MMARising.com reports live from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas tonight for Invicta Fighting Championships 1. The all-female fight card was headlined by a rematch between former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Marloes “Rumina” Coenen and French rival Romy Ruyssen.

Also on the card, Bellator veterans Jessica Penne and Lisa Ellis faced off in the atomweight co-main event. Former Strikeforce title challenger Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche took on striker Ashleigh Curry in bantamweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for Invicta Fighting Championship 1.

 

Marloes “Rumina” Coenen vs Romy Ruyssen

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. The fighters were cautious early on until an exchange of leg kicks and a hard right hook from Ruyssen. Coenen landed another leg kick and Ruyssen backed her up to the cage. Both women landed knees to the thighs and Ruyssen was deducted a point for grabbing the cage, though she did not appear to be doing so. Action resumed and Coenen caught a kick. Ruyssen jumped into guard and Coenen made her pay with punches and elbows.

Ruyssen looked to set up an armbar from the bottom, but Coenen escaped and began to choke Ruyssen with her own arm. Coenen was actively working for the modified arm-triangle, but referee Greg Franklin stood the fighters up. The round ended in a clinch with Ruyssen pressed up against the cage. 10-8 Coenen due to the point deduction.

Round 2:
Ruyssen countered a leg kick with a right hook to open round two and Coenen promptly responded with a right hand of her own off of a Ruyssen leg kick. Punches were exchanged and Ruyssen began to switch stances. Coenen backed her up to the fence and threw knees to the thighs. Ruyssen punched to the body and jumped guard again.

Coenen landed elbows and Ruyssen fell to the ground. Coenen backed away and allowed her to stand. Another clinch followed and Coenen remained effective with knees in close. Ruyssen briefly reversed the clinch with 35 seconds to go, but Coenen put her back against the fence and kept her there until the bell. 10-9 Coenen.

Round 3:
The final round began with an exchange of leg and body kicks and Coenen connected with a nice right cross. Ruyssen missed with a spinning backfist, but landed a body kick and clinched against the cage. Coenen reversed and picked up where she left off in the first two rounds by kneeing Ruyssen’s thighs. Ruyssen jumped into a flying full nelson that prevented Coenen from moving, but Coenen eventually managed to free herself.

A flurry of punches and an elbow wobbled Ruyssen momentarily, but she recovered and the clinch battle continued. The referee called for a break and Coenen kicked at Ruyssen’s legs. She rocked her with a front kick to the face, but Ruyssen clinched. Ruyssen attempted to throw Coenen to the mat and then tried to pull guard, but Coenen pushed her down and stood over her opponent as the final bell sounded. 10-9 Coenen.

Winner: Marloes Coenen by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) after three rounds. She improves to 20-5-0.

 

Jessica Penne vs Lisa Ellis

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Chuck Wolfe. Ellis began the fight with a leg kick and a jab that set off an exchange of punches. Ellis landed a quick flurry and Penne answered with a one-two. Left hooks and body kicks scored for both fighters and Penne cut off the cage well to prevent Ellis from circling away. Ellis clinched and tripped Penne to the mat. She tried to move to mount, but Penne battled back to her feet.

Penne scored a takedown of her own and moved to half-guard. Ellis held on from the bottom and prevented Penne from landing anything damaging. Penne threw short punches to the body until Ellis fought her way back to full guard. Ellis stood and both women landed body kicks. Penne scored with a left hook and Ellis took her down. Penne reversed into a back crucifix and used her hands and long legs to stretch Ellis’s arms out into a unique crucifix double armbar, but time expired. Close round. 10-9 Penne.

Round 2:
An exchange of kicks opened round two and Ellis landed two of her best combinations of the fight. She clinched and tried to throw Penne to the mat, but Penne reversed and worked from Ellis’s half-guard. Ellis regained full guard and Penne postured up to land punches. Ellis used the opportunity to kick her own and got back to her feet. Ellis took Penne down and punched her way out of a heel hook attempt.

Penne tried for a second heel hook, but Ellis landed two more punches and an elbow and passed to side control. Penne got back to full guard and worked for a triangle choke, but the scrambles continued and Ellis wound up on top in North-South. Penne transitioned to an armbar, but Ellis slammed her on her head and escaped. Penne recovered and took top position just before the bell. Another close round. 10-9 Ellis, barely.

Round 3:
Penne began the final round with jabs and Ellis returned fire with one-twos. A body kick scored for Penne and she landed two big knees from a Thai clinch. Ellis’s nose appeared to be badly broken and she began to bleed everywhere, but still managed to use a body lock to slam Penne down. A scramble ensued on the ground as the fighters battled for position and Penne ultimately wound up on top. She moved to mount and landed right hands as Ellis rolled to her side. Ellis could not defend herself and the fight was waved off.

Winner: Jessica Penne by TKO (Punches) at 2:48 of round three. She improves to 9-1-0.

 

Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche vs Ashleigh Curry

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. Carmouche landed a nice one-two to open the fight and took Curry down seconds later. She moved to mount and punched to the body as Curry held on to defend. Carmouche switched to side control and then returned to mount. She postured up and landed punches while pinning down Curry’s right arm. Curry tried to cover up and she blocked most of Carmouche’s strikes, but referee Greg Franklin had seen enough and stopped the fight.

Winner: Liz Carmouche by TKO (Punches) at 1:58 of round one. She improves to 6-2-0.

 

Kaitlin Young vs Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. A kick-punch combo from Young opened the fight and Smith answered right back with a big flurry of punches. Young landed a knee to the body and followed with a kick, but Smith caught it and slammed her to the mat. Young tied Smith up and defended well from the bottom. She battled back to her feet and landed a knee. Both women scored with punches to the head and body. Young initiated a Thai clinch and landed knees, but Smith escaped with a knee of her own.

A stiff jab from Smith was countered by a body kick and the pace remained high. Young landed two more body kicks and Smith kicked at her lead leg. Smith followed up on a leg kick with a nice right hand. Young replied with a combination, but Smith flurried to the head and body and forced Young to cover up. The fighters traded jabs and Young landed a hard kick to the body, but Smith was unfazed and unloaded with punches and a kick of her own. She flurried with more punches before the bell. 10-9 Smith.

Round 2:
Smith kicked at Young’s leg and midsection in round two and both women landed overhand rights. Smith backed Young up with punches and clinched. Young broke away with a standing elbow. She tried to establish her jab, but Smith continued to initiate exchanges of right hands and body kicks in close. Smith just missed with a right hook and ate a body kick and a counter right for her efforts.

Two body kicks and a right hook landed for Smith and Young circled away after an exchange of punches. Young scored with a one-two in close and Smith answered right back with one of her own. Smith mixed up her strikes with body kicks, right hooks and jabs. Young used a front kick to keep her at bay and flurried with punches, but Smith kept her backing up until the bell. Close second round. 10-9 Smith.

Round 3:
Smith rushed forward and threw a body kick to begin round three. She continued to target Young’s ribs with kicks and landed a hard flurry that forced Young to circle away. Smith appeared to briefly rock Young with a one-two and an uppercut, but Young clinched for a takedown. Smith reversed it on the way down and postured up in Young’s guard. She punched to the body and escaped an armbar attempt. Smith took over top position and tried for an armbar of her own.

Young fought free and got back to her feet. She landed a nice body kick as Smith stood. Both women landed kicks and quick one-twos. Young, bleeding from the back of the head, flurried to the head and body. She landed a leg kick and Smith countered with body kicks and more punches in succession. A left-right combo and a head kick partially landed for Smith. Young kicked at Smith’s lead leg in the dying seconds and Smith threw one more punching combination. 10-9 Smith.

Result: Split Draw (29-28, 29-28, 29-29) after three rounds. Young moves to 7-5-1, while Smith is now 3-2-1.

 

Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio vs Vanessa Mariscal

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Chuck Wolfe. Both fighters landed punches early on and D’Alelio took Mariscal down to the mat. From the top in half-guard, D’Alelio landed elbows. She made a quick transition to Mariscal’s back and flattened her own. D’Alelio landed punches and prevented Mariscal from scrambling to her feet. D’Alelio peppered her opponent with more punches and flattened her out again.

Mariscal rolled to her side and punched backwards as D’Alelio worked to set up a rear-naked choke. She briefly secured a neck crank, but Mariscal fought out. D’Alelio continued to hunt for the choke, but Mariscal managed to land a trio of back elbow strikes. D’Alelio tried again for the rear-naked choke in the final 15 seconds, but was unable to get it before the bell. 10-8 D’Alelio.

Round 2:
Mariscal landed a hard left hook in round two that set off an exchange of power punches. Both women landed, but neither appeared to be hurt. More punches landed for both and D’Alelio threw counter lefts and rights as Mariscal pushed forward with right hooks. D’Alelio took Mariscal down and looked to move from half-guard to side control. She took Mariscal’s back and then moved to mount.

D’Alelio landed some solid punches from the top as Mariscal turtled. Mariscal rolled to try to escape, but D’Alelio had none of it and continued to batter her with punches. Mariscal could not escape to her feet and tapped out to the punches.

Winner: Sarah D’Alelio by Submission (Punches) at 3:19 of round two. She improves to 5-2-0.

 

Sarah “White Tiger” Schneider vs “Slick” Sally Krumdiack

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Chuck Wolfe. Krumdiack landed a lead left hook and follow-up punches in round one, then clinched and avoided a trip takedown attempt from Schneider. She pressed Schneider against the fence and landed knees to the body. Schneider pulled guard and quickly secured a tight triangle choke from the bottom. A bloodied Krumdiack defended well, but Schneider rolled into mount. She switched to an armbar and Krumdiack was forced to submit.

Winner: Sarah Schneider by Submission (Armbar) at 3:01 of round one. She improves to 6-5-0.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)