Invicta Fighting Championships showcased its latest all-female card tonight at Police Athletic League in Kansas City, Kansas. Invicta FC 40 featured a strawweight contender’s bout between recent title challenger Emily “Gordinha” Ducote and veteran Brazilian standout Juliana “Ju Thai” Lima.

In the atomweight co-feature, Alesha “Half Pint” Zappitella looked to move one step closer to a title shot when she battled fellow contender Lindsey “Damsel” VanZandt, who returned for her fourth Invicta FC appearance. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s Invicta FC 40 card.

Emily “Gordinha” Ducote vs Juliana “Ju Thai” Lima

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Marcio Laselva. Ducote established her jab right away and both women landed quick leg kicks. Lima countered one of Ducote’s kicks with a brief clinch, but Ducote circled out and she continued to throw quick strikes. Lima landed a hard right hand and she followed with a one-two that backed Ducote up momentarily. In a clinch against the cage, Lima landed two knees and she chased after Ducote with a kick-punch combo. An exchange of right hands followed and Ducote looked for a late takedown, but Lima stayed on her feet. Close opening round. 10-9 Lima.

Round 2:
Lima opened the second round with a combination and Ducote countered with two lead left hooks. Ducote clinched and threw right hands over the top, but Lima broke free and landed a hard right cross to the jaw. Ducote flurried with punches and finished with a leg kick while avoiding lunging punches from Lima, and the fighters clinched against the cage. Ducote landed two knees to the body before backing away and both women connected with short right hands. Lima snapped Ducote’s head back with a stinging one-two and Ducote took her down into side control. Lima threw elbows from the bottom and Ducote passed to mount. She landed three hard elbows and Lima scrambled back to full guard. She kicked Ducote off and stood up before the bell. Another close round. 10-9 Ducote.

Round 3:
Ducote remained aggressive in the final round and she pressed forward with combinations before clinching with Lima against the cage. Lima escaped from the clinch and landed a solid right hand that led to an exchange of punches. Ducote backed Lima up with long jabs and a lead left hook. She tagged Lima with a nice one-two and Lima began to bleed from a cut on her cheek that was opened at the end of round two. Ducote landed a big right hand with just over one minute remaining and she used a follow-up combination to set up a takedown into Lima’s guard. Lima kicked her off and stood up. She tried for a takedown of her own, but Ducote stuffed it and the fighters traded jabs before the end of the fight. 10-9 Ducote.

Winner: Emily Ducote by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 9-6-0.

Alesha “Half Pint” Zappitella vs Lindsey “Damsel” VanZandt

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Nick Berens. VanZandt chased after Zapptella and the fighters briefly exchanged punches before Zappitella shot in and took VanZandt down. VanZandt kicked her off and the fighters rose to their feet, where VanZandt landed two right hands and Zappitella clinched again. She got VanZandt down into side control and threw elbows and shoulder strikes to VanZandt’s face. VanZandt regained guard momentarily, but Zappitella passed to the side again and she landed more short strikes. VanZandt scrambled and kicked her off late in the round, and the fighters stood shortly before the bell. 10-9 Zappitella.

Round 2:
VanZandt stuffed one takedown in the second round, but Zappitella got her down on her second try and she once again worked from the top in side control. Zappitella landed elbows to VanZandt’s face and prevented her from regaining guard. VanZandt eventually got back to half-guard and kicked Zappitella off, which led to both fighters standing up. VanZandt flurried with punches, but Zappitella caught a kick and dumped her to the mat. She was unable to hold VanZandt down for long and the fighters stood. VanZandt landed a nice right cross and she followed with a second one soon after that snapped Zappitella’s head back. VanZandt stuffed a late takedown, but she lost her balance and Zappitella took top position. 10-9 Zappitella.

Round 3:
Zappitella caught a kick and tried to take VanZandt down early in round three, but VanZandt pulled her leg free and the fight remained on the feet. Zappitella was able to drag VanZandt down against the fence and VanZandt countered by taking her back. Zappitella immediately spun and she took top position in side control following a scramble. VanZandt pushed off of the cage and kicked Zappitella off twice. Back on the feet, VanZandt threw a kick to the upper body and a hard knee to Zappitella’s face. Zappitella got her down and VanZandt tried for a late triangle choke. The fighters stood and VanZandt landed a jumping knee before the bell. Very close final round. 10-9 VanZandt due to damage.

Winner: Alesha Zappitella by Split Decision (30-27, 29-27, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 7-2-0, 1 ND.

Chelsea Chandler vs Olivia “Phoenix” Parker

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Marcio Laselva. Chandler was very aggressive with her punches early on and she scored with a combination and a hard left hook to the body. Another flurry landed for Chandler and she dropped Parker with an overhand left. Parker rolled over and Chandler quickly took her back, then locked on a rear-naked choke that forced Parker to submit.

Winner: Chelsea Chandler by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:05 of round one. She improves to 3-1-0.

Trisha Cicero vs Laura “La Jefa” Gallardo

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Nick Berens. Gallardo immediately rushed forward and tried for a takedown, but Cicero stuffed it and she landed a combination before circling away. Gallardo got her down on her second try and Cicero worked her way back up against the cage. The fighters separated and Gallardo landed a body kick. Cicero responded with three quick punches and she was promptly taken back down. Cicero worked her way up against the cage again and she broke free from Gallardo’s grasp. She struck from a distance with single punches and front kicks, and fought off a Gallardo clinch attempt late in the round. 10-9 Gallardo.

Round 2:
Cicero used jabs to set up an uppercut early in the second round and Gallardo replied with a body kick. Cicero remained the aggressor with her strikes until Gallardo took her down. Cicero was able to scramble back up and both women landed short punches in close before separating. Cicero continued to use her jab to set up kicks and right hands, and she knocked Gallardo off-balance with a leg kick late in the round. Gallardo took her down just before the bell. 10-9 Cicero.

Round 3:
Cicero flurried with punches in the early stages of round three and she thwarted a takedown attempt from Gallardo. Cicero continued to find success with leg kicks, but Gallardo countered with a combination and faked a takedown attempt. As Gallardo threw a leg kick, Cicero cracked her with a quick one-two. Gallardo clinched after Cicero landed two side kicks and the fighters battled in a clinch against the cage. Cicero circled out and she fought off a single-leg takedown attempt from Gallardo seconds later. Two right hands landed for Cicero and Gallardo dove at her ankle with a final takedown attempt. 10-9 Cicero.

Winner: Trisha Cicero by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 4-3-0.

Genia Goodin vs Shelby Koren

Round 1:
Referee for this bout is Marcio Laselva. Goodin secured an early takedown and she fought off a Koren armbar attempt by slamming her and transitioning to a top-side armbar of her own. A scramble ensued and Goodin continued to try for the armbar, but Koren avoided danger and the fighters stood up. Koren jumped into a flying guillotine choke and she almost took Goodin’s back. Goodin spun and pushed Koren down to the mat. Koren immediately attacked with a triangle choke and then a belly-down armbar. She switched back to a triangle choke again, but Goodin broke free. In the final seconds, Koren went for a kneebar and Goodin made it to the bell. 10-9 Koren.

Round 2:
Goodin took the fight to the ground again in round two, but a stalemate followed and Goodin stood over Koren. She kicked at her legs and Koren rose to her feet. The pace slowed as the fighters exchanged occasional leg kicks and kept their distance. Koren landed a quick flurry with 90 seconds remaining in the round and Goodin immediately took her back. She dragged her down to the mat and moved to mount. From the top, Goodin landed punches and attempted a mounted triangle choke. She lost the position and Koren took her back. She went belly-down with an armbar attempt in the final seconds, but Goodin escaped. Close round. 10-9 Goodin.

Round 3:
The final round began with an exchange of punches and front kicks, and Koren followed with a kick to the liver. More punches landed for both women and Koren backed Goodin up. Both women landed leg kicks and Koren punched her way into a clinch. Both women landed knees to the body as they battled for position against the cage. Koren tried to take Goodin down with a headlock throw, but Goodin reversed it and she mounted Koren on the ground. Goodin punched from the top until Koren scrambled free and took her back. Goodin escaped and stood up. Koren followed and she briefly held back control. Goodin shrugged her off and both women landed punches late in the round. 10-9 Goodin.

Winner: Genia Goodin by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 2-0-0.