Everywhere you look, chicks are headlining fight cards these days. February had Rounda Rousey defending her world title in a UFC pay per view main event and now Invicta FC has announced their latest main event – a rematch between Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Dutch Marloes Coenen Pretty sweet, if you ask us.
Invicta always has a women’s bout as their headliner, of course, because they are an all Women’s MMA organization. As such, they’ve created new opportunities for female fighters to make a living and show how the females are not just the fairer sex, they might also be the fiercest.
Just as cool as what Invicta is doing, the formerly all-male MMA organization, the UFC, now has one women’s division and title, with more hopefully on the way. Last week, Meisha Tate and Cat Zingano tore down the house with their fight of the night on the UFC’s last Fuel TV card. That was on the heels of February’s UFC pay per view main event title bout between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche.
Everywhere you look, chicks are headlining fight cards these days. February had Rounda Rousey defending her world title in a UFC pay per view main event and now Invicta FC has announced their latest main event – a rematch between Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Marloes Coenen Pretty sweet, if you ask us.
Invicta always has a women’s bout as their headliner, of course, because they are an all Women’s MMA organization. As such, they’ve created new opportunities for female fighters to make a living and show how the females are not just the fairer sex, they might also be the fiercest.
Just as cool as what Invicta is doing, the formerly all-male MMA organization, the UFC, now has one women’s division and title, with more hopefully on the way. Last week, Meisha Tate and Cat Zingano tore down the house with their fight of the night on the UFC’s last Fuel TV card. That was on the heels of February’s UFC pay per view main event title bout between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche.
It was a one-round barn-burner that made the UFC a ton of money and got organization President Dana White singing a different tune about women’s MMA. With the rematch between Cyborg (aka. The woman we really want to see face Rousey in the UFC, thanks a lot, career-managing-hands of Tito Ortiz) and Coenen, we’ll at least get to see the former women’s MMA Queenpin Santos back in action again right away and against another dangerous kickboxer who at least has proven she can last more than 30 seconds against the Brazilian.
Who ya got, nation? Also, check out MMA Fighting for the full Invicta FC6 card thus far.
(Cyborg/Coenen 1 semi-highlights courtesy of magnaflowtv.)
Fresh off her first fight in nearly two years — a first round obliteration of Fiona Muxlow at Invicta FC 5 that absolutely none of us saw coming — it has recently been announced that former Strikeforce featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino will now rematch fellow Strikeforce vet Marloes Coenen for Invicta’s inaugural featherweight title. Barring any last minute “injuries,” the fight will headline Invicta FC 6 this summer, although a date and location for the event have yet to be determined.
Coenen and Cyborg first met in January of 2010 at Strikeforce: Miami. In a typical Cyborg performance, the Brazilian dominated Coenen on the feet and on the mat en route to a third round TKO stoppage. In the time since, Coenen has won, then lost the Strikeforce bantamweight title, been released from Zuffa for her association with Golden Glory, cast in a Dutch version of Survivor, and scored a pair of wins over Romy Ryussen and, you guessed it, Fiona Muxlow.
(Cyborg/Coenen 1 semi-highlights courtesy of magnaflowtv.)
Fresh off her first fight in nearly two years — a first round obliteration of Fiona Muxlow at Invicta FC 5 that absolutely none of us saw coming – it has recently been announced that former Strikeforce featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino will now rematch fellow Strikeforce vet Marloes Coenen for Invicta’s inaugural featherweight title. Barring any last minute “injuries,” the fight will headline Invicta FC 6 this summer, although a date and location for the event have yet to be determined.
Coenen and Cyborg first met in January of 2010 at Strikeforce: Miami. In a typical Cyborg performance, the Brazilian dominated Coenen on the feet and on the mat en route to a third round TKO stoppage. In the time since, Coenen has won, then lost the Strikeforce bantamweight title, been released from Zuffa for her association with Golden Glory, cast in a Dutch version of Survivor, and scored a pair of wins over Romy Ryussen and, you guessed it, Fiona Muxlow.
Invicta FC 1 wasn’t the first promotion to feature an all-femalefight card, nor did they invent the MMA livestream, but last night they paired the two beautifully for a groundbreaking show that will undoubtedly do wonders for WMMA. The online broadcast is said to have peaked at 100k viewers, some four-times their initial projection.
Overall the show had a professional, polished appearance. The familiar voice of Mauro Renallo carried the commentary team with the sort of obvious, gender-based puns that we would never personally sink t…oh, right. The recently unemployed “King Mo” kept it 100 on the mic, but casual doesn’t always equal comfortable or competent, and Jon Anik can breath a little easier this morning. Alongside Lawal, Julie Kedzie called the fight from a fighter’s perspective, and with a little more experience she could transition well into that roll.
While one of Invicta’s stated goals is to develop clearly defined weight classes, the fighters will have to do their part when it’s time to step on the scales. With four fighters missing weight for the inaugural event, some of them badly, there’s still much work to be done.
As for the fights, it was an overall entertaining card. Videos and a recap are after the jump.
Invicta FC 1 wasn’t the first promotion to feature an all-femalefight card, nor did they invent the MMA livestream, but last night they paired the two beautifully for a groundbreaking show that will undoubtedly do wonders for WMMA. The online broadcast is said to have peaked at 100k viewers, some four-times their initial projection.
Overall the show had a professional, polished appearance. The familiar voice of Mauro Renallo carried the commentary team with the sort of obvious, gender-based puns that we would never personally sink t…oh, right. The recently unemployed “King Mo” kept it 100 on the mic, but casual doesn’t always equal comfortable or competent, and Jon Anik can breath a little easier this morning. Alongside Lawal, Julie Kedzie called the fight from a fighter’s perspective, and with a little more experience she could transition well into that roll.
While one of Invicta’s stated goals is to develop clearly defined weight classes, the fighters will have to do their part when it’s time to step on the scales. With four fighters missing weight for the inaugural event, some of them badly, there’s still much work to be done.
As for the fights, it was an overall entertaining card. Videos and a recap are after the jump.
Leslie Smith and Kaitlin Young threw down for three full rounds, taking home the evening’s $1500 ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses . The two bantamweights left the ‘feeling out’ process to Rex up in the stands. They pulled the trigger from the opening bell, exchanging heavy strikes in a back and forth slugfest. The evening’s most exciting fight was also the most controversial; neither fighter got her hand raised as the bout ended in a Split Draw. Both were given their win bonuses.
2008 Olympic wrestling bronze medalist Randi Miller disappointed in her victorious pro-debut. Aside from the heavy, backyard ground and pound that earned her the win over Mollie Estes, she showed little to get excited over and exhibited none of the wrestling skills one would naturally expect given her background.
(Liz Carmouche vs Ashleigh Curry, via Budo-Zone.com)
It would take you longer to read a review of the Liz Carmouche-Ashleigh Curry bout than it would to watch it. Just check out the video to catch the ‘Girl-Rilla’ bulldoze Curry real quick like. Carmouche, along with Penne, scored a $1000 ‘Social Media’ bonus for her efforts to promote the event online.
Atomweights (105 lb’ers) Jessica Penne and Lisa Ellis put their matwork on display in the evening’s co-main event. The pair employed takedowns and reversals, and submissions and sweeps as they battled to gain control on the ground. Penne landed a pair of knees from the clinch to open up Ellis’ nose like a spigot and seize control in the third. From there she gained top position on the canvas and further pounded her bloody opponent, drawing the TKO.
In the evening’s main event, former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Marloes Coenen earned her second victory over Romy Ruyssen, though the rematch would go the distance. Coenen injured her hand in the first round, but still maintained a decisive advantage throughout the bout. The Frenchwoman tried to take Coenen down in vain, losing a point in the first round for grabbing the cage, but even when she pulled guard she found no success on the ground. Coenen scored the win 30-26 on all three judge’s scorecards.
(Date, time and location of ring card boy auditions TBA)
Women’s MMA will have a new home starting on April 28 when Invicta Fighting Championships holds its inaugural event in Kansas City.
The upstart all female fight league, which will be promoted by IFC co-owner and VP Shannon Knapp who has worked for the IFL, UFC and Strikeforce in different capacities including matchmaker and fighter relations, announced the event and its existence on Sunday. A press release sent out by the promotion also stated that it has signed several of the sport’s top female talents (a few of whom are regular CP readers), including Strikeforce standouts Marloes Coenen, Sarah D’Aleo and Liz Carmouche, Dutch submission specialist Romy Ruyssen and former Bellator tournament competitors Jessica Penne and Lisa Ellis-Ward.
“The time has come for a platform dedicated exclusively to building the growing women’s division in our great sport,” said Knapp. “Invicta is committed to increasing the depth of the women’s field and building female superstars by providing women athletes with the opportunity to compete and hone their skills on a consistent basis throughout the year.”
The April show will feature former Strikeforce bantamweight champ, Coenen’s return to featherweight where she will rematch Ruyssen in the main event of the night.
(Date, time and location of ring card boy auditions TBA)
Women’s MMA will have a new home starting on April 28 when Invicta Fighting Championships holds its inaugural event in Kansas City.
The upstart all female fight league, which will be promoted by IFC co-owner and VP Shannon Knapp who has worked for the IFL, UFC and Strikeforce in different capacities including matchmaker and fighter relations, announced the event and its existence on Sunday. A press release sent out by the promotion also stated that it has signed several of the sport’s top female talents (a few of whom are regular CP readers), including Strikeforce standouts Marloes Coenen, Sarah D’Aleo and Liz Carmouche, Dutch submission specialist Romy Ruyssen and former Bellator tournament competitors Jessica Penne and Lisa Ellis-Ward.
“The time has come for a platform dedicated exclusively to building the growing women’s division in our great sport,” said Knapp. “Invicta is committed to increasing the depth of the women’s field and building female superstars by providing women athletes with the opportunity to compete and hone their skills on a consistent basis throughout the year.”
The April show will feature former Strikeforce bantamweight champ, Coenen’s return to featherweight where she will rematch Ruyssen in the main event of the night.
Like several of her Golden Glory stablemates, Coenen found herself unceremoniously dropped by Strikeforce following a disagreement between then-teammate Alistair Overeem and Zuffa. Although the issue has since been cleared up and some of her fellow Golden Glory-affiliated fighters have been re-signed to UFC and Strikeforce deals, “Rumina” was never brought back into the fold of Strikeforce’s stacked female 135-pound class. Instead, the promotion gifted Olympic judo bronze medalist Ronda Rousey with a shot at current bantamweight titleholder Miesha Tate in spite of the fact that she has never competed at 135. It looks like Invicta will have plenty of potential match-ups for Coenen, though, including her bout with Ruyssen, whom she handed the sole loss of her MMA career back in 2008 via rear-naked choke.
“I am honored to headline Invicta’s first fight card and I am looking forward to earning another win over Romy,”Coenen said.
Since the loss to Coenen, the team GDSI fighter has rattled off four first-round submission wins and has been vocal about avenging the blemish on her record.
“My first fight with Marloes is the only loss of my career so far, and I intend to avenge that loss on April 28,” said Ruyssen. “Marloes is a great fighter, but she doesn’t quite have the ground game that I have. I am going to take her down and finish her.”
In the co-main event, Ellis-Ward will drop down to paperweight (105) to meet Penne, while Carmouche will lock horns with D’Alelio in the third-last bout of the evening.
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Invicta MMA 1 April 28, 2012 Kansas City, KS
Marloes Coenen vs. Romy Royssen
Jessica Penne vs. Lisa Ellis-Ward
Liz Carmouche vs.Sarah D’Alelio
Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc vs. Amy Davis
Sarah Maloy vs. Michele Gutierrez
Mollie Estes vs. Randi Miller
Ashley Cummins vs. Sofia Bagherdai
Jessica Philippus vs. Meghan Wright
