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Invicta FC 51 Features Championship Doubleheader on January 18 in Denver

DENVERย โ€” Get ready for another thrilling night of action in the Mile High City as Invicta Fighting Championships returns toย Reelworks Denverย with a championship doubleheader on Wednesday, Jan. 18.

In the night’s main event, bantamweight championย Taneisha “Triple Threat” Tennant (5-1) puts her 135-pound belt on the line opposite UFC veteran Talita Bernardo (9-4). New York’s Tennant has yet to taste defeat under the Invicta banner, includingย winning three fights in one night to capture the third Phoenix Tournament. She was most recently in action at Invicta FC 48, edging Olga Rubin after five, hard-fought rounds to retain her title. Brazil’s Bernardo has quickly established herself as the No. 1 contender with back-to-back submission wins over Katharina Lehner and Yana Gadelha.

The co-feature also features gold up for grabs asย Oklahoma’s Kristina “Warhorse” Williams (6-3) collides with Brazilianย knockout artistย Ketlen “Esquentadinha” Souza (12-3) for the vacant flyweight title. Williams rides the momentum of three straight victories, including a first-round submission of Liana Pirosinย at Invicta FC 48 in July.ย Souza was successful in her promotional debut in September, cruising pastย Strikeforce and Phoenix Tournament veteran Maiju Suotama.

Also on the card, bantamweight Serena “The Southpaw Outlaw” DeJesus (5-2) looks to make a statement with a victory over recent title challengerย “Big Bad” Olga Rubin (7-3), Denver’s “Grizzly” Claire Guthrie (4-1) aims for a fourth straight win against hard-hitting bantamweight Auttumn “The Natural” Norton (2-1), atomweight Marisa “Spider Monkey” Messer-Belenchia (5-1) welcomes Brazilian Elisandra “Lili” Ferreira (4-2) to the Invicta cage, “The Queen of the North” Katie Saull (5-5) takes on Contender Series veteran Rayanne dos Santos (12-6) of Brazil at 105 pounds, strawweight submission aceย Fatima โ€œThe Archangelโ€ Kline (2-0) squares off withย Theย Ultimate Fighter 30 alum Laura “La Jefa” Gallardo (4-1), and Canada’s Tanya Nijjar (1-0) meets fellow debutant Sayury Caรฑon (2-0) of Colombia.

Invicta FC 51: Tennant vs. Bernardo will be overseen by theย Colorado Combative Sports Commission and will feature open scoring. The event will kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. MT, with the main card airing on AXS TVย in the U.S., Fight Networkย in Canada, andย Invictaโ€™s officialย YouTube Channelย andย Facebook Pageย at 9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT. Tickets to the event goย on sale Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 12 p.m. ET/10 a.m. MTย through Eventbrite.

The current fight card can be found below:

Bantamweight Title:ย Taneisha Tennant vs. Talita Bernardo
Flyweight Title:ย Kristina Williams vs. Ketlen Souza
Bantamweight:ย Serena DeJesus vs. Olga Rubin
Bantamweight:ย Claire Guthrie vs. Auttumn Norton
Atomweight:ย Marisa Messer-Belenchia vs. Elisandra Ferreira
Atomweight:ย Katie Saull vs. Rayanne dos Santos
Strawweight:ย Fatima Kline vs. Laura Gallardo
Strawweight:ย Tanya Nijjar vs. Sayury Caรฑon


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.

About Anthem Sports & Entertainment, Inc.
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc.ย is a global multi-platform media company with offices and studios in Los Angeles, Denver, Nashville, New York, Kansas City, Cleveland and Toronto. Anthem’s portfolio includesย AXS TV, a leading music, entertainment and lifestyle television channel and digital media company; global film distribution companyย Gravitas Ventures;ย Fight Network, the world’s premier combat sports channel;ย IMPACT Wrestling, one of the world’s leading wrestling organizations specializing in original programming and live events;ย Invicta Fighting Championships, the worldโ€™s premier all-women mixed martial arts promotion;ย ย Game+, the leader in Esports and gaming content;ย GameTV,ย the home of game shows and competition-based reality series; andย HDNet Movies, which features theatrically released films and documentaries. Anthem also has a significant ownership interest inย Pursuit Channel, one of the top outdoor channels in the U.S.