MMARising.com reports live from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas tonight for Invicta Fighting Championships 3. Tonight’s all-female fight card was headlined by the inaugural Invicta FC Atomweight Championship bout between Jessica Penne and Jewels champ Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama.

Also on the card, Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler tried for her first win under the Invicta FC banner when she battled rising star Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio. Kaitlin Young faced Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith in a rematch from Invicta FC 1. Play-by-play and results are available below.

 

Invicta FC Atomweight Championship

Jessica Penne vs Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Rob Hinds. Penne jabbed in the early goings and Sugiyama kicked at Penne’s lead leg. Penne countered a kick by throwing Sugiyama to the mat and she moved to the top in half-guard. Penne tried to move to side control, but Sugiyama kept her leg trapped. Penne landed more short strikes and again attempted to free her leg to move to mount. Sugiyama used butterfly guard to defend and got back to her feet. Both fighters landed punches and Penne scored with knees to the body. Sugiyama reversed and landed knees of her own. 10-9 Penne.

Round 2:
Sugiyama landed more leg kicks in round two and the fighters traded one-twos. Penne backed Sugiyama up briefly with a quick combination and remained aggressive with knees from the clinch. Penne pulled Sugiyama to the ground from a Thai clinch, but Sugiyama wound up on top. Penne secured a triangle choke from the bottom and adjusted her posture to tighten it. Sugiyama held on for quite some time and tried to fall back to pull her head free, but she could not and was eventually forced to submit.

Winner: Jessica Penne by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 2:20 of round two. She improves to 10-1-0 and becomes the first Invicta FC Atomweight Champion.

 

Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler vs Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. After an exchange of leg kicks early on, Baszler scored with a knee to the body and D’Alelio answered with a combination. Baszler took D’Alelio down and landed in side control. She worked to transition to D’Alelio’s back and managed to sink in both hooks. D’Alelio attempted to pull Baszler over her head by yanking on her neck. Baszler pulled her head out and landed punches from the back.

Baszler looked to be setting up a Twister attempt, but D’Alelio’s defence was solid and she fought off Baszler’s attempts to pull back on her left arm. Baszler maintained back control and landed punches to try to set up a submission. She dropped heel strikes on the back of D’Alelio’s feet and threw more short punches late in the round. 10-9 Baszler.

Round 2:
Baszler countered punches from D’Alelio with a knee in round two and D’Alelio slipped while throwing a right hook. Baszler pounced with big punches from the top and took D’Alelio’s back in a scramble. Baszler locked on a rear-naked choke and this time D’Alelio was unable to escape and had to tap out.

Winner: Shayna Baszler by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 0:37 of round two. She improves to 15-7-0.

 

Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith vs Kaitlin Young

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Rob Hinds. Young clinched and pressed Smith against the cage. She landed a nice left hook and backed away. The fighters exchanged big punches and kicks to the head and body. Both landed well and Young kept up the aggression with knees in the clinch. Smith flurried over the top and that set off another lengthy exchange of punches and knees. Smith caught a kick and took Young down, but Young locked on an armbar on the way.

Smith spun to try to escape and dropped knees on Young’s shoulder. Smith scrambled and wound up on top in side control. She landed short elbows, but Young trapped her in an inverted triangle choke. Smith had enough space to breathe and escaped to her feet. Young upkicked from the bottom and Smith settled into her guard. Young tried to set up another armbar, but Smith punched and elbowed her way free. Smith closed out the round strong with some hard right hands and a rear-naked choke at the bell. Close round. 10-9 Smith due to the late rally.

Round 2:
It was Smith who clinched in round two and she landed elbows over the top as Young countered with knees to the body. Smith landed a combination and Young secured a body lock to try to take her down. Smith countered by rolling into a kneebar attempt. She used it to sweep into top position and punched from Young’s guard until Young attempted an armbar. Smith escaped and moved to a top-side crucifix. She rained down right hands for the next 15 seconds until the bout was stopped.

Winner: Leslie Smith by TKO (Punches) at 2:19 of round two. She improves to 4-2-1.

 

Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak vs Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. Honchak landed some quick right hands early in the fight and Daly answered with leg kicks. A one-two combo landed for Honchak and Daly replied with another leg kick and a short left hook. Punches were exchanged and both fighters connected. Honchak secured a Thai clinch and landed a knee and an uppercut as Daly punched over the top and circled away. Another one-two scored for Honchak as Daly moved forward.

Honchak remained a step ahead in the striking exchanges and she landed another knee, but Daly held tough with counter lefts and a hard right cross. Honchak flurried in close and fired off a series of standing elbows as Daly clinched. Honchak pressed Daly against the cage and avoided a hip toss attempt. Honchak landed a knee to the face and more to the body as the round came to a close. 10-9 Honchak.

Round 2:
Both fighters put togeher punching combinations early in round two, with Daly throwing unorthodox punches to the thigh. She jumped guard, but Honchak stood and Daly was forced to follow. Again, Daly punched to the leg as Honchak threw a three-punch flurry. Daly pulled Honchak to the ground with a Kimura attempt, but Honchak used the opportunity to take her back. Daly rolled back over and Honchak used punches and elbows to force her to give up her back again.

Honchak worked to set up a rear-naked choke and tried to flatten Daly out. Daly scrambled and tried to get back to her feet, but Honchak moved to mount and then to back control once more. More punches scored for Honchak and she continued to hunt for the choke. Daly sat up to try to defend and Honchak dragged her right back down. Honchak closed out the round with more punches from the back. 10-9 Honchak.

Round 3:
Daly used a quick throw to get Honchak to the mat in the final round, but she was unable to keep Honchak down for long. Honchak landed punches and Daly once again pulled her to the ground with a Kimura attempt. Honchak defended and wound up on top in half-guard. She landed punches and stood up. Daly followed and threw leg kicks on the feet, but Honchak answered with a right cross and a knee.

Honchak reversed a takedown attempt and took Daly’s back on the ground. Daly scrambled, but Honchak alternated between mount and back control and kept her pinned down. Daly fought her way back to full guard, only to be met by a flurry of punches from Honchak. The fight returned to the feet and Daly pushed forward aggressively with punches. She landed some solid shots, but Honchak countered well until the final bell. 10-9 Honchak.

Judge Kevin Champion: 30-27 Honchak. Judge Victoria Miller-Pence: 30-27 Honchak. Judge Henry Gueary: 30-27 Honchak.

Winner: Barb Honchak by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 7-2-0.

 

Vanessa Porto vs Tara LaRosa

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Michelle Drake Browning. Porto landed a hard right hook in the opening seconds and followed with another one soon after. LaRosa began to circle and she shot in for a takedown. Porto easily stuffed it and dropped LaRosa to her knees with two right hands. She stood over LaRosa and kicked at her legs until the referee stood LaRosa up. Another right hand landed for Porto and she followed with a one-two.

Porto continued to be the aggressor with her punches, but LaRosa landed a counter right in return. Porto dropped LaRosa to her knees with another right hook. LaRosa stood, but Porto hurt her with a pair of leg kicks. A third leg kick and a right hook backed LaRosa up and Porto continued to score with punches. Porto landed one more right hook in the final seconds. 10-8 Porto.

Round 2:
Porto switched stances and hurt LaRosa again with a leg kick in round two. She followed with punches and dropped her with another leg kick. LaRosa got back to her feet and Porto landed a left hook. LaRosa grazed the top of her head with a winging right, but Porto fired back with kicks and punches. Porto picked her shots with leg kicks and stiff jabs that kept LaRosa guessing.

Two big right hands landed for Porto, but LaRosa cracked her with one in return and that set off an exchange of power punches. Porto circled away and resumed kicking at LaRosa’s lead leg. Porto landed a hard leg kick and avoided LaRosa’s attempt to clinch. LaRosa was staggered by a leg kick and a big right hook, but she regained her footing. Porto easily avoided a takedown attempt in the dying seconds. 10-9 Porto.

Round 3:
Porto scored with a right cross to the eye of LaRosa in round three and followed with more hard right hooks. A leg kick landed for Porto and she pancaked LaRosa to defend against a takedown attempt. Porto landed more right hooks that wobbled LaRosa and she targeted LaRosa’s leg with kicks. LaRosa began to noticeably limp and Porto again evaded her attempt to take the fight to the mat. Porto landed one more right hand and narrowly escaped LaRosa’s grip as she tried desperately to get Porto down. Porto closed out the round with three counter rights. 10-9 Porto.

Judge Kevin Champion: 30-27 Porto. Judge Victoria Miller-Pence: 30-27 Porto. Judge Henry Gueary: 30-27 Porto.

Winner: Vanessa Porto by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 15-5-0.

 

“Alpha” Cat Zingano vs Raquel “Rocky” Pennington

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. Zingano clinched right away and attempted one of her trademark overhead suplexes, but Pennington hooked a leg and stayed on her feet. Both fighters landed knees to the body until Zingano managed to get Pennington down to the mat. Zingano tried to move to mount, but Pennington held on and pulled herself back to a standing position. Zingano threw more knees in the clinch and Pennington answered with some of her own. This continued until Zingano scored a takedown just before the bell. 10-9 Zingano.

Round 2:
Zingano was aggressive with a variety of kicks in round two. She soon clinched against the cage and resumed kneeing the midsection of Pennington, who answered with punches to the body. Zingano tried to throw Pennington to the mat, but Pennington showed impressive takedown defence. Zingano was able to get her down on her second try, however, and worked from the top with elbows from side control.

Zingano passed to mount and scored with elbows until Pennington rolled over and gave up her back. Zingano locked on a rear-naked choke and Pennington tapped out after trying to fight it for a few seconds.

Winner: Cat Zingano by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:32 of round two. She improves to 7-0-0.

 

Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson vs Lacey “The Ladie” Schuckman

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Michelle Drake Browning. Waterson kept her distance and landed leg kicks in the opening seconds. Schuckman countered nicely with right hands, but Waterson dropped her to her knees with a head kick. Waterson tried to counter a takedown with a guillotine choke, but Schuckman scrambled and took her back. Schuckman worked for a rear-naked choke and nearly got it, but Waterson gamely fought free.

Schuckman returned to the top in half-guard and threw short punches as she tried to set up a keylock on Waterson’s left arm. She kept Waterson pinned down, but Waterson regained full guard and spun into an armbar. Schuckman got out and the fighters returned to their feet. Schuckman swarmed with punches and clinched against the fence. Both women landed knees before the bell. Good round. 10-9 Schuckman.

Round 2:
Waterson landed a hard one-two in the second round and she countered kicks from Schuckman with one of her own. Another head kick stunned Schuckman, but she maintained her grip on Waterson’s leg and clinched in search of a takedown. Waterson took Schuckman’s back as the fight hit the mat and tried for a rear-naked choke. Schuckman rolled over and Waterson struck from the top in half-guard.

Schuckman used a figure-four with her legs to trap Waterson in place, but it did not stop Waterson from peppering her with short right hands and hammerfist strikes. Waterson nearly cleared her leg to pass to mount, but Schuckman stopped her. Schuckman regained full guard and Waterson postured up with punches. She landed a flurry, but Schuckman kicked her off before the bell. 10-9 Waterson.

Round 3:
Waterson circled to avoid kicks from Schuckman in the final round. She landed a one-two and sidestepped a counter kick from Schuckman. Waterson just missed with a spinning hook kick and continued to stay out of range of Schuckman’s strikes. Schuckman managed to land a combination and the fighters clinched momentarily. After separating, Schuckman attempted a head kick and Waterson countered with a right hook.

Schuckman muscled Waterson up against the cage and tried to take her back. Waterson threw back elbow strikes to defend, but Schuckman still got her down. Waterson swept straight into mount and postured for an armbar, but she lost the position and wound up on the bottom. Schuckman stood and Waterson followed. A head kick and a leg kick landed for Waterson and she threw a front kick to the face in the final seconds. Very close round. 10-9 Waterson, barely.

Judge Kevin Champion: 29-28 Waterson. Judge Victoria Miller-Pence: 29-28 Schuckman. Judge Henry Gueary: 29-28 Waterson.

Winner: Michelle Waterson by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 10-3-0.

 

Julia “The Jewel” Budd vs Danielle “The Honey Badger” West

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Greg Franklin. West jabbed her way into a clinch right away and Budd reversed against the fence. West looked to pull guard, but Budd had none of it and the fighters exchanged knees to the body. More knees landed for both women as they grappled for position. Budd was able to take West down and she swiftly moved to mount. Budd postured up with big elbows and West tried to kick her off. Budd stayed on top and finished the fight with a final barrage of elbows and punches.

Winner: Julia Budd by TKO (Elbows & Punches) at 2:32 of round one. She improves to 4-2-0.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)