An untimely injury has forced unbeaten rising star Cat “Alpha” Zingano off of the upcoming Invicta Fighting Championships 1 card on April 28th in Kansas City, Kansas. MMARising.com confirmed the news with a source close to the promotion today. The nature of Zingano’s injury is currently unknown.
Zingano was scheduled to face XFL champion Anita “El Tigre” Rodriguez in a bantamweight clash on the inaugural Invicta FC card. The bout has been scrapped entirely and the all-female event will now proceed with 11 fights. Rodriguez may still compete in the event of another main card injury.
Zingano (6-0-0) had planned a return to 135 pounds for her Invicta FC debut and was seen as a potential top contender in the event that the promotion institutes a bantamweight championship in the coming months. Her first fight under the Invicta FC banner will have to wait, however, and a timetable for her return is not yet known. Rodriguez (5-2-0) has won five of her past six fights and had looked to capture the biggest victory of her career against Zingano, but she too must wait for another opportunity.
At present, Rodriguez is no longer scheduled to compete at Invicta FC 1, but MMARising.com has learned that she may still be on-hand in Kansas City in the event that another bantamweight fighter suffers an injury. The sophomore Invicta FC event is currently targeted for July and Rodriguez will likely compete on that card against an opponent to be determined.
Invicta Fighting Championships 1 takes place on April 28th at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.
Tim Peterson contributed to this report.
Invicta Fighting Championships 1 Fight Card (subject to change):
– Marloes “Rumina” Coenen vs Romy Ruyssen
– Jessica Penne vs Lisa Ellis-Ward
– Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche vs Ashleigh Curry
– Kaitlin Young vs Leslie Smith
– Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio vs Shana “Rock Solid” Nelson
– “Slick” Sally Krumdiack vs Sarah “White Tiger” Schneider
– Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc vs Amy “Lil’ Dynamite” Davis
– Michele “Diablita” Gutierrez vs Sarah Maloy
– Randi Miller vs “Miss” Mollie Ahlers-Estes
– Ashley “Smashley” Cummins vs Sofia Bagherdai
– Jessica Philippus vs Meghan “The Babe” Wright
That sucks, although it’s still a stacked card. Zingano is better fighting at 125 anyway though. Invicta should hold a tournament at that weight.