Kansas City, Kan. — On Wednesday, July 1, Invicta Fighting Championships hosted the weigh-ins for Invicta FC 40: Ducote vs. Lima. The event takes place in Kansas City, Kan., on Thursday, July 2 , with the entire card streaming live on UFC Fight Pass beginning 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 Alesha “Half Pint” Zappitella (6-2) clashes with New York’s Lindsey “Damsel” VanZandt (7-3).
As with any Invicta event, safety is of the utmost priority. All athletes and corners participating in the event were tested for COVID-19 and all results were negative.
Below are the results of the event’s weigh-ins:
Strawweight: Emily Ducote (115.2) vs. Juliana Lima (115.5)
Atomweight: Alesha Zappitella (105.7) vs. Lindsey VanZandt (105.2)
Flyweight: DeAnna Bennett (N/A)* vs. Victoria Leonardo (125.9)
Featherweight: Chelsea Chandler (145) vs. Liv Parker (145.7)
Flyweight: Trisha Cicero (126) vs. Laura Gallardo (125.1)
Strawweight: Genia Goodin (115.9) vs. Shelby Koren (115.9)
* – The flyweight bout between DeAnna Bennett and Victoria Leonardo was removed from the card after Bennett had a medical issue during her weight cut and could not weigh-in. Leonardo was paid her show purse after making weight and the fight card will proceed with five fights.
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 (InvictaFights), and Instagram (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.