In the sport of MMA there are plenty of fighters who fall under the banner of being ‘bad boys,’ but let’s not forget that there are ‘bad girls’ out there too.
In this article, we’ll take a look at 10 of today’s most notorious fighters in WMMA, from the outspoken trash-talkers and troublemakers through to the steroid cheats and the former ‘wild childs’ trying to put their murky past behind them.
Carina Damm
Nearly 14 years into her MMA career, Carina Damm, sister of former UFC fighter Rodrigo Damm, is a true veteran of the sport, having fought for the likes of Strikeforce, Jungle Fights and most recently Titan FC.
However, the 39-year-old ‘Beauty But The Beast’ also holds the dubious distinction of being the first-ever female MMA fighter to test positive for steroids.
Damm popped for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone back in 2008 after her first fight in the United States at FFF4, where she had defeated her opponent via a second-round armbar submission.
She was subsequently banned for a year, though Damm continued to fight back home in Brazil in the mean time.
However, Damm would again run into trouble when she was caught attempting to submit a fake urine sample following a loss to Jessica Eye at NFAAS 9 in 2013, which was quickly spotted due to the fact it was reportedly ‘clear’ and ‘cold’.
Damm was subsequently suspended for 6 months, leaving her reputation further tarnished.
A Fight Pass deal was a welcomed development. Invicta finally had a stable medium to broadcast their shows on…or so we thought.
After a pretty entertaining card, the stream froze shortly into the main event, which pitted Michelle Waterson against Yasuko Tamada.
People were understandably upset, though some tried to justify the stream going down by saying the phone stream was intact. The stream bounced back for about 10 seconds in the third round and then froze again. It didn’t come back (at least not for us) until Mike Schiavello was saying goodbye to everyone. From what we did see of the main event, Waterson looked incredible. She was agile, her strikes were lightning quick and she was unloading fierce combinations on Tamada. Tamada, on the other hand, looked like she was about 60 years old. We’re not kidding either. Her age is unknown. She had to be close to 40 at least. Outside of the fact that she was slow, her skill set was anemic. Waterson destroyed her.
Overall, the event was pretty good if you ignore the stream collapsing at the end (bad streams must be some kind of Invicta curse).
(If GIFs had sound you’d be hearing “THISFIGHTTHISFIGHTTHISFIGHTTHISFIGHT.” / GIF via r/MMA)
A Fight Pass deal was a welcomed development. Invicta finally had a stable medium on which to broadcast their shows…or so we thought.
After a pretty entertaining card, the stream froze shortly into the main event, which pitted Michelle Waterson against Yasuko Tamada.
People were understandably upset, though some tried to justify the stream going down by saying the phone stream was intact. The stream bounced back for about 10 seconds in the third round and then froze again. It didn’t come back (at least not for us) until Mike Schiavello was saying goodbye to everyone. From what we did see of the main event, Waterson looked incredible. She was agile, her strikes were lightning quick and she was unloading fierce combinations on Tamada. Tamada, on the other hand, looked like she was about 60 years old. We’d love to know how old she actually is but her age is unknown. No joke. She had to be close to 40 at least. Outside of the fact that she was slow, her skill set was anemic. Waterson destroyed her.
Overall, the event was pretty good if you ignore the stream collapsing at the end (bad streams must be some kind of Invicta curse).
We got to see Katja Kankaanpaa capture the Invicta FC strawweight title with a plucky submission win over Stephanie Eggink. Eggink controlled the first four rounds of the fight and nearly finished Kankaanpaa on multiple occasions. In the fifth round, Kankaanpaa caught Eggink, who seemed to disregard Kankaanpaa’s chances so late in the fight, in a d’arce choke. For some reason, the announcer called it a “dragon sleeper choke.” Cool, sure.
Other fights:
Tonya Evinger absolutely wrecked Ediane Gomes, dominating her in the grappling department and ultimately submitting her with an armbar. In her post-fight interview, Evinger said her game plan was simply to “kick someone’s ass.”
Women’s MMA pioneers Roxanne Modafferi and Tara LaRosa met on this card. Modafferi looked like a different fighter. Her striking and footwork improved about a thousand times over since we saw her in the UFC. She picked LaRosa apart en route to a unanimous decision.
DeAnna Bennett scored an incredible liver kick KO over Michelle Ould. The kick was brutal enough to have Ould reeling for several minutes after the fight was over.
Veronica Rothenhausler couldn’t continue her streak of knocking out her opponents in the first round. She managed to clip Charmaine Tweet in the first few seconds of the fight, but Tweet recovered quickly and proved to be far too much for Rothenhausler to handle. Tweet took control of the fight, dragged Rothenhausler to the mat, and finished her with ground and pound.
There were two fights of note on the prelims:
Irene Aldana defeated UFC-vet Peggy Morgan in a totally one-sided match-up. Aldana submitted Morgan with a rear-naked choke after flooring her multiple times with powerful strikes.
Alexa Grasso became 5-0 after defeating Ashley Cummins via unanimous decision. Grasso could potentially be a big name in the future. She’s conventionally attractive, talented, and Mexican–which will likely cause the UFC to call her up as they seek to expand in Mexico and Latin America.
The complete results of Invicta FC 8 are below:
Main Card
Michelle Waterson def. Yasuko Tamada via TKO (knee and punches), 4:58 of round 3.
Katja Kankaanpaa def. Stephanie Eggink via submission (d’arce choke), 2:03 of round 5.
Tonya Evinger def. Ediane Gomes via submission (armbar), 3:31 of round 1.
Roxanne Modafferi def. Tara La Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
DeAnna Bennett def. Michelle Ould via TKO (liver kick), 1:34 of round 2.
Charmaine Tweet def. Veronica Rothenhausler via TKO (punches), 4:05 of round 1.
Preliminary Card
Irene Aldana def. Peggy Morgan via submission (rear naked choke), 2:51 of round 1.
Alexa Grasso def. Ashley Cummins via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Jodie Esquibel def. Jinh Yu Frey via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-27).
JJ Aldrich def. Delaney Owen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).
The prelims, however, were a friggin’ nightmare. We’ll go from most crazy to least crazy:
– Featherweight knockout-machine Veronica Rothenhausler has been pulled from the event after being declared medically unfit to compete. According to reports on the scene, Rothenhausler passed out due to a bad weight cut and had to be hospitalized. Needless to say, her fight against Mollie Estes was canceled. Get well soon, Veronica.
– Former strawweight Livia Von Plettenberg’s attempt to drop down to atomweight was botched to a Anthony Johnson-esque degree. Von Plettenberg weighed in at 113 pounds for her 105-pound contest against Cassie Robb, and since there was no way she’d be able to drop seven pounds on short notice, that fight has been removed from the card as well. Cripes. Will Invicta have to pull random women from the crowd in order to fill out the lineup? Because I’d totally watch that. UPDATE:Kathina “Kill Switch” Catron has stepped in on a day’s notice to fight Von Plettenberg at 125 pounds.
The prelims, however, were a friggin’ nightmare. We’ll go from most crazy to least crazy:
– Featherweight knockout-machine Veronica Rothenhausler has been pulled from the event after being declared medically unfit to compete. According to reports on the scene, Rothenhausler passed out due to a bad weight cut and had to be hospitalized. Needless to say, her fight against Mollie Estes was canceled. Get well soon, Veronica.
– Former strawweight Livia Von Plettenberg’s attempt to drop down to atomweight was botched to a Anthony Johnson-esque degree. Von Plettenberg weighed in at 113 pounds for her 105-pound contest against Cassie Robb, and since there was no way she’d be able to drop seven pounds on short notice, that fight has been removed from the card as well. Cripes. Will Invicta have to pull random women from the crowd in order to fill out the lineup? Because I’d totally watch that. UPDATE:Kathina “Kill Switch” Catron has stepped in on a day’s notice to fight Von Plettenberg at 125 pounds.
– Ediane Gomes was originally scheduled to face Tamikka Brents at a catchweight of 150 pounds, after Brents took the fight on three days’ notice as an injury replacement for Charmaine Tweet. Brents showed up today weighing 155.1 pounds. Invicta and Gomes threw their hands up and decided that the fight would still proceed at lightweight.
– Ashley Cummins and Emily Kagan actually hit the strawweight limit. Yes, both of them. Amazing.
Full Invicta FC 6 weigh-in results are below, via MMAJunkie…
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET)
Marloes Coenen (145) vs. Cristiane Santos (144.9) – for inaugural featherweight title
Claudia Gadelha (114.5) vs. Ayaka Hamasaki (115.3)
Sarah D’alelio (134.8) vs. Lauren Taylor (134.8)
Jennifer Maia (124.6) vs. Leslie Smith (125.1)
Jessica Penne (106.) vs. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (105.7)@
Joanne Calderwood (115.7) vs. Norma Rueda Center (115.8)
Bec Hyatt (115.5) vs. Mizuki Inoue (113.3)
Miriam Nakamoto (135.5) vs. Duda Yankovich (134.7)
Rose Namajunas (114.7) vs. Tecia Torres (115.6)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Ustream, 7 p.m. ET)
Tamikka Brents (155.1) vs. Ediane Gomes (149)*
Ashley Cummins (115.9) vs. Emily Kagan (115.3)
Mollie Estes (144.7) vs. Veronica Rothenhausler ()**
Cassie Robb (105.8) vs. Livia Von Plettenberg (113)***
* Fight will proceed at lightweight.
** Fight canceled due to Rothenhausler being medically ineligible to compete.
*** Fight canceled due to Von Plettenberg being unable to make weight. Von Plettenberg will now face Kathina Catron in a flyweight bout.
BONUS PIC: Thug Rose at the weigh-ins, shot by Esther Lin. I got chills. Click for full-size version.
(“Oh hey, didn’t see you there. When my doctor first informed me that I would be getting murdered by Cris Cyborg this April, I had lots of questions; Is there anything I can do to prevent getting murdered? Would bringing a friend to the fight help my chances? Why me, God, WHYYYY?!“)
It has recently been announced that Cris Cyborg’s originally scheduled opponent for her Invicta FC debut on April 5th, Ediane Gomes, has been forced to withdraw from their Invicta FC 5 bout with a rib injury. It’s a real shame, because as someone who used to beat up dudes on the Brazilian underground fight circuit (Fallon Fox’s doppelganger, if you will.*fires invisible pistols*), Gomes was being given more than a snowball’s chance in Hell against Cyborg, a privilege few of her opponents have been able to enjoy.
But now, stepping in on short notice against the former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champ will be Fiona Muxlow, a 6-2 grappling specialist out of Queensland, Australia. Originally scheduled to face Julia Budd at the event (who is now awaiting a replacement opponent as of this write up), Muxlow has not competed since dropping a first round armbar to Marloes Coenen at DREAM 18 on New Year’s Eve last year, snapping a three fight win streak in the process.
Although Muxlow is coming off a loss — one she was utterly dominated in at that — and lacks any notable victories, one should look beyond the numbers to see what this woman is truly capable of. For starters, she began her MMA career by submitting three straight opponents in a one night tournament, so we know she’s a finisher and has cardio for days to boot. Secondly, Muxlow has a poker face that will burn a hole right through your soul. That HAS to count for something in this topsy-turvy world, dammit.
(“Oh hey, didn’t see you there. When my doctor first informed me that I would be getting murdered by Cris Cyborg this April, I had lots of questions; Is there anything I can do to prevent getting murdered? Would bringing a friend to the fight help my chances? Why me, God, WHYYYY?!“)
It has recently been announced that Cris Cyborg’s originally scheduled opponent for her Invicta FC debut on April 5th, Ediane Gomes, has been forced to withdraw from their Invicta FC 5 bout with a rib injury. It’s a real shame, because as someone who used to beat up dudes on the Brazilian underground fight circuit (Fallon Fox’s doppelganger, if you will.*fires invisible pistols*), Gomes was being given more than a snowball’s chance in Hell against Cyborg, a privilege few of her opponents have been able to enjoy.
But now, stepping in on short notice against the former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champ will be Fiona Muxlow, a 6-2 grappling specialist out of Queensland, Australia. Originally scheduled to face Julia Budd at the event (who is now awaiting a replacement opponent as of this write up), Muxlow has not competed since dropping a first round armbar to Marloes Coenen at DREAM 18 on New Year’s Eve last year, snapping a three fight win streak in the process.
Although Muxlow is coming off a loss — one she was utterly dominated in at that — and lacks any notable victories, one should look beyond the numbers to see what this woman is truly capable of. For starters, she began her MMA career by submitting three straight opponents in a one night tournament, so we know she’s a finisher and has cardio for days to boot. Secondly, Muxlow has a poker face that will burn a hole right through your soul. That HAS to count for something in this topsy-turvy world, dammit.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, yet when we stumbled upon this poster for Invicta FC 5 — which goes down on April 5th from Kansas City — we were left with only questions. A few of the most pertinent being:
– Have DreamWorks and Invicta partnered up? Because the only logical explanation for the amount of Photoshop on this poster is that it is part of a subtle cross-promotion for The Croods.
– Why does everyone’s stomach look like Earthworm Jim? Also, does anyone have a copy of Earthworm Jim 3D I can borrow?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, yet when we stumbled upon this poster for Invicta FC 5 – which goes down on April 5th from Kansas City – we were left with only questions. A few of the most pertinent being:
– Have DreamWorks and Invicta partnered up? Because the only logical explanation for the amount of Photoshop on this poster is that it is part of a subtle cross-promotion for The Croods.
– Why does everyone’s stomach look like Earthworm Jim? Also, does anyone have a copy of Earthworm Jim 3D I can borrow?
Oh, this? It’s just a video of Gomes beating up some random Brazilian guy, no big deal.
Just one week after Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santosasked to be released from her UFC contract, the feared Brazilian striker has already found a new home. There was never any doubt as to where Santos would go once leaving the UFC, but yesterday it was announced that Cyborg has officially signed with Invicta FC.
Cyborg will be making her promotional debut at Invicta FC 5 on April 5. Her opponent will be the other scary Brazilian featherweight, Ediane Gomes, who was originally booked to beat the tar out of Julia Budd. Here’s what you need to know about Gomes: She is 10-2 overall, she is riding a four fight win streak, she most recently beat up Hiroko Yamakana in January, and her last loss came by armbar against Ronda Rousey. Oh yeah, and she once beat up a guy in Rio Heroes, yet none of his friends made fun of him for it (see above).
Oh, this? It’s just a video of Gomes beating up some random Brazilian guy, no big deal.
Just one week after Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santosasked to be released from her UFC contract, the feared Brazilian striker has already found a new home. There was never any doubt as to where Santos would go once leaving the UFC, but yesterday it was announced that Cyborg has officially signed with Invicta FC.
Cyborg will be making her promotional debut at Invicta FC 5 on April 5. Her opponent will be the other scary Brazilian featherweight, Ediane Gomes, who was originally booked to beat the tar out of Julia Budd. Here’s what you need to know about Gomes: She is 10-2 overall, she is riding a four fight win streak, she most recently beat up Hiroko Yamakana in January, and her last loss came by armbar against Ronda Rousey. Oh yeah, and she once beat up a guy in Rio Heroes, yet none of his friends made fun of him for it (see above).
The winner of this matchup will fight Marloes Coenen – who has been the world’s top ranked female featherweight while Cyborg has been out of action due to her drug suspension – at Invicta FC 6.
Invicta certainly has plans in place for Cyborg, which is something that the UFC simply couldn’t offer her. The question is, how will Cyborg fare in her comeback fight? Will she pick up where she left off in the division, or will Gomes be too stiff of a test for someone who hasn’t fought in over one year? Let us know what you think.
