Invicta Fighting Championships showcased its 23rd all-female card tonight at the Kansas City Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, Missouri. Invicta FC 23 was headlined by a flyweight contender’s bout between former title challenger Vanessa Porto and rising star Agnieszka “Kuma” Niedźwiedź.
In the flyweight co-feature, popular veteran Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi took on Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio. Former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Hérica Tibúrcio faced Tessa “The Typhoon” Simpson at 105 pounds. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for Invicta FC 23.
Agnieszka “Kuma” Niedźwiedź vs Vanessa Porto
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. Porto struck first with a nice right hand over the top and she followed with two leg kicks. More punches landed for Porto and she countered a takedown with a guillotine choke. Niedźwiedź freed herself and stood up, but Porto promptly took her down. Niedźwiedź locked on a guillotine choke of her own, but Porto escaped and the fight returned to the feet again. Niedźwiedź scored a big takedown into side control and she landed elbows that set up an Anaconda Choke attempt at the bell. 10-9 Niedźwiedź due to the late rally.
Round 2:
The fighters circled in round two until Niedźwiedź landed a head kick and tried for a takedown. It was Porto who wound up on top, however, and she postured up with right hands. Niedźwiedź trapped Porto in a tight triangle choke from the bottom, but Porto defended. Niedźwiedź looked to transition to a triangle armbar and she eventually went belly-down with the armbar attempt. Porto held on until the end of the round. 10-9 Niedźwiedź.
Round 3:
The pace slowed somewhat in the final round as the fighters traded cautious leg kicks. Porto shrugged off a takedown and landed more kicks to Niedźwiedź’s lead leg. A solid right hook landed for Porto and Niedźwiedź fired back with a left. Porto stuffed another takedown, but Niedźwiedź caught a kick and tripped Porto to the mat in the final 90 seconds. Porto scrambled back up to her feet and avoided a spinning backfist. Porto’s punches caused Niedźwiedź’s nose to bleed heavily, and Porto secured two brief takedowns before the final bell. 10-9 Porto.
Judge Henry Gueary: 29-28 Niedźwiedź. Judge Ross Swanberg: 29-28 Niedźwiedź. Judge Kevin Champion: 29-28 Niedźwiedź.
Winner: Agnieszka Niedźwiedź by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 10-0-0.
Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi vs Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Mike England. D’Alelio hurt Modafferi right away with a right hand, but Modafferi recovered and the fighters traded punches. D’Alelio connected with uppercuts, but Modafferi dropped her with a four-punch flurry. D’Alelio held on and bought time to recover, and she looked to set up a triangle choke from the bottom. Modafferi countered by passing to half-guard and then to back control. She transitioned to an armbar, but D’Alelio escaped out the back. Modafferi quickly locked on another armbar and D’Alelio slammed her on her head. 10-9 Modafferi.
Round 2:
D’Alelio lost her balance while throwing a body kick and Modafferi dropped her with a counter right hook early in round two. She mounted D’Alelio and then took her back in search of a rear-naked choke. D’Alelio tried to roll free and Modafferi went belly-down with an armbar. She switched to an omoplata in a scramble and then trapped D’Alelio in a triangle choke. D’Alelio escaped and punched from the top. Modafferi swept straight into mount, however, and she landed elbows that forced D’Alelio to give up her back. 10-9 Modafferi.
Round 3:
Modafferi stunned D’Alelio with a barrage of punches to begin round three. D’Alelio retreated to the cage and Modafferi took her down. She landed elbows from mount that opened a huge gash on D’Alelio’s forehead and the fight was quickly stopped.
Winner: Roxanne Modafferi by TKO (Elbows) at 1:37 of round three. She improves to 21-13-0.
Hérica Tibúrcio vs Tessa “The Typhoon” Simpson
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. Simpson caught a kick and dragged Tibúrcio down in the early goings. She briefly took Tibúrcio’s back as the fight returned to the feet, but Tibúrcio turned into the clinch and tripped Simpson to the mat. She struck from the top in Simpson’s guard and Simpson looked to counter with a high guard and armbar attempts. She attacked Tibúrcio’s leg with a heel hook and the fighters returned to their feet. Simpson took Tibúrcio down after catching another kick and landed punches from back control. 10-9 Simpson.
Round 2:
The second round began with both women landing jabs and Simpson circled on the outside. Tibúrcio clinched and Simpson reversed against the cage. Tibúrcio used a leg-sweep takedown to get Simpson down and she moved to North-South position. Simpson kicked off of the fence and regained full guard, which allowed her to kick Tibúrcio off and get back to her feet. Tibúrcio took her right back down and pulled guard with a guillotine choke. Simpson pulled her head out and finished the round with punches from half-guard. 10-9 Tibúrcio, barely.
Round 3:
Simpson scored with a punch-knee combo in round three and Tibúrcio responded with an overhand right. Big right hands landed for both women almost simultaneously, and Tibúrcio attempted a takedown after catching a body kick. Simpson stayed on her feet, but Tibúrcio pressed forward again and took her down into half-guard. She immediately attempted an arm-triangle choke and Simpson had to act quickly to scramble out. Tibúrcio struck from the top and avoided an omoplata. Simpson kicked her off and shot in for a takedown at the bell. 10-9 Tibúrcio.
Judge Henry Gueary: 29-28 Tibúrcio. Judge Ross Swanberg: 29-28 Simpson. Judge Kevin Champion: 29-28 Tibúrcio.
Winner: Hérica Tibúrcio by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 11-4-0.
Kelly Faszholz vs Elizabeth Phillips
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Mike England. Faszholz clinched right away, but she was unable to get Phillips down against the cage and the fighters separated. Faszholz shot in for another takedown attempt, and nearly got Phillips down, but the fight stayed on the feet and Faszholz took Phillips’s back. Phillips spun free and Faszholz flurried with punches before clinching again. The referee called for a break and Faszholz closed out the round by landing punches and knees. 10-9 Faszholz.
Round 2:
Faszholz pinned Phillips in a corner and landed punches and standing elbows in round two. Left hooks were exchanged and Faszholz began to bleed from the nose. She set up another clinch with a quick combination and took Phillips’s back against the cage. Phillips grabbed the fence in order to defend against a takedown and was warned. 10-9 Faszholz.
Round 3:
The fighters clinched again in round three and Faszholz once again held Phillips against the fence while landing short punches and knees. When Phillips broke free, Faszholz tagged her with one-twos and kept Phillips backing up. Phillips managed to score a takedown in the final 90 seconds, but Faszholz countered with an armbar attempt and kicked her off. She used a heel hook attempt to trip Phillips and finished the round on top. 10-9 Faszholz.
Judge Henry Gueary: 30-27 Faszholz. Judge Ross Swanberg: 30-27 Faszholz. Judge Kevin Champion: 30-27 Faszholz.
Winner: Kelly Faszholz by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 4-2-0.
Andrea “KGB” Lee vs Liz “The Titan” Tracy
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. The fighters clinched right away and both women landed hard knees to the body. Lee took Tracy’s back and dragged her down to the mat. She landed more knees as Tracy battled back to her feet. Tracy reversed a takedown and worked from the top in Lee’s half-guard. Lee rolled through and escaped from a Tracy armbar. On the feet, Lee landed two body kicks and muscled Tracy down to the canvas. She took Tracy’s back and transitioned to an armbar. Tracy escaped into half-guard and landed short elbows, but Lee used an ankle pick to sweep before the bell. 10-9 Lee.
Round 2:
Lee scored with a flurry that knocked Tracy’s mouthpiece out in the opening seconds of round two. Tracy held Lee against the cage and threw knees to the body. Lee broke away and Tracy tagged her with a one-two. Lee responded with punches and a knee, and she fought off a takedown attempt. A combination landed for Lee and she stuffed one takedown, but Tracy got her down into side control just before time expired. 10-9 Lee.
Round 3:
Tracy worked relentlessly for takedowns in the final round, but Lee defended well. Tracy finally got her down to a knee against the cage and pushed Lee all the way down soon after. She threatened with a keylock from side control, but Lee was able to scramble free and the round ended with an exchange of knees to the body. 10-9 Tracy.
Judge Henry Gueary: 30-27 Lee. Judge Ross Swanberg: 29-28 Tracy. Judge Kevin Champion: 29-28 Lee.
Winner: Andrea Lee by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 7-2-0.
Ediane “India” Gomes vs Pam “Bam” Sorenson
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Mike England. Gomes punched her way into a clinch and took Sorenson down early on. She postured up and landed some solid shots to the face from Sorenson’s guard. This continued throughout the round until Gomes stood up. She dove back down into mount and blasted Sorenson with hammerfists before the bell. 10-9 Gomes.
Round 2:
Gomes rocked Sorenson with right hands in round two and the fighters clinched against the cage once more. Sorenson eventually broke free and Gomes hurt her again with left and right hooks. She took Sorenson down into half-guard, but Sorenson fought back to full guard and the fighters were stood up. Hard right hands landed for Gomes and Sorenson answered back with leg kicks. The round ended with an exchange of punches. 10-9 Gomes.
Round 3:
Sorenson struck first with one-two combos in the final round. Gomes hurt her with a lead left hook and followed with a flurry, but Sorenson recovered. Gomes caught a kick and she snapped Sorenson’s head back with a straight right hand. Power punches landed for both women and Sorenson briefly tripped Gomes to the mat. Gomes stood and Sorenson landed a combination. Close round. 10-9 Sorenson by a slim margin.
Judge Henry Gueary: 29-28 Sorenson. Judge Ross Swanberg: 29-28 Gomes. Judge Kevin Champion: 29-28 Gomes.
Winner: Ediane Gomes by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 11-4-0.
Tiffany “Timebomb” Van Soest vs Christine “Misfit” Ferea
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. The fight began with an exchange of inside-leg kicks and both women connected with overhand rights. Van Soest threw front kicks and targeted the body with right hooks. Ferea closed the distance and Van Soest cracked her with an elbow. Ferea caught a kick and backed Van Soest up against the cage. Van Soest broke free and the fighters traded kicks to the body. Very close opening round. 10-9 Van Soest.
Round 2:
Van Soest picked her shots with single kicks and punches in round two while avoiding Ferea’s combinations. Knees were exchanged in a clinch and Van Soest backed Ferea up against the fence. Ferea circled out and snapped Van Soest’s head back with a jab. Van Soest answered with a grazing head kick and she briefly struck from the top after Ferea slipped and fell. Back on the feet, Van Soest threw a flurry and Ferea countered with a body kick before the bell. 10-9 Van Soest.
Round 3:
Van Soest was very aggressive with her kicks in the final round and she took Ferea’s back after reversing a takedown. Big punches landed for Van Soest, who attempted a rear-naked choke and an armbar in a scramble. Ferea escaped and wound up on top in Van Soest’s guard. Short elbow strikes landed for Ferea and she postured up with punches. Van Soest attacked with a heel hook, but Ferea scrambled into side control. She mounted Van Soest late in the round and flurried with punches from the top. 10-9 Ferea due to the late rally.
Judge Henry Gueary: 29-28 Van Soest. Judge Ross Swanberg: 29-28 Van Soest. Judge Kevin Champion: 29-28 Van Soest.
Winner: Tiffany Van Soest by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 1-2-0.
Shaianna “Yaya” Rincón vs Brooksie “The Bear” Bayard
Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Mike England. Bayard clinched and held Rincón against the cage in the opening seconds, but Rincón reversed the clinch and tripped Bayard to the mat. She took Bayard’s back and looked to set up a rear-naked choke. Rincón landed punches to the side of Bayard’s head and continued to hunt for chokes until Bayard swept into her guard. The fighters stood and Bayard landed sloppy punches. Rincón tripped her briefly and the fighters battled in a clinch once more. 10-9 Rincón.
Round 2:
Big right hands were exchanged early in round two and Rincón scored with a series of one-two combinations. She stunned Bayard with punches and elbows, but Bayard clinched and she managed to get Rincón down. Bayard, whose face swelled up from Rincón’s strikes, landed a handful of punches from the top before the fighters were stood up. Rincón continued to get the better of the exchanges by landing stiff jabs and straight right hands. 10-9 Rincón.
Round 3:
Rincón backed Bayard up with jabs in the final round and she kept the pressure on with combinations and body kicks. Bayard finally connected with an overhand right, but her face continued to swell up around her right eye. Rincón stunned her with a counter left hook, but Bayard recovered and fought off a takedown attempt. She tried for a takedown of her own, but Rincón countered with a guillotine choke and the fighters separated. Rincón scored with a flurry and Bayard clinched again. She landed some of her best punches of the fight and mixed in knees. Close round. 10-9 Rincón.
Judge Henry Gueary: 30-27 Rincón. Judge Ross Swanberg: 29-28 Rincón. Judge Kevin Champion: 29-28 Rincón.
Winner: Shaianna Rincón by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 1-0-0.