KANSAS CITY, Kan. — On Wednesday, Sept. 16, Invicta Fighting Championships hosted the weigh-ins for Invicta FC 42: Cummins vs. Zappitella. The event takes place in Kansas City, Kan., on Thursday, Sept. 17, with the entire card streaming live on UFC Fight Pass at a special start time of 8 p.m. CT.
In the night’s main event, a new atomweight champion will be crowned when longtime Invicta combatant Ashley “Smashley” Cummins (7-5) takes on world-class wrestler Alesha “Half Pint” Zappitella (7-2) for the vacant 105-pound belt. The Missouri-born, California-based Cummins is no stranger to the Invicta cage, debuting at the promotion’s inaugural event in April of 2012. She’s made a total of nine appearances under the Invicta banner, battling the likes of current UFC fighters Joanne Calderwood, Alexa Grasso and most recently, former atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey. Michigan’s Zappitella is just 25 years old, but has already compiled a championship-worthy resume. She’s been victorious in four of her five Invicta bouts, including back-to-back wins over Lindsey VanZandt and Kelly D’Angelo to cement her status as a title contender.
The co-main event will take place in the bantamweight division as Lisa “Battle Angel” Verzosa (5-1) meets Raquel Canuto (6-6) — née Pa’aluhi — in a match-up of former title challengers.
Two of the event’s scheduled bouts — the bantamweight match-up between Auttumn Norton (1-1) and Brittney Cloudy (2-2) and the strawweight clash featuring Jennifer Chieng (1-0) and Flore Hani (2-1) — have been pulled from the card due to positive COVID-19 test results.
Chieng successfully weighed in at 114.9 pounds and will now face Invicta veteran Helen “Iansã” Peralta (2-1) in a 120-pound catchweight bout.
Below are the results of the event’s weigh-ins:
Atomweight Title: Ashley Cummins (104.9) vs. Alesha Zappitella (104.4)
Bantamweight: Lisa Verzosa (134.5) vs. Raquel Canuto (135.6)
Strawweight: Jéssica Delboni (115.6) vs. Herica Tiburcio (115.1)
Flyweight: Victoria Leonardo (125.7) vs. Liz Tracy (125.3)
Catchweight (120 pounds): Jennifer Chieng (114.9) vs. Helen Peralta (119.3)
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.