Former Strikeforce title challenger Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche looks for her second straight win when she faces 2007 HOOKnSHOOT champ Kaitlin Young at Invicta Fighting Championships 2 on July 28th in Kansas City, Kansas. The featured bantamweight matchup was announced today.
Carmouche and Young made their Invicta FC debuts at the promotion’s inaugural event in April. Carmouche earned a dominant first-round TKO victory over local fighter Ashleigh Curry, while Young engaged in a spirited back-and-forth war with Leslie Smith that ultimately ended in a Split Draw.
Carmouche (6-2-0) opened her career with five straight wins in 2010, including four by stoppage, and built up a name for herself among the Strikeforce viewing audience with victories over Colleen Schneider and veteran Jan Finney. When an untimely injury forced Miesha Tate out of a March 2011 Strikeforce title fight with then-champion Marloes Coenen, Carmouche stepped in on short notice and dominated her Dutch foe for over 15 minutes before falling victim to a fourth-round triangle choke. Carmouche sat out the second half of the year after a decision defeat to another former champion, Sarah Kaufman, but had no trouble at all in dispatching of Curry less than two minutes into their Invicta FC 1 matchup.
Now looking to position herself for a future Invicta FC title fight, the Californian faces an experienced opponent with devastating knockout power, but she should hold a decided advantage if she is able to get the fight to the ground. Five of the former Marine’s six MMA wins have come inside the distance.
Young (7-5-1) became an overnight sensation on November 24, 2007, when she knocked out three opponents in one night to become the 2007 HOOKnSHOOT Women’s Grand Prix Champion. Young needed just one minute and 45 seconds to win the three tournament bouts and became best known for her highlight-reel head-kick knockout of future Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate. Young then endured a rough patch in her career and suffered defeats in five of her next six fights; a stretch that included a 2008 EliteXC bout with Gina Carano that aired live on CBS. She returned to her winning ways with a pair of TKO triumphs and engaged in a Fight of the Night-winning battle with Smith at Invicta FC 1.
A long-time member of The Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Young has worked to improve her wrestling and submission game to complement her Muay Thai skills. Six of Young’s seven victories have come via a form of knockout and she will likely look to avoid the stifling top control employed by Carmouche in her title bout with Coenen by keeping the fight on the feet.
Invicta Fighting Championships 2 takes place on July 28th at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.
Invicta Fighting Championships 2 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler (14-6-0) vs Sara McMann (5-0-0) [135 pounds]
– Alexis Davis (11-5-0) vs Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (18-9-0) [135 pounds]
– Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche (6-2-0) vs Kaitlin Young (7-5-1) [135 pounds]
– Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes (6-2-0) vs Milana Dudieva (8-1-0) [135 pounds]
– Kelly “Blood Red” Kobold (18-3-1) vs Vanessa Porto (14-4-0) [135 pounds]
– Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak (5-2-0) vs Bethany Marshall (4-0-0) [125 pounds]
– Julia “The Jewel” Budd (2-2-0) vs Elina Nilsson (2-2-0) [145 pounds]
– Carla Esparza (6-2-0) vs Sarah “White Tiger” Schneider (6-5-0) [115 pounds]
– “South Valley’s Own” Angelica Chavez (4-1-0) vs Kikuyo Ishikawa (7-3-0) [105 pounds]
– Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras (2-0-0) vs Raquel “Rocky” Pennington (1-0-0) [135 pounds]
– Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke (5-2-0 AM) vs Suzie Montero (1-0-0) [135 pounds]
– Jocelyn “Lights Out” Lybarger (4-2-0 AM) vs Cheryl Chan (6-2-0 AM) [125 pounds]
– Jessica Philippus (7-1-0 AM) vs “Lightning” Liz McCarthy (6-0-0 AM) [105 pounds]
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)