Tag: Lisa Ward-Ellis

All-Female Fight League Invicta FC’s Inaugural Event Apr. 28 to Feature Coenen, Carmouche, D’Alelio and Penne


(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.

———-

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

Bellator 58: The Evening’s “Other” War

(Video: Youtube/BellatorMMA)

The UFC may be the brand name of MMA, but it doesn’t have exclusive rights to action packed bouts. While the UFC 139 pay-per-view was just getting warmed up, the evening’s “other” war and ‘fight of the year’ candidate was breaking out on MTV 2. If you didn’t catch it, I suggest you watch it in full up above.

Season 4 Lightweight Tournament winner Michael Chandler was all over Eddie Alvarez from the opening bell, driving forward and swinging for the fences. Within the first fifteen seconds he had dropped the champion twice and was only moments away from snatching the belt, but once again Alvarez proved difficult to put away. Chandler’s pressure wilted halfway through the second frame, allowing Alvarez to steal the round with a series of effective combinations. By round three Chandler’s fatigue was visible and the champ pounced, battering him across the cage. Though tired and hurt, Chandler continued to look for the big shot that would take Alvarez out. Answering the bell in the fourth, Chandler looked renewed and eager to throw. His hands found their mark, wobbling Alvarez before a big right hand dropped him. Chandler followed him down and mounted him, locking in the rear naked choke as Alvarez turned his back.

(Video: Youtube/BellatorMMA)

The UFC may be the brand name of MMA, but it doesn’t have exclusive rights to action packed bouts. While the UFC 139 pay-per-view was just getting warmed up, the evening’s “other” war and ‘fight of the year’ candidate was breaking out on MTV 2. If you didn’t catch it, I suggest you watch it in full up above.

Season 4 Lightweight Tournament winner Michael Chandler was all over Eddie Alvarez from the opening bell, driving forward and swinging for the fences. Within the first fifteen seconds he had dropped the champion twice and was only moments away from snatching the belt, but once again Alvarez proved difficult to put away. Chandler’s pressure wilted halfway through the second frame, allowing Alvarez to steal the round with a series of effective combinations. By round three Chandler’s fatigue was visible and the champ pounced, battering him across the cage. Though tired and hurt, Chandler continued to look for the big shot that would take Alvarez out. Answering the bell in the fourth, Chandler looked renewed and eager to throw. His hands found their mark, wobbling Alvarez before a big right hand dropped him. Chandler followed him down and mounted him, locking in the rear naked choke as Alvarez turned his back.

In the evening’s co-main event, Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard took on Trevor Prangley at 195 lbs. If Bellator titleholders must fight in non-title fights, we’re far happier seeing it take place at a catchweight than simply fighting within their division without putting the belt on the line. That being said, regardless of the weight class, a dominant champion like Hector Lombard deserves a bigger challenge than a fighter with one lone victory in his past five outings.

(Lombard’s coup de grâce, courtesy of Youtube/BellatorMMA)

Trevor Prangley‘s only real output in the bout came in the form of a double-leg that saved him from an onslaught of punches that had him in deep trouble early in the first round. That takedown bought him time to time to compose himself and survive the remainder of the round, but the South African wrestling champion had only delayed Lombard from doing what he does best—lighting fools up. Round two opened with a few casual exchanges before the the two traded blows in earnest. Lombard connected with a huge right to the jaw that had Prangley doing the fish dance. Again Prangley sought refuge in the form of a takedown, but “Lightning” stuffed the desperation shot and went to work with brutal ground and pound. Lombard was hesitant to deliver unnecessary blows, but continued the abuse until the ref called a halt to the bout just one minute, six seconds into the second round.

(Dias-Sandro, via Zombie Prophet)

Rafael Dias showed a healthy respect for the striking game of Marlon Sandro and kept far out of range at the opening of the bout. That respect didn’t prevent him from dropping Sandro when the two exchanged in a flurry of punches. Sandro recovered quickly with a takedown and maintained control of the bout on the ground. Dias scrambled back to his feet only to find himself caught in a standing arm triangle. Sandro drug him to the canvas and completed the submission, finishing the fight by tapout in 3:56 of the first round.

(Aguilar-Ward, via Zombie Prophet. Use the link for part II)

If you read our interview with Jessica Aguilar, you knew she was ready to scrap. Despite suffering a broken nose in the opening frame, Aguilar’s standup was too much for Lisa Ellis-Ward. Her overhand rights found their target throughout the three round bout. Ward slipped off a missed flying knee in round two which left her open to multiple knees from the clinch and some heavy shots on the ground. Aguilar continued to get the better of the exchanges in round three, but Ward turned it on at the close of the fight with aggressive stand-up and a kimura attempt. Aguilar pulled out of the hold and maintainted control through the close of the fight, taking the bout by unanimous decision.

Full results (via FightoftheNight.com)

Main Card:

Michael Chandler def. Eddie Alvarez via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:06 of Round 4
Hector Lombard def. Trevor Prangley by knockout at 1:06 of Round 2
Jessica Aguilar def. Lisa Ward-Ellis by unanimous decision
Marlon Sandro def. Rafael Dias by Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) at 3:56 of Round 1

Prelims:

Brett Cooper def. Jared Hess by unanimous decision
Valdir Araujo def. Ailton Barbosa by unanimous decision
Cosmo Alexander def. Avery McPhatter by KO at 0:20 of Round 1
Herbert Goodman def. Jonas Billstein by Disqualification (Illegal Soccer Kick) at 3:21 of Round 2
Fabio Mello def. Farkhad Sharipov by unanimous decision

 

CP Interview: Jessica Aguilar Wants the Best — and It Ain’t the Champ

“My regular training schedule was interrupted briefly after I broke a bone and had it pinned for faster and stronger healing – but now I am right back at full speed, 100% healthy, working like an animal, loving every minute and can feel that my training performance has clearly reached a new career high for me – I am really pumped and ready to go!!” -Jessica Aguilar, on training         PicProps: Tom Hill

When you look into Jessica Aguilar’s training regimen, you know that you’re dealing with a dedicated athlete.  Her typical schedule is brutal.  Her gym, American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, is home to elite fighters.  Her “personal time” — a couple of hours carved out of the afternoon — are usually spent working, to supplement a fighting income that doesn’t always square with having the best equipment, or a registered dietitian on call, or a hyperbaric chamber in your back yard.

Not that you’ll hear her complain.  Aguilar gets by the with help of her sponsors, and she’s quick to point it out.  But unlike the usual ham-handed attempts by fighters to plug companies that send them checks, Aguilar comes across as genuinely appreciative of the people and companies who have supported her through lean times.  Talk to her for five minutes, and you realize that the positivity and tenacity aren’t marketing points, they’re deeply ingrained character traits.  That attitude, the relentless optimism, the rugged determination, have served Aguilar well in her six year career.

Join us after the jump for all of CP’s exclusive interview with Jessica.

“My regular training schedule was interrupted briefly after I broke a bone and had it pinned for faster and stronger healing – but now I am right back at full speed, 100% healthy, working like an animal, loving every minute and can feel that my training performance has clearly reached a new career high for me – I am really pumped and ready to go!!” -Jessica Aguilar, on training          PicProps: Tom Hill

When you look into Jessica Aguilar’s training regimen, you know that you’re dealing with a dedicated athlete.  Her typical schedule is brutal.  Her gym, American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, is home to elite fighters.  Her “personal time” — a couple of hours carved out of the afternoon — are usually spent working, to supplement a fighting income that doesn’t always square with having the best equipment, or a registered dietitian on call, or a hyperbaric chamber in your back yard.

Not that you’ll hear her complain.  Aguilar gets by the with help of her sponsors, and she’s quick to point it out.  But unlike the usual ham-handed attempts by fighters to plug companies that send them checks, Aguilar comes across as genuinely appreciative of the people and companies who have supported her through lean times.  Talk to her for five minutes, and you realize that the positivity and tenacity aren’t marketing points, they’re deeply ingrained character traits.  That attitude, the relentless optimism, the rugged determination, have served Aguilar well in her six year career.

Jessica Aguilar never meant to start a career in MMA. A life-long athlete, a twenty-three year old Aguilar had just moved from Texas to Florida. The story goes that she started training BJJ on a whim after showing up late for her aerobics class one day, and it clicked from day one.

She was a quick study, and her instructors threw her into a NAGA grappling tournament two months after she started rolling.  Not long after that, she was approached by a promoter at an amateur competition, asking if she’d take a pro fight. Aguilar, completely ignorant of what she was getting herself into (and expecting to lay down an entrance fee), agreed to take the fight by asking, “Sure, I’ll compete, how much do I pay?”

Aguilar got paid for that first fight she took with almost no training and less experience, and she caught a loss to Lisa Ward. Ward was then, and still is, a top five fighter in the women’s 115 pound division.

Aguilar went on to assemble an 8-3 record before being invited to take part in Bellator’s inaugural women’s tournament. She scored a business-like arm triangle choke on Lynn Alvarez in the first round, moving her ahead in the tournament to fight Zoila Frausto.  Frausto won the decision, but this is what the competitors looked like afterwards.  Jessica Aguilar, unscratched, smiled and applauded graciously when the decision was announced.

Jag returned quickly to the cage, picking up a submission win over Elsie Henri less than two months after her screw job loss, then a decision win over powerful wrestler Carla Esparza.

A Frausto rematch was planned, then scrapped, when Jag’s recovery from surgery wasn’t proceeding  properly.  Another opportunity presented itself in the form of another old loss: Lisa Ward.  She’s Lisa Ward-Ellis now, but she’s still the same fighter:  a top-ranked contender in the weight class with a win over Aguilar back in February 2006.  Jag wants to erase that loss, but what she really wants is a shot at the best female fighter in her weight class.  Thing is, the current Bellator women’s champ isn’t who she’s talking about:  Jag has her sights set on Megumi Fujii.