Invicta FC 23 Results: Flyweights Niedźwiedź & Modafferi Score Big WinsPolish standout Agnieszka “Kuma” Niedźwiedź stayed unbeaten and made a strong case for a future flyweight title shot tonight at Invicta Fighting Championships 23 in Kansas City, Missouri. Niedźwiedź edged out former two-time Invicta FC title challenger Vanessa Porto in tonight’s main event.

Niedźwiedź was not the only flyweight to pick up an impressive victory on the main card tonight. In the Invicta FC 23 co-feature, Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi put forth arguably the best performance of her career in a thrilling third-round TKO triumph over Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio.

 

Niedźwiedź (10-0-0) overcame early punches and leg kicks from Porto (18-8-0) in round one and took the fight to the mat, but the veteran Porto countered with a guillotine choke. Niedźwiedź returned to her feet and this time it was Porto who countered a takedown with a guillotine from the bottom. The fighters stood and Niedźwiedź, who appeared to be moments away from losing the round, scored a big takedown into side control. She landed some nice elbows and threatened with an Anaconda Choke that appeared to seal the round in her favour in the dying seconds.

Round two was another good one for the Polish fighter, who scored with a head kick early on and shot in for a takedown. Porto reversed into top position, but Niedźwiedź framed up a triangle choke from the bottom and she spent the remainder of the round chaining together submissions. Porto rallied back in round three with punches and leg kicks, but Niedźwiedź caught a kick and took her down. Porto battled back up and finished the round with flurries of punches, but it proved to be too little, too late.

Judges Henry Gueary, Ross Swanberg and Kevin Champion all scored the fight 29-28 for Niedźwiedź, who kept her unblemished record intact and likely earned herself a shot at the Invicta FC Flyweight Championship, provided that she does not go directly to the UFC.

 

In the co-main event, Modafferi (21-13-0) survived early danger and dominated the remainder of the fight with D’Alelio (11-7-0) en route to the only stoppage on tonight’s card.

D’Alelio hurt Modafferi with the first punch of the fight, but Modafferi recovered and she floored D’Alelio soon after with a lunging four-punch flurry. D’Alelio survived and tied her up on the ground, but Modafferi took her back and threatened with a pair of armbars. It was more of the same in round two, and Modafferi threatened again with rear-naked chokes and armbars after knocking an off-balance D’Alelio to the canvas. She later switched to a triangle choke and closed out the round with punches and elbows from mount and back control.

Modafferi remained aggressive in round three and she stunned D’Alelio with a flurry early on. D’Alelio retreated and Modafferi took her down into mount. She dropped elbows from the top that opened a huge gash on D’Alelio’s forehead, and the fight was stopped. The official time of Modafferi’s TKO victory came at the 1:37 mark of round three. She has won four of her past five fights, with three of those victories ending inside the distance.

 

Former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Hérica Tibúrcio (11-4-0) made it two in a row with a hard-fought Split Decision victory over a game Tessa “The Typhoon” Simpson (5-2-0). The first round belonged to Simpson, who scored takedowns and attacked with submission attempts on the ground. Tibúrcio took control of the fight with takedowns and top control in round two, and she impressed the judges with another takedown and an arm-triangle choke in round three. One judge had the fight 29-28 for Simpson, but the remaining two both saw it 29-28 for Tibúrcio, who took the win.

In a would-be antamweight bout, Kelly Faszholz (4-2-0) cruised to victory over fellow UFC veteran Elizabeth Phillips (6-6-0), who weighed in more than four pounds over the limit. The majority of the fight was contested in the clinch, where Faszholz pursued takedowns and scored with short punches and knees. Phillips secured a takedown of her own in round three, but Faszholz countered nicely with an armbar and a heel hook. All three judges had the fight 30-27 for Faszholz, who walked away with a clear-cut Unanimous Decision victory.

Highly-touted flyweight prospect Andrea “KGB” Lee (7-2-0) notched her third straight win with a Split Decision verdict over Liz “The Titan” Tracy (3-2-0). The first round featured scrambles on the ground and both women threatened with submissions. Lee tried for an armbar after taking Tracy’s back and she finished the round on top. Lee stuffed most of Tracy’s takedowns in round two and won the striking exchanges, but Tracy got a takedown in round three that led to a keylock attempt from side control. Official scores were 29-28 for Tracy, and 30-27 and 29-28 for Lee.

Battle-tested veteran Ediane “India” Gomes (11-4-0) made a successful return to action with a Split Decision victory over Pam “Bam” Sorenson (5-2-0) at featherweight. Gomes mounted Sorenson and battered her with punches and hammerfists in round one, and she rocked her with a combination on the feet early in the second stanza. Sorenson’s best success came in round three, as she landed combinations and secured a takedown, but it was not quite enough to steal back the fight. While one judge scored the fight 29-28 for Sorenson, the remaining two both had it 29-28 for Gomes.

Multi-time Muay Thai champion Tiffany “Tiembomb” Van Soest (1-2-0) at last picked up her first pro MMA win with a narrow Unanimous Decision victory over Christine “Misfit” Ferea (1-1-0) at strawweight. Van Soest edged out round one by mixing up her strikes with kicks, punches and standing elbows. She easily won round two on the feet, but Ferea rallied in a big way with a dominant third round that saw her fight through Van Soest’s submissions en route to mounting her and landing hard ground and pound. It was not enough, however, and scores were 29-28 thrice for Van Soest.

Opening up the card, Shaianna “Yaya” Rincón (1-0-0) made a successful debut by outpointing Brooksie “The Bear” Bayard (1-2-0) in bantamweight action. Rincón took round one after reversing a clinch and taking Bayard down into back control. She stunned Bayard with punches and elbows on the feet in round two, and Bayard’s face began to swell up as a result. Rincón landed more solid shots on the feet in round three, but Bayard closed out the round with her best punches of the fight. The bout went to the judges and scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Rincón.

Full play-by-play for all bouts on the Invicta FC 23 card can be found here.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Invicta Fighting Championships)