One of MMA’s fastest rising female stars, Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak, steps back into the Invicta FC cage to face NAAFS champ Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly at Invicta Fighting Championships 3 on October 6th in Kansas City, Kansas. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the flyweight bout today.
Honchak is currently riding a five-fight winning streak that includes stoppage wins over Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi and Bethany Marshall. Daly has won four of her past six fights and looks to get back on track after a close decision setback in the Cage Warriors women’s tournament.
Honchak (6-2-0) compiled an impressive 8-1 amateur record that included multiple title reigns before turning pro with a second-round submission victory in late 2009. Honchak’s next two bouts ended in decision setbacks, including a contentious loss to Angela Magana during the disastrous Ultimate Women Challenge competition, but she has since hit her stride and is currently one of the top female flyweights in the world. After dominating Modafferi en route to a third-round rear-naked choke victory in October, Honchak easily dispatched of Marshall at Invicta FC 2; finishing the Virginian with punches early in the second round. Now potentially one win away from the top spot at 125 pounds, Honchak will aim to make it two for two under the Invicta FC banner when she battles Daly in less than two months.
Daly (13-3-0) made her pro debut in 2007 and quickly made a name for herself as one of Europe’s top female fighters with victories in each of her first nine fights. The impressive winning streak was enough to earn Daly a spot in the Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament in 2010, but the Irish standout suffered her first loss at the hands of grappling specialist Lisa Ellis and decided that the weight cut to make the 115-pound limit was too severe. In June 2011, Daly travelled to Ohio to face local star Jessica “Evil” Eye for the North American Allied Fight Series 125-pound women’s title. Daly shocked some by handing Eye the first and only loss of her career and she made a successful defence of the NAAFS belt in November. Daly most recently engaged in a spirited bout with Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton at Cage Warriors 47, but came out on the wrong end of a close Unanimous Decision.
The bout between top-five fighters Honchak and Daly will likely determine a title contender for 2013.
Invicta Fighting Championships 3 takes place on October 6th at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The event is headlined by an Invicta FC Atomweight Championship bout between Jessica Penne and Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama.
Invicta Fighting Championships 3 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Jessica Penne vs Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama [Atomweight (105-Pound) Championship]
– Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler vs Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio [135 Pounds]
– Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak vs Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly [125 Pounds]
– Tara LaRosa vs Vanessa Porto [125 Pounds]
– Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith vs Cat “Alpha” Zingano [135 Pounds]
– Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson vs Lacey “The Ladie” Schuckman [105 Pounds]
– Julia “The Jewel” Budd vs Elaina “Beef” Maxwell [145 Pounds]
– Carla Esparza vs Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez [115 Pounds]
– Ashley “Smashley” Cummins vs Joanne Calderwood [115 Pounds]
– Amy “Lil’ Dynamite” Davis vs Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto [105 Pounds]
– Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke vs Marciea “Black Widow” Allen [135 Pounds]
– Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres vs Kaiyana Rain [115 Pounds]
– Katalina Malungahu vs Taylor “No Mercy” Stratford [145 Pounds]