Invicta FC 50 results, highlights: Machado claims strawweight title

See what happened at Invicta FC 50: Lehner vs. Bernardo on Wednesday night.

For its 50th event, Invicta Fighting Championships traveled to ReelWorks Denver in Denver, Colorado, with a bantamweight headliner and a strawweight tournament.

Valesca Machado vs. Karolina Wójcik

Valesca Machado is the new Invicta FC strawweight champion. Following their respective wins over Ediana Silva and Gloria de Paula, Machado and Karolina Wójcik fought for three rounds. Both women started off tentative, with ‘Tina Black’ scoring points with combinations and left and right hands. The ‘Polish Assassin’ responded with leg kicks, but grew frustrated with the little to no output from her opponent. Still, Machado was doing enough to seal the first round. Wójcik tried to clinch with Machado, but the Brazilian returned fire with punches and knees to the body before separating.

Wójcik had a better outing in the third round, coming out more aggressive and firing off right hands. She also initiated the clinch again, but Machado was privy to it and got out of the way. Near the end of the fight, Wójcik would hold Machado up against the cage and land knees to her thighs. In the end, Machado was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

Katharina Lehner vs. Talita Bernardo

Talita Bernardo showed off her Brazilian jiu-jitsu against Katharina Lehner. After being sat down early by a right hand, Bernardo stood up and hit a double-leg takedown on Lehner. For the rest of the first round, the Brazilian tried to secure a rear-naked choke, but Lehner defended and survived. It was much of the same in the second round, however, Bernardo was determined to get a submission. Once the fight returned to the ground, Bernardo would isolate the right arm of Lehner, who was forced to tap to a kimura after a few seconds. During her post-fight interview, Bernardo was informed that she would be getting a championship opportunity against Taneisha Tennant, the reigning Invicta FC bantamweight champion.

Claire Guthrie vs. Brigid Chase

Claire Guthrie had to weather an early storm from Brigid Chase, but she adjusted and earned a unanimous decision. ‘Grizzly’ expected her fight with ‘Khan’ to get a bit crazy — and it did. A flying sidekick from Chase knocked Guthrie to the ground in the first round, but the Elevation Fight Team product returned to her feet and started working on her own takedowns. She continued to dominate Chase on the ground, but there was a brief moment where she found herself in a bad position. In the second round, Guthrie committed to a leg lock, which Chase took advantage of by getting out of and into mount. She secured an arm-triangle, but Guthrie gave the referee a thumbs up to signal she was not in any danger. It was one-way traffic for Guthrie throughout the rest of the fight, as she mauled Chase in the final five minutes.

Danni McCormack vs. Maíra Mazar

Danni McCormack vs. Maira Mazar was fun! ‘Mad’ McCormack appeared to be on the way to a first-round finish as she stunned Mazar with a left hand and follow-up punches. Mazar mustered up the strength to secure a takedown, but McCormack used it to take her back and score points with punches and elbows to the head. That was such a great start for McCormack, who was awarded a 10-8 on one of the judges’ scorecards (remember, we have open scoring here). Mazar turned the tide in the second round, where she caught a kick from McCormack and got her to the ground. From there, she snatched up a near fight-ending rear-naked choke, but McCormack remained calm and shook Mazar off. WOW! McCormack and Mazar were even in the third and final round, but the Irish fighter scored the unanimous decision.

Valesca Machado vs. Ediana Silva

Valesca Machado became the second finalist in the strawweight tournament after eking out a split decision against Ediana Silva. ’Tina Black’ dealt with the aggression of ‘Mel Pitbull’ by mixing in her wrestling between the second and third rounds. On the ground, Machado went for a few rear-naked chokes, but Silva defended. On the feet, Silva found a home for left and right hooks as well as combinations that forced Machado to circle away from danger.

Gloria de Paula vs. Karolina Wójcik

Karolina Wójcik advanced to the finals of the strawweight tournament. The ‘Polish Assassin’ defeated Gloria de Paula by unanimous decision, but it was not easy! The first round between Wójcik and De Paula could have gone either way, as both women had good moments in the clinch. The second round was all Wójcik, who got De Paula to the ground, attempted two rear-naked chokes and controlled her opponent for the majority of the allotted five minutes. The third round was where Da Paula started to move forward and pressure the now-tired Wójcik. ‘Glorinhna’ connected with punches, elbows and knees, but Wójcik held on until the end of the fight.

Melissa Oddessa Parker vs. Elise Pone

Elise Pone returned to the win column with a unanimous decision over Melissa Oddessa Parker. The ‘Piece’ was successful in the clinch, holding the ‘Bella Bestia’ up against the cage and unloading knees to the body. She tried to separate, but Parker was stuck in one position for three rounds. Pone swept the judges’ scorecards for the win.

Full Results:

Valesca Machado def. Karolina Wójcik by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Talita Bernardo def. Katharina Lehner by submission (kimura) at 4:26 of Round 2

Claire Guthrie def. Brigid Chase by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Danni McCormack def. Maíra Mazar by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Valesca Machado def. Ediana Silva by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

Karolina Wójcik def. Gloria de Paula by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Elise Pone def. Melissa Oddessa Parker by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)