Kansas City, Mo. — On Saturday, July 15, Invicta Fighting Championships hosted Invicta FC 24: Dudieva vs. Borella from the historic Scottish Rite Temple. The event streamed live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
The night’s main event featured a closely contested flyweight between Italy’s Mara Romero Borella and UFC veteran Milana Dudieva. Borella flurried forward to open the bout, allowing Dudieva to score with a judo throw. Borella looked for a leg lock, which allowed her to return to the feet. The pair traded punches before Borella looked for a takedown. Dudieva countered with a guillotine attempt to close the round. In the second round, Borella used her striking and length before putting Dudieva on her back. She scored with ground and pound from the top position along the fence. It was more of the same in round three, but Dudieva sought an armbar from her back. Borella defended and passed to mount. Dudieva powered to the top position in the fight’s waning moments, but landed in a triangle attempt from the Italian. The Russian would survive to the final bell, but it was Borella who walked away with the split decision win.
Former atomweight title challenger Jinh Yu Frey used her wrestling and top control to edge Ashley Cummins by decision. Frey capitalized on the forward pressure of Cummins, taking the fight to the mat. Cummins was active on her back, threatening with armbars. Frey opted to return to the feet in the first round, but as the fight progressed, she stayed in the guard of Cummins. That resulted in repeated armbar attempts from Cummins, which Frey was forced to defend. Every time Frey escaped, Cummins attacked with another. The final stanza was a showcase of the strength of Frey, who was able to keep Cummins on her back for the majority of the round and earn the victory on the judges’ scorecards.
Veteran Pam Sorenson gave featherweight newcomer Helena Kolesnyk a rude welcome to the Invicta cage, scoring a first-round submission victory. Kolesnyk threw kicks early, but Sorenson timed a takedown attempt and tripped her to the canvas. She methodically passed to side control and then the mount. Sorenson dropped heavy right hands from mount. She was patient from the top, passing to S-mount and setting up an armbar. Sorenson cranked on the arm and Kolesnyk was forced to submit.
The flyweight match-up between newcomers Karina Rodríguez and Bárbara Acioly was fast and violent. Mexico’s Rodríguez rocked Brazil’s Acioly early with a right hand and quickly looked for the finish. She chased Acioly to the mat and pounded away with strikes. Acioly did her best to survive and nearly worked back to her feet, but Rodríguez was relentless with her aggression. A swarm of hammerfists from Rodríguez was too much for referee Greg Franklin, who stepped in and saved Acioly from further damage.
Missouri’s Miranda Maverick remained unbeaten, topping promotional newcomer Gabby Romero on the scorecards. Maverick scored with left hands in the first frame. Romero answered with a head-and-arm throw attempt, but ended up on her back. She attacked with a leg lock attempt that allowed her to get on top of Maverick. Maverick was able to escape, but fell into a deep armbar attempt to close the round. In round two, a series of uppercuts from Maverick were the most significant strikes of the bout. The pair’s chess match on the mat later resumed as Maverick delivered heavy shots, while Romero searched for submissions. Maverick attacked the body in the final frame, slowing Romero’s output. A late armbar attempt from Maverick was reversed by Romero and Maverick was once again forced to ride out the round to the bell. When it was all said and done, it was Maverick who was victorious.
Strawweights Sunna Rannveig Davíðsdóttir and Kelly D’Angelo engaged in a hard-fought battle over the course of three rounds, with Iceland’s Davíðsdóttir earning the decision victory. The pair came out firing, connecting with straight punches. Davíðsdóttir looked to bring the fight to the canvas, but D’Angelo responded with heavy punches. The nose of Davíðsdóttir poured blood as the opening stanza came to a close. The second and third rounds were a different story as Davíðsdóttir utilized her takedowns to neutralize D’Angelo’s offense. The Icelandic fighter was able to mount D’Angelo and rain heavy punches and elbows. The fight went the distance with Davíðsdóttir sweeping the scorecards.
The night kicked off with a dominant performance from undefeated featherweight Felicia Spencer. Spencer opened with a series of body kicks to opponent Amy Coleman, but was briefly taken down. She worked back to her feet and then put Coleman on her back. She wasn’t able to keep Coleman down for long, but later in the round, she scored with a big lift along the fence. Spencer quickly took Coleman’s back with both hooks. Once there, she worked for a rear-naked choke and coerced the tap from Coleman.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Mara Romero Borella def. Milana Dudieva by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Jinh Yu Frey def. Ashley Cummins by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Pam Sorenson def. Helena Kolesnyk by submission (armbar). Round 1, 3:12
Karina Rodríguez def. Bárbara Acioly by TKO (strikes). Round 1, 2:14
Miranda Maverick def. Gabby Romero by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 30-27)
Sunna Rannveig Davíðsdóttir def. Kelly D’Angelo by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Felicia Spencer def. Amy Coleman by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 1, 3:17
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 (Facebook.com/InvictaFights), and Instagram (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.