BOSTON — Invicta Fighting Championships is headed to Beantown. The world’s premier combat sports organization for women will make its East Coast debut on Friday, Oct. 27 at Citizens House of Blues.
The event will feature the first title defense for strawweight champion Danni “Mac” McCormack (7-2), who collides with Polish challenger Karolina “Polish Assassin” Wójcik (11-3). Both fighters were in action at Invicta FC 52 in March, with McCormack making history as the promotion’s first Irish champion by dethroning Brazilian Valesca Machado after five hard-fought rounds. Wójcik, meanwhile, edged out Brazilian Ediana Silva in the co-main event to claim No. 1 contender status.
In the night’s co-main event, the aforementioned former champion Valesca “Tina Black” Machado (12-4) will meet Isis “Fight Queen” Verbeek (4-2). Machado’s title defeat snapped a four-fight winning streak and the 28-year-old will be eager to get back into title contention. Holland’s Verbeek, who now calls Florida home, will make her third appearance under the Invicta banner and hopes to build off a decision win over Melissa Oddessa at Invicta FC 48.
Also on the card, recent flyweight title challenger Kristina “Warhorse” Williams (6-4) welcomes Ireland’s Dee Begley (4-2) to the organization, Massachusetts native Hilarie Rose (6-6) takes on fellow strawweight newcomer Andrea Amaro (3-2) of Texas, Germany’s Julia Dorny (2-1) collides with “Rad” Riley Martinez (2-0) of Idaho in a featherweight contest, and Canadian bantamweight “Sweet” Maria Djukic (2-1) returns to the Invicta cage opposite Massachusetts-based Brazilian “Ferocious” Fernanda Araujo (2-3).
Invicta FC 54: McCormack vs. Wójcik will kick off at 8 p.m. ET, airing live on Invicta’s official YouTube Channel and Facebook Page, AXS TV in the U.S., Fight Network in Canada, Fox Sports in Mexico, Globo’s Combate in Brazil, DirecTV across Latin America, Viaplay and Match TV in Europe and Star Times across Africa. Tickets to the event will go on sale Thursday, Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. ET through Ticketmaster.
The full fight card can be found below:
Strawweight Title: Danni McCormack vs. Karolina Wójcik
Strawweight: Valesca Machado vs. Isis Verbeek
Flyweight: Kristina Williams vs. Dee Begley
Strawweight: Hilarie Rose vs. Andrea Amaro
Featherweight: Julia Dorny vs. Riley Martinez
Bantamweight: Maria Djukic vs. Fernanda Araujo
About Invicta FC:
Invicta Fighting Championships (invictafc.com) 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.
About Anthem Sports & Entertainment, Inc.
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc. 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 includes AXS TV, a leading music, entertainment and lifestyle television channel and digital media company; global film distribution company Gravitas Ventures; Fight Network, the world’s premier combat sports channel; IMPACT Wrestling, one of the world’s leading wrestling organizations specializing in original programming and live events; Invicta Fighting Championships, the world’s premier all-women mixed martial arts promotion; Game+, the leader in Esports and gaming content; GameTV, the home of game shows and competition-based reality series; and HDNet Movies, which features theatrically released films and documentaries. Anthem also has a significant ownership interest in Pursuit Channel, one of the top outdoor channels in the U.S.