweight:ย Janaisa Morandin vs. Montserrat Ruiz
Flyweight:ย Erin Blanchfield vs. Stephanie Geltmacher
Featherweight:ย Kaitlin Young vs. Latoya Walker
Strawweight:ย Cynthia Arceo vs. Itzel Esquivel
Flyweight:ย Caitlin Sammons vs. Claire Guthrie
Flyweight:ย Natalya Speece vs. Alexa Culp


About Invicta FC:
Invicta Fighting Championships (invictafc.com) 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.ย Followย Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (InvictaFights) and Instagramย (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.

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Trisha Cicero Replaces Claire Guthrie at Invicta FC 40

Kansas City, Kan. โ€“ The fight card for Invicta FC 40 has undergone a late change.

Colorado flyweightย “Grizzly” Claire Guthrie (1-0) has been forced out of her match-up withย newcomer Laura “La Jefa” Gallardo (2-0) of California.

Stepping in on two weeks’ notice will be Florida’s Trisha Cicero (3-3). The American Top Team product is a black belt in Kenpo karate and currently rides a two-fight winning streak. She most recently submitted Brandi Narvaez in June.

Invicta FC 40 takes place Thursday, July 2 in Kansas City, Kan. The event will stream live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. CT. The event is headlined byย a strawweight bout between former title challengerย Emily “Gordinha” Ducote (8-6) and UFC veteran Juliana “Ju Thai” Lima (10-6).

The updated Invicta FC 40 fight card can be found below:

Strawweight:ย Emily Ducote vs. Juliana Lima
Atomweight:ย Alesha Zappitella vs. Lindsey VanZandt
Flyweight:ย DeAnna Bennett vs. Victoria Leonardo
Featherweight:ย Chelsea Chandler vs. Liv Parker
Flyweight:ย Trisha Cicero vs. Laura Gallardo
Strawweight:ย Genia Goodin vs. Shelby Koren


About Invicta FC:
Invicta Fighting Championships (invictafc.com) 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.ย Followย Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (InvictaFights) and Instagramย (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.

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Invicta FC 40 Slated for July 2 in Kansas City

Kansas City, Kan.ย โ€“ Invicta Fighting Championships is returning to action.

The world’s premier combat sports organization for women will hold its first event since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, July 2. Invicta FC 40 will take place in Kansas City and will be overseen by the Kansas Athletic Commission. The event will air live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. CT.

In the night’s main event, recent strawweight title challenger Emily “Gordinha” Ducote (8-6) takes on Brazilian Juliana “Ju Thai” Lima (10-6). Oklahoma’s Ducote scored a violent, first-round knockout of Janaisa Morandin in her promotional debut before challenging Kanako Murata for the 115-pound title. Ducote fell via split decision in a closely contested bout and will look to get back in the win column. Lima rejoined the Invicta roster in 2019 following a seven-fight stint with the UFC. The veteran was last in action during the inaugural Phoenix Series tournament, where she defeated fellow UFC veteran Danielle Taylor, but fell to eventual tournament champion Brianna Van Buren in the semifinals.

The co-main event will take place in the atomweight division as wrestling dynamo Alesha “Half Pint” Zappitella (6-2) clashes with New York’s Lindsey “Damsel” VanZandt (7-3). The Michigan-based Zappitella earned her third win inside the Invicta cage in February, defeating Kelly D’Angelo on the scorecards. VanZandt was victorious in her last appearance with promotion, defeating Shino VanHoose at Invicta FC 37 in October.

Joining the headlining bouts will be a flyweight match-up between former strawweight title challenger DeAnna “Vitamin D” Bennett (10-6-1) and Louisiana’s Victoria “Fury” Leonardo (6-2). The pair both competed in the second installment of the Phoenix Series last September. The UFC veteran Bennett earned two wins to reach the tournament final, but succumbed to Miranda Maverick in the final round. Leonardo also came up short to Maverick in the tournament and was most recently in action against Erin Blanchfield in February.

Also on the card, California’s Chelsea Chandler (2-1) moves up in weight to welcome featherweight Liv “Phoenix” Parker (4-0) to the promotion, Colorado’s “Grizzly” Claire Guthrie (1-0) returns to flyweight against newcomer Laura Gallardo (2-0) of California, and strawweight Genia Goodin (1-0) makes her second Invicta outing against the debuting Shelby Koren (0-0), who is unbeaten through seven amateur bouts.

With the ongoing pandemic,ย Invicta FC 40 will take place behind closed doorsย โ€” sans fans and media. As with any Invicta event, the safety of its fighters, their corners, its staff and commission officials is of the utmost priority. All participants will be tested for COVID-19 prior to the event. More details of the safety measures being put in place will be revealed prior to the event.

The full fight card can be found below:

Strawweight:ย Emily Ducote vs. Juliana Lima
Atomweight:ย Alesha Zappitella vs. Lindsey VanZandt
Flyweight:ย DeAnna Bennett vs. Victoria Leonardo
Featherweight:ย Chelsea Chandler vs. Liv Parker
Flyweight:ย Claire Guthrie vs. Laura Gallardo
Strawweight:ย Genia Goodin vs. Shelby Koren


About Invicta FC:
Invicta Fighting Championships (invictafc.com) 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.ย Followย Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (InvictaFights) and Instagramย (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.