Bantamweight standout Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith drops down to the flyweight division for her next fight at Invicta Fighting Championships 6 on July 13th in Kansas City, Missouri. Smith faces Brazilian rising star Jennifer Maia in what will most likely serve as a number one contender’s matchup.

MMAFighting.com first reported on the bout today. Smith has impressed in each of her four appearances for the promotion and recently battled Sarah Kaufman to a hotly-contested decision at Invicta FC 5. On the same card, Maia scored a big win over Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto Gurgel.

Smith (5-3-1) has quickly become one of the most popular fighters on the Invicta FC roster thanks to her spirited performances that have yielded two Fight of the Night bonuses. After defeating Kaitlin Young and former training partner Raquel “Rocky” Pennington, Smith took on her toughest opponent to date on April 5th when she faced former Strikeforce champion Kaufman at Invicta FC 5. Despite dropping Kaufman in the middle stanza and dominating the round, only one judge scored the fight for Smith. The remaining two saw rounds one and three in favour of Kaufman, who eked out a razor-thin Split Decision win.

Prior to taking the fight with Kaufman, Smith had already set her sights on a possible move down in weight to 125 pounds. Invicta FC crowned its first flyweight champion, Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak, on the April 5th card and Smith hopes to be next in line to challenge for the title.

Maia (7-2-1) opened her pro career with four first-round stoppage victories in her home country of Brazil. In her next five fights, Maia faced some of the sport’s top prospects and contenders, and she scored a key victory over Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade in December. Maia’s lone defeats during that time came against recent Invicta FC title challenger Vanessa Porto and UFC fighter Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff, and the endings of both bouts – a technical submission and a controversial ten-second knockout – were subject to debate in the weeks after.

At Invicta FC 5, Maia made her U.S. debut in a featured bout against former Bellator titleholder Gurgel. The fighters battled back and forth in a fight that was primarily contested in the clinch against the cage. Maia prevailed via a well-deserved Unanimous Decision and earned her biggest career victory in the process. She will likely earn a shot at the Invicta FC Flyweight Championship if she can get past Smith.

Invicta Fighting Championships 6 takes place on July 13th at the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. The event is headlined by a pair of championship fights.

Invicta Fighting Championships 6 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):

– Marloes “Rumina” Coenen vs Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino [Invicta FC Featherweight Championship]
– Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza vs Ayaka Hamasaki [Invicta FC Strawweight Championship]
– Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio vs Lauren Taylor
– Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith vs Jennifer Maia
– Jessica Penne vs Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc
– Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood vs Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha
– Ediane “India” Gomes vs Julia “The Jewel” Budd
– Bec “Rowdy” Hyatt vs Mizuki Inoue
– “The Queen of Mean” Miriam Nakamoto vs “Diamond” Duda Yankovich

– “Thug” Rose Namajunas vs Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres
– Ashley “Smashley” Cummins vs Emily Kagan
– “Miss” Mollie Estes vs Veronica “The Heartbreaker” Rothenhausler
– “Fancy” Laura Sanko vs Livia “T-Rex” von Plettenberg

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