Invicta FC 10 Results: Hérica Tibúrcio Captures Atomweight TitleGrappling ace Hérica Tibúrcio scored the biggest win of her young MMA career in the main event of Invicta Fighting Championships 10 tonight in Houston, Texas. The 21-year-old Brazilian submitted Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson to claim the Invicta FC Atomweight Championship.

Tibúrcio showcased her submission skills throughout tonight’s 105-pound headliner and she had Waterson in danger on multiple occasions before finishing the bout with a third-round guillotine choke. In the bantamweight co-feature, Tonya “Triple Threat” Evinger mauled Cindy “Battlecat” Dandois.

 

Tibúrcio (9-2-0) opened the championship fight with kicks and punches on the feet and she took Waterson (12-4-0) down after catching a body kick. Waterson locked on an armbar from the bottom, but Tibúrcio scrambled free and returned to her feet, where she scored with knees in the clinch. Waterson threw her to the mat and mounted her seconds later, but Tibúrcio swept back into top position. From her back, Waterson attempted a triangle choke and an armbar, and Tibúrcio escaped into a reverse crucifix on Waterson’s back as time expired.

In round two, Tibúrcio worked for a takedown against the cage, but Waterson reversed in mid-air and she wound up on top as the fight hit the mat. Tibúrcio looked for a heel hook from the bottom and Waterson punched free. The fighters stood and Waterson’s left eye began to swell shut from damage incurred during round one. She pulled guard and Tibúrcio moved from North-South position to side control. She threatened with a brutal keylock that had Waterson in all sorts of trouble and later transitioned to a tight armbar, but Waterson was saved by the bell.

Waterson opened round three with a side kick, but Tibúrcio caught it and she took Waterson down into North-South position. From there, Tibúrcio swiftly moved to side control and then pulled guard with an arm-in guillotine choke. This time, Waterson had nowhere to go and she hastily tapped out on the canvas at the 1:04 mark of round three.

A jubilant Tibúrcio, who was originally set to make her Invicta FC debut this past month before running into visa troubles, celebrated her title-winning victory following the thrilling finish. She has now won four straight fights since suffering a competitive decision loss to current UFC standout Claudia Gadelha. Tibúrcio’s only other loss came in late 2012 when she was defeated by Camila Lima in one of the year’s most highly controversial decisions. Of her nine career victories, seven have come via submission.

 

Continuing her streak of impressive victories, Evinger (16-5-0) completely dominated Dandois (5-2-0) tonight en route to a second-round submission finish in the 135-pound co-main event.

Dandois countered early punches from Evinger by taking her down, but Evinger secured back control on the way down and she moved to side control soon after. From the top, Evinger dropped punches and elbows as Dandois struggled to defend. When Dandois rolled to her side, Evinger eyed a rear-naked choke before ultimately mounting Dandois again. She landed more punches from the top until Dandois kicked her off and both women attempted toe holds late in the round.

Evinger stuffed a takedown attempt in round two and she took Dandois’s back in a scramble. She landed punches that set up an inverted triangle choke attempt, then switched to an armbar. Evinger rolled and extended Dandois’s arm, forcing the Belgian to submit at the 1:23 mark of round two.

With tonight’s win, Evinger once again made her case for a shot at the vacant Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship that was formerly held by current UFC fighter Lauren Murphy. She now awaits an opponent for the title fight next year.

 

Arguably MMA’s most improved female fighter in 2014, flyweight veteran Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi (17-11-0) made it two-for-two inside the Invicta FC cage with a Split Decision victory over short-notice replacement Andrea “KGB” Lee (2-1-0) on the main card tonight.

Modafferi scored takedowns and controlled the action from top position throughout much of the opening round. Lee secured a late sweep and returned to her feet, and she scored with a nice knee before the end of the round. Lee picked up the pace in round two and had early success with punches and chopping leg kicks. Modafferi countered with a vicious head kick and a takedown, but Lee reversed into a top-side crucifix and she used elbows to set up a move to mount. Modafferi avoided an armbar and finished the round on top.

In the final round, Modafferi countered early strikes from Lee by taking her down against the cage. She mounted Lee and landed some solid elbow strikes from the top. Lee gave up her back and Modafferi tried unsuccessfully for a rear-naked choke. She held Lee down until the final bell and the bout went to the scorecards. One judge had it 29-28 for Lee. The remaining two scored the fight 30-27 and 29-28, respectively, for Modafferi, who kept her perfect Invicta FC record intact.

 

In another featured flyweight bout, DeAnna “The Argentine Assassin” Bennett (6-0-0) eked out a contentious Unanimous Decision win over top Brazilian contender Jennifer Maia (9-4-1).

Bennett had her best success in the opening round by mixing up her strikes with punch-kick combos. Maia answered with overhand rights and straight lefts, and the fighters battled for position in the clinch. Maia landed a nice knee, but Bennett took her down just before the bell. Maia threw Bennett to the mat with a spinning arm-drag in round two and avoided a Bennett guillotine choke attempt. The fight returned to the feet and Maia was clearly the aggressor, but Bennett did land a solid right hook late in the round.

Maia pressed forward with more punches in round three and she fought off Bennett’s clinch attempts. She landed knees and quick punches, and continued to get the better of the striking exchanges as Bennett slowed down. In the final minute, Bennett landed a front kick and a combination, and Maia walked her down with punches and a knee. The fight went to the scorecards and all three judges strangely saw it for Bennett. Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for the Utah native, who remains unbeaten with the controversial decision win.

 

Earlier on the card, TUF 18 veteran Peggy “The Daywalker” Morgan (3-2-0) made a successful return to the featherweight division by outpointing Andria Wawro (3-2-0), who missed weight for the bout. Morgan landed stiff jabs and straight rights in all three rounds and Wawro responded with a series of overhand rights and looping hooks. She appeared to deal more damage with her strikes, but Morgan’s ability to control the distance and the clinch battles weighed heavily with the judges. Scores were 29-28 and 30-27 twice for Morgan, who took home the Unanimous Decision victory.

Mexican knockout artist Alexa Grasso (6-0-0) showed once again why she is one of the fastest rising prospects in the women’s strawweight division with an impressive first-round stoppage of recent WSOF title challenger Alida Gray (4-2-0). Grasso rocked Gray with a combination early in the fight and she followed with more punches. Gray recovered and landed some hard shots of her own, but she was dropped by a four-punch combo from Grasso. Gray fell forward and Grasso unloaded with punches for the TKO stoppage at the 1:47 mark of round one. She is now 2-0 inside the Invicta FC cage.

Rebounding from her first professional defeat, Jinh Yu Frey (3-1-0) made quick work of Cassie “The Hulk” Robb (0-3-0) in an atomweight bout. Frey came in slightly above the 106-pound limit, but her performance inside the cage was an impressive one. She opened the fight with knees in the clinch and took Robb’s back against the fence soon after. Frey hopped on her back and locked on a rear-naked choke, which crumpled Robb to the canvas and forced her to submit at the 2:36 mark of round one.

Opening up the card, Hawaiian prospect Rachael Ostovich (2-1-0) took a well-deserved Split Decision win over Evva “No Fear” Johnson (1-1-0) in a flyweight bout that was not as close as one judge’s scorecard might suggest. Johnson scored an early takedown and tried for an armbar, but the fight returned to the feet and Ostovich held a clear edge in the striking exchanges. She dominated round two on the ground and secured a slick leg-sweep takedown in the final minute. Johnson rallied with ground and pound after taking Ostovich’s back in round three, but only one judge scored the fight 29-28 in her favour. The remaining two correctly saw it 29-28 for Ostovich, who made a successful Invicta FC debut.

Full play-by-play for all bouts on tonight’s Invicta FC 10 card can be found here.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)

  1. Look out for Grasso!!! She could beat 75% of the girls in Tuf 20…maybe all!#!

  2. Um, no. Grasso would get schooled on TUF. Kish would kill her for instance. Randa would maul her. Just like what happened with Paige VZ, people got hyped by one fight. Grasso is far from that level. Give her some time in a weak Invicta division. Than she can sign with UFC.

  3. Kish doesn’t count…but I agree…I saw Kish fight Randa live. I dunno man….Grasso looked dominating against a power striker…but I guess it is worth consideration…hey what do you think of Jemyma Betrian???