If you are a fan of women’s MMA, then I have big news for you. Invicta announced its seventh card on Friday, which is stacked with three title bouts and several other intriguing feature fights. Invicta 7 will happen on December 7 in Kansas City, Missouri.
In the main event, flyweight champion Barb Honchak will put her title on the line against top contender Leslie Smith. Smith is a former bantamweight who dropped to 125 in her last fight, where she defeated Jennifer Maia to earn the title shot.
Honchak won the title in a bout against Vanessa Porto. She is 3-0 with the company, owning wins over Porto, Aisling Daly and The Ultimate Fighter participant Bethany Marshall.
In the co-main event, Carla Esparza defends her strawweight title against Claudia Gadelha. It is Esparza’s first defense since winning the title against Bec Hyatt.
Gadelha earned this title shot with a dominant victory over Ayaka Hamasaki. The Brazilian looks to be a major threat at taking the American wrestler’s title, as her win over Hamasaki was impressive and surprising.
In the final title bout, Lauren Murphy and Miriam Nakamoto will battle for the vacant bantamweight title, which many thought wouldn’t materialize due to the inclusion of bantamweights in the UFC.
Murphy’s rise to stardom has been rapid. She entered Invicta on late notice and dispatched Kaitlin Young before defeating Sarah D’Alelio to get this title opportunity.
Muay Thai champion Nakamoto has been a buzzsaw, destroying her competition. Her Invicta debut saw her decimate Jessamyn Duke with knees, but it was overturned due to an illegal knee at the end of the fight. She came back with another devastating win over Duda Yankovich, which also came via knees.
All of these title bouts promise to make this an all-time classic. Add to that the fact that Felice Herrig, Joanne Calderwood and Tecia Torres will be on the card, and you’ll want to spend money on this pay-per-view.
Here are the announced fights for this December 7 card:
- Barb Honchak vs. Leslie Smith for Invicta Flyweight Championship
- Carla Esparza vs. Claudia Gadelha for Invicta Strawweight Championship
- Lauren Murphy vs. Miriam Nakamoto for vacant Invicta Bantamweight Championship
- Felice Herrig vs. Tecia Torres
- Joanne Calderwoof vs. Katja Kankaanpaa
- Julia Budd vs. Charmaine Tweet
- Vanessa Porto vs. Zoila Gurgel
- Tonya Evinger vs. Kelly Kobold
- Munah Holland vs. Nina Ansaroff
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