Invicta Fighting Championships 8 Announced For September 6Following months of delays, Invicta Fighting Championships has officially announced a date and location for its eighth all-female fight card, which will feature two championship fights. Invicta FC 8 takes place on September 6th at a new venue, the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Headlining the Invicta FC 8 card is an atomweight title bout between champ Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson and one-time Valkyrie titleholder Yasuko “Ikuko” Tamada. In the co-feature, Stephanie “Snowflake” Eggink meets Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää for the vacant strawweight belt.

Waterson (11-3-0) made a triumphant return to MMA in 2012 following the birth of her daughter. Her quick victory over Diana “Dynamite” Rael earned her a spot on the Invicta FC roster and she narrowly outpointed Lacey “The Ladie” Schuckman at Invicta FC 3 in one of 2012’s best female fights. The win propelled Waterson into an Invicta FC atomweight title bout with heavily-favoured champion Jessica Penne at Invicta FC 5 in April 2013. Overcoming the odds, Waterson dominated most of the fight en route to a fourth-round submission win to capture the 105-pound title.

Tamada (15-8-3) is one of Japan’s most experienced female fighters and she has never been stopped in her career. After struggling in her first seven fights, Tamada went unbeaten in a 12-fight span over the course of four years and she became the inaugural Valkyrie Flyweight Champion at 100 pounds along the way. Tamada’s next four fights all ended in decision defeats, but she has since bounced back with three consecutive victories. Most recently, she outpointed fellow veteran Yukiko Seki at Deep Jewels 1 in August. She now makes her U.S. debut in the championship fight.

 

Eggink (4-1-0) makes her Invicta FC debut with momentum on her side. Currently riding a three-fight winning streak, Eggink became the inaugural XFC Women’s Strawweight Champion in September by submitting current TUF 20 competitor Angela Magana at XFC 25. When XFC lost its U.S. TV deal and switched focus to Brazil, Eggink received her release from the promotion and signed on with Invicta FC earlier this year. She now faces one of the all-female organisation’s premier strawweights and looks to capture another prestigious championship title.

Kankaanpää (9-1-1) has been a top strawweight contender for more than two years since her victory over final Valkyrie Featherweight Champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi. She made a successful Invicta FC debut on the promotion’s fifth card in April 2013 by defeating recent UFC signee Juliana “Ju Thai” de Lima Carneiro, but her most recent Invicta FC bout ended in a close decision defeat to Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood in December. Kankaanpää rebounded with a victory over Ukrainian prospect Alyona Rassohyna in May and she now returns to Invicta FC with eyes on title gold.

 

Elsewhere at Invicta FC 8, Ediane “India” Gomes (10-2-0) drops down to 135 pounds to face standout wrestler Tonya “Triple Threat” Evinger (14-5-0) in what will likely serve as a title eliminator for the newly-vacated Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship. Gomes has won both of her Invicta FC bouts and she most recently defeated Hiroko “Cat’s Eye” Yamanaka at Invicta FC 4. Evinger extended her winning streak to four by defeating highly-touted grappler Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio at Invicta FC 7 in December. She is one of the top female bantamweights outside of the UFC.

Friends and in-cage rivals Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi (15-11-0) and Tara LaRosa (21-4-0) will face off for a third time in a flyweight bout at Invicta FC 8. Modafferi avenged a loss to LaRosa by winning the pair’s rematch in March 2010, but she has dropped six straight fights since then. LaRosa also looks to get back on the winning track after suffering back-to-back defeats against Vanessa Porto and recent UFC signee Rin Nakai.

Rounding out the card, Michelle “T-Cat” Ould (7-3-0, 2 NC) takes on unbeaten rising star DeAnna “The Argentine Assassin” Bennett (4-0-0) at 125 pounds. TUF 18 competitor Peggy “The Daywalker” Morgan (2-1-0) battles devastating knockout artist Irene Aldana “Robles” (3-1-0) in featured bantamweight action. Aldana’s teammate and fellow Xtreme Kombat champion, Alexa Grasso (4-0-0), drops down to 115 pounds to face Ashley “Smashley” Cummins (3-2-0), and Jodie Esquibel (3-1-0) meets SCS Women’s Atomweight Champion Jinh Yu Frey (2-0-0) at 105 pounds.

Invicta FC 8 also features the promotion’s inaugural lightweight bout as well as a matchup between two of the top female prospects in the U.S. At 155 pounds, Veronica “The Heartbreaker” Rothenhausler (1-0-0) looks to continue her streak of vicious first-round knockout wins when she faces Charmaine “Not So Sweet” Tweet (5-4-0). Multi-time amateur champion J.J. Aldrich (7-4-0 amateur, 0-0-0 pro) makes her 115-pound pro debut against Delaney “Lil’ Scrappy” Owen (7-2-0 amateur, 2-0-0 pro), who captured the SCS Women’s Flyweight Championship in January.

Invicta Fighting Championships 8 takes place on September 6th at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The event streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

 

 

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