(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
The Marines, enjoying someone fighting for them for a change. (Photo: MMAOnTap.com)
There is no shortage of military metaphors in the world of MMA. “War Diaz.” “War Penn.” Our athletes don’t just compete, they go to battle. Even that shirt you claim not to own is ‘an expression of combat known worldwide’.
But these are mere words. For a select few of the sport’s elite, the challenges they encounter inside of the cage are nothing compared to the trials they signed up for by enlisting in the armed forces. It turns out the reasons MMA fighters serve their country, and their experiences in the military, are as varied as anyone else’s. As we celebrate Veteran’s Day, check out a quick glimpse of their lives in uniform.
Thanks to the folks at Ranger Up for making their crew available.
The Marines, enjoying someone fighting for them for a change. (Photo: MMAOnTap.com)
There is no shortage of military metaphors in the world of MMA. “War Diaz.” “War Penn.” Our athletes don’t just compete, they go to battle. Even that shirt you claim not to own is ‘an expression of combat known worldwide’.
But these are mere words. For a select few of the sport’s elite, the challenges they encounter inside of the cage are nothing compared to the trials they signed up for by enlisting in the armed forces. It turns out the reasons MMA fighters serve their country, and their experiences in the military, are as varied as anyone else’s. As we celebrate Veteran’s Day, check out a quick glimpse of their lives in uniform.
Thanks to the folks at Ranger Up for making their crew available.
Sergeant, United States Marine Corps (5 years), three tours to Iraq
What drew you to enlist in the armed forces?
I was drawn to the military because I love a challenge and I love to travel, two things I thought the marine corps could offer me. I was going to school full time and working full time and I couldn’t afford college anymore. I had done my research and knew that I could get the gi bill which would pay for school. All the stories I heard about missions and boot camp sounded amazing. Everything just seemed to add up that the military was my best option.
On a typical day in service you’d find me…
A typical day in the military consisted of little sleep and sacrificing that little to sleep to lift weights and run. In Iraq after my workout I’d walk to work with my weapon and gear. As a unit we’d do morning fod walk then work off the aircraft maintenance in our shift. While I was working and waiting for equipment to test I’d usually do pushups, squats, lunges, and curls with the tools I had. After my 12-16 hour workday I’d do my long walk home. It was chill time alone to relax and mellow out from the workday. By the time I got back to the can or hut I lived in I would just shower then listen to music or try and watch a movie on a friends working laptop.
What has your time in the military meant to you?
My time in the military was opportunity. I met people I never would have met and saw things I never would have seen. It also opened up doors that previously weren’t even possible. College, something previously taken off the shelf was made possible again. I met people that introduced me to sports I had always been interested in like snowboarding and skydiving. My time in the military represented a lot growth for me.
Ranger Qualified Special Forces Sniper (2003-Present), Bronze Star recipient
What drew you to enlist in the armed forces?
9-11 had a really big impact on me in the sense that it gave me an opportunity to look at my life and I thought it was a very pointless, pathetic, narcesis, ethnocentric existence. I wanted to do something important, so I enlisted to change my life.
On a typical day in service you’d find me…
My unit, we’re shooters. So we spend three days of the week at the range. So Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we’re at the range, and Monday we’re getting ready for the range and Friday cleaning up after the range.
What has your time in the military meant to you?
Having the honor to defend our country is something that every single person should do in their life. I’m not saying everybody has to be a shooter, but it changed me in every way. A shit head in 2002 to a hard working, productive member of society within two years. It changed my life in every way. So now when people are using their constitutional first amendment right—even if it’s things that make my blood boil—when it happens I know I’ve done my job because I’ve fought for the constitution and to defend this country and now they’re using that right that I’ve defended. So I love seeing people do things that I’ve fought for.
Private First Class (E-3), U.S Army (1990-1992) Montgomery G.I. Bill
What drew you to enlist in the armed forces?
I enlisted in the army because I was coming out of high school with no real plans and had gotten my girlfriend pregnant so I had to do something to provide.
On a typical day in service you’d find me…
On a typical day you would find me in the motor pool working on our M-1 tank.
What has your time in the military meant to you?
I’ve found that it’s helped with life in general. I’ve also found a much deeper appreciation for my country as well.
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Today is about more than bitching that you can’t go to the bank and the ability to speed through school zones. If you see a man or woman in uniform, let them know that they are appreciated.
Filed under: StrikeforceBy the time Miesha Tate steps in the cage to challenge for Marloes Coenen’s Strikeforce women’s welterweight title on July 30, it will have been nearly a year since her last fight.
By the time Miesha Tate steps in the cage to challenge for Marloes Coenen‘s Strikeforce women’s welterweight title on July 30, it will have been nearly a year since her last fight.
For most fighters, that’s about the point where the dreaded ring rust starts to be an issue. But in this case, at least according to Tate, inactivity might prove to be a virtue.
“I’ve had a lot of opportunity to study her and see where her game is at,” Tate said of Coenen. “This time, since I haven’t fought for a year, I think it will benefit me because she’ll be expecting and game-planning and preparing for the fighter I was a year ago. I switched camps, I’ve been training in Sacramento with Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes and Brian [Caraway] and all the guys at Team Alpha Male, and the amount of growth I’ve had in this past year, I’m just a completely different fighter.”
It also helps that Tate got a chance to see Coenen fight as recently as March, and in a contest where she struggled early on. That was supposed to be Tate’s title shot until an injury forced her to withdraw. Instead, Strikeforce slotted the relatively inexperienced Liz Carmouche in against the 135-pound champion, and for the better part of three rounds Carmouche roughed Coenen up with superior wrestling and ground-and-pound skills.
The fight served as something of a scouting report, Tate said, and even though Coenen pulled out the win via a fourth-round triangle choke, the challenger was encouraged by what she saw that night.
“I think Liz is a somewhat greener version of me,” Tate said. “What happened to [Coenen] in that fight, that was what I’d already suspected of Marloes. She kind of got exposed in that fight as far as some of her weaknesses.”
The problem for Tate, and for Coenen, is that while Zuffa seems interested in continuing the women’s division under the Strikeforce banner for now, there’s no telling what might happen once Strikeforce’s contract with Showtime runs out and Zuffa is forced to make some decisions about the future of the organization.
That’s why there’s more pressure than ever on the female fighters to show that they are a viable draw, Tate said — though they get precious few opportunities to make that point.
“The thing about this, as with any fight card, for the men there’s going to be exciting fights and boring fights,” said Tate. “Just like [Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum], there were exciting fights and boring fights. But the women only get one shot. We usually only get one [women’s] fight per fight card. Sometimes it might be boring, just like the men, but then all of women’s MMA gets judged on that one fight. So yeah, there’s a little more pressure on that one fight to really shine, so that not everyone goes away with a bad taste about women’s MMA overall.”
That pressure to perform — along with the anxiety about long-term job security for female fighters under the Zuffa banner — makes this title fight an even bigger deal for Tate. Not only does she have to worry about making the most out of her long-awaited crack at the belt, she also has to put on enough of a show to make the powers that be appreciate her value.
It isn’t an easy burden to bear, Tate admitted, but it’s not as if she has much choice.
“I know we’ll probably be around at least as long as the Strikeforce and Showtime contract is still in motion. After that, I don’t know. I really want to go out there and put on a spectacular performance against Marloes just to show that we’re really talented athletes and we bring it every fight. We’re entertaining, and we can sell tickets. Bottom line, that’s what it comes down to.”
Filed under: StrikeforceThe Strikeforce Challengers 17 fight card will feature the rubber match between Roger Bowling and Bobby Voelker on July 22 at the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
In the first meeting between the two welterweight …
The Strikeforce Challengers 17 fight card will feature the rubber match between Roger Bowling and Bobby Voelker on July 22 at the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
In the first meeting between the two welterweight prospects, Bowling took a unanimous decision win after receiving an unintentional eye poke that left him unable to continue in the third round. Voelker avenged the loss last October with a second-round TKO. Now, the two will meet again in this best of three.
The current Strikeforce Challengers 17 fight card is below.
Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsA Strikeforce 135-pound match pitting two of MMA’s top female stars is being targeted for a July 22 Challengers Series card, MMA Fighting has learned.
Sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed …
A Strikeforce 135-pound match pitting two of MMA’s top female stars is being targeted for a July 22 Challengers Series card, MMA Fighting has learned.
Sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that a bout pitting former champion Sarah Kaufman against Liz Carmouche is in the works, and has been verbally agreed to.
The 25-year-old Kaufman hasn’t fought in Strikeforce since losing the belt to Marloes Coenen back in October 2010. Afterward, she took a fight in a Canadian promotion to stay active, defeating Megumi Yabushita via TKO.
Carmouche, meanwhile, is coming off a strong performance in her first real time in the Strikeforce spotlight. Though she ultimately lost in the fourth round due to a triangle submission, Carmouche dominated champ Coenen for most of their title bout in March. Had Carmouche won, it would have been considered one of the biggest upsets in women’s MMA history. Though Carmouche came in undefeated at 5-0 and had won her only prior Strikeforce fight, she had taken the fight on short notice, replacing the injured Miesha Tate. She had less than two weeks to prepare for the fight.
Carmouche is now 5-1, while Kaufman boasts a 13-1 record.
Strikeforce Challengers 17 will be the promotion’s first-ever event in Las Vegas. It takes place at The Pearl at The Palms. Strikeforce just announced the event last week, and so far only one other fight is known, the main event matching Roger Bowling against Bobby Voelker in the rubber match of their trilogy.
By the time 
The 
A Strikeforce 135-pound match pitting two of MMA’s top female stars is being targeted for a July 22 Challengers Series card, MMA Fighting has learned.