Undefeated Mexican striker Alexa Grasso made a strong case for a shot at the Invicta FC strawweight title with an impressive decision victory tonight at Invicta Fighting Championships 18 in Kansas City, Missouri. The talented 22-year-old defeated Jodie Esquibel in tonight’s 115-pound main event.
Grasso outstruck a game but outmatched Esquibel in all three rounds of the entertaining bout, and she now once again finds herself on the cusp of a title fight. In the Invicta FC 18 co-main event, Agnieszka “Kuma” Niedźwiedź posted a convincing decision victory over Christine “Knuckles” Stanley.
Grasso (8-0-0) countered an early clinch from Esquibel (5-2-0) by landing hard knees and elbows in close, which forced the American to give up on a takedown attempt. The fighters traded kicks and it was Grasso who briefly took Esquibel down to the mat. Esquibel returned to her feet, but Grasso hurt her with a liver kick and a series of punches and elbows. Esquibel secured a momentary takedown, but she was unable to capitalise on the mat.
In round two, Grasso picked Esquibel apart with jabs and one-twos until Esquibel tripped her after catching a kick. Grasso stood back up and she countered Esquibel’s leg kicks and lunging one-twos with overhand rights and a powerful knee. Esquibel began to bleed from the nose and Grasso targeted her face with jabs and one-two combos late in the round.
Likely sensing that she was down on the scorecards, Esquibel was more aggressive on the feet in round three. However, Grasso landed the crisper strikes and she hurt Esquibel with a hard one-two. Esquibel initiated a clinch, but Grasso blasted her in the nose with knees and elbows. She hurt a badly bloodied Esquibel with punches and an elbow, and fought off a takedown attempt before the final bell.
Scores were 30-26 and 30-27 twice for Grasso, who kept her undefeated record intact with tonight’s Unanimous Decision win and once again assumed the top contender spot in the Invicta FC strawweight division. She was twice in line to challenge for Invicta FC gold in the past, but was sidelined for 17 months due to multiple injuries.
Niedźwiedź (8-0-0) shined in her long-awaited Invicta FC debut tonight against late replacement Stanley (5-2-0), who took the flyweight bout on one week’s notice and weighed in over the limit.
Both women landed some hard shots on the feet throughout the entertaining battle, but Niedźwiedź’s ability to mix up her attacks with punching flurries, body kicks and takedowns allowed her to take control of the fight. She secured a series of takedowns late in round one and put Stanley on the mat again in round two. When Stanley regained her footing, Niedźwiedź bloodied her nose with knees. Stanley slowed down in the final round and Niedźwiedź scored two takedowns into side control. She threatened with keylocks and a tight Brabo choke before time expired.
All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Niedźwiedź, who was competing for the first time since giving birth to her first child. At just 21 years of age, the Polish rising star is one of the flyweight division’s top female prospects, and she may find herself challenging for title gold later this year.
Earlier on the card, Deep Jewels Strawweight Champion Mizuki Inoue (12-4-0, 1 NC) notched her fourth straight win by submitting Lynn “Weapon X” Alvarez (6-4-0). After a back-and-forth battle on the feet in round one, Inoue landed uppercuts in a clinch and she took Alvarez down to the mat. She landed hard punches from mount and transitioned to a triangle choke attempt late in the round. Inoue threw Alvarez back down to the mat in the second stanza and she used ground and pound to set up a fight-ending armbar that forced Alvarez to tap out at the 3:00 mark of round two.
Submission ace Cindy “Battlecat” Dandois (7-2-0) earned an impressive first-round tapout victory tonight in a bantamweight bout against Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke (3-5-0, 1 NC). Dandois immediately took Duke down in the opening seconds, but Duke managed to fight back to her feet against the cage. Seconds later, Dandois effortlessly threw her to the mat and landed on top in the scarf hold position. She locked on a scarf hold armlock and Duke hastily submitted at the 1:33 mark of round one.
Fast-rising featherweight star Megan Anderson (7-2-0) continued her streak of finishes by knocking out Peggy “The Daywalker” Morgan (4-4-0) in a violent and one-sided matchup. Anderson repeatedly hurt Morgan with right hooks in the opening minute and she dropped her with a left hand. Morgan got back to her feet, but Anderson punished her with punch after punch as Morgan’s jaw swelled up. A final one-two from Anderson sent Morgan crashing to the canvas, and Anderson finished her off with two hammerfists at the 4:09 mark of the first round.
Surviving a late scare, Tessa “The Typhoon” Simpson (5-1-0) eked out a narrow Unanimous Decision win over veteran Simona “The Pitbull” Soukupova (5-4-1) in an atomweight bout. Simpson took the first two rounds by outstriking Soukupova on the feet, but Soukupova rallied in a big way in round three. She stunned Simpson with combinations and dropped her with a right hook. Simpson survived until the final bell and the bout appeared to be a 28-28 draw. However, judges Brett Miller and Marcus Danforth both had it 29-28 for Simpson, while judge Henry Gueary returned an absurd 29-27 card in Simpson’s favour. In spite of the controversial scoring, Simpson’s victory extended her winning streak to three.
She was unable to make the bantamweight limit, but Aspen Ladd (4-0-0) kept her unbeaten record intact with a second-round destruction of Jessica “Bakan” Hoy (1-1-0) tonight. Both women landed some solid punches in the opening round, but Ladd held an edge in the clinches and she scored with knees and combinations. She took Hoy down in the second round and landed elbows and punches from mount. Hoy rolled to her side and Ladd continued to land elbows and more punches until the bout was waved off at the 3:14 mark of round two.
Opening up the card, Sijara “Sarj” Eubanks (2-1-0) spoiled the long-awaited pro debut of AmberLynn “ALO” Orr (0-1-0) in bantamweight action. Eubanks got the better of the early striking exchanges and she scored with some nice ground and pound after taking Orr down. Orr attempted triangle chokes from her back, but Eubanks passed to side control and landed punches and elbows from a top-side crucifix until referee Greg Franklin intervened to stop the fight at the 4:41 mark of the opening round.
Full play-by-play for all bouts on the Invicta FC 18 card can be found here.
(Photo Credit: Invicta Fighting Championships)