Kaufman Injured, Young vs Smith Rematch Set For Invicta FC 3An injury has forced former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Sarah Kaufman out of her bout with fellow striker Kaitlin Young at Invicta Fighting Championships 3 on October 6th in Kansas City, Kansas. Young now faces Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith in a rematch from Invicta FC 1.

Smith’s original opponent on the card, “Killer” Kim Connor-Hamby, is now set to face late replacement opponent Raquel “Rocky” Pennington, who has won back-to-back fights and earned an impressive Unanimous Decision victory at Invicta FC 2. Connor-Hamby is unbeaten in her MMA career.

Young (7-6-1) and Smith (3-2-1) engaged in an action-packed Fight of the Night battle at Invicta FC 1 that ultimately ended in a Split Draw when the cageside judges were unable to determine a winner. Young made a quick return to the cage on the second Invicta FC card in July and started strong before falling victim to a second-round rear-naked choke from former Strikeforce title challenger Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche. Six of her seven wins have come by way of knockout. Smith is a talented striker in her own right and put on arguably the best performance of her career in the bout with Young. An injury kept Smith off of the Invicta FC 2 card, but she is now recovered and plans to take a big step towards title contention with a win over Young in the October rematch.

Connor-Hamby (4-0-0) is a skilled boxer who has finished three of her four MMA opponents with strikes. She most recently earned a hard-fought decision win in April 2010, but has not fought since then due to the birth of her child. Despite returning from the lengthy layoff, Connor-Hamby she could make an instant impact on the bantamweight division if she can upset the surging Pennington (3-1-0). At just 24 years of age, Pennington has already fought 12 times during her MMA career. After amassing a solid 7-1 amateur record, Pennington has posted wins in three of her four pro bouts. She handed Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras her first professional loss at Invicta FC 2 and most recently submitted Raquel Pa’aluhi at Destiny MMA: “Na Koa” earlier this month.

The nature of Kaufman’s injury was not disclosed, but she stated today that she hopes to return to action as quickly as possible.

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 (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]
– Kaitlin Young vs Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith [135 Pounds]
– Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak vs Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly [125 Pounds]
– Tara LaRosa vs Vanessa Porto [125 Pounds]
– Raquel “Rocky” Pennington vs “Killer” Kim Connor-Hamby [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]
– Ediane “India” Gomes vs Katalina Malungahu [145 Pounds]

 

 

(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, Strikeforce)

  1. 🙁

  2. Good recovery, Sarah! Huge fan here!