Michelle Waterson vs Lacey Schuckman Agreed For Invicta FC 3Popular atomweight star Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson looks for her second victory of the year when she faces Lacey “The Ladie” Schuckman at Invicta Fighting Championships 3 on October 6th in Kansas City, Kansas. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the 105-pound matchup earlier today.

Waterson took a lengthy hiatus from fighting after the birth of her daughter in March 2011, but she returned with one of her most impressive performances to date against Diana “Dynamite” Rael in January. Schuckman makes the move down to atomweight in hopes of spoiling Waterson’s Invicta FC debut.

Waterson (9-3-0) first rose to fame as a member of the Muay Thai-themed Fight Girls reality show competition and she has since made the transition to a successful career in MMA. With wins in seven of her past eight fights, Waterson is one of the sport’s top female fighters under 115 pounds and she appears poised to make a run at the newly-created Invicta FC atomweight title next year. All but one of Waterson’s victories have come inside the distance and she needed just 2:12 to submit Rael in January despite a 21-month absence from competition. The karate and jiu-jitsu practitioner will solidify her spot among the top three at 105 pounds if she can get past fellow Colorado native Schuckman in October.

Schuckman (7-5-0) has moved back and forth between weight classes for many of her recent fights, but the strategy has worked out for the 24-year-old and she has totalled victories in four of her past seven bouts. Her lone losses during that time have come against 115-pound standouts Carla Esparza, “Little” Patricia Vidonic and, most recently, Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion Ayaka Hamasaki at Invicta FC 2. Schuckman took the bout with Hamasaki on very short notice and showed clear improvements in her defensive grappling, but ultimately fell victim to an armbar late in the fight. Though she may enter the bout with Waterson as an underdog, Schuckman could immediately get herself back on track and into contention if she can get past the Jackson’s MMA star.

Invicta Fighting Championships 3 takes place on October 6th at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The event is headlined by an Invicta FC Atomweight Championship bout between Jessica Penne and Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama.

 

Invicta Fighting Championships 3 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):

– Jessica Penne vs Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama [Atomweight (105-Pound) Championship]
– Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler vs Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio [135 Pounds]
– Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak vs Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly [125 Pounds]
– Tara LaRosa vs Vanessa Porto [125 Pounds]
– Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith vs Cat “Alpha” Zingano [135 Pounds]
– Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson vs Lacey “The Ladie” Schuckman [105 Pounds]
– Julia “The Jewel” Budd vs Elaina “Beef” Maxwell [145 Pounds]

– Carla Esparza vs Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez [115 Pounds]
– Ashley “Smashley” Cummins vs Joanne Calderwood [115 Pounds]
– Amy “Lil’ Dynamite” Davis vs Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto [105 Pounds]
– Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke vs Marciea “Black Widow” Allen [135 Pounds]
– Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres vs Kaiyana Rain [115 Pounds]
– Katalina Malungahu vs Taylor “No Mercy” Stratford [145 Pounds]