Bec Hyatt Now To Face Carla Esparza In Invicta FC 4 HeadlinerAfter Claudia Gadelha withdrew from the Invicta Fighting Championships 4 main event this morning, Australia’s Bec “Rowdy” Hyatt has stepped in on short notice to face Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza for the Invicta FC Strawweight Championship. MMAWeekly.com first reported the change.

Hyatt was previously scheduled to face Joanne Calderwood in a featured bout on the January 5th card, but accepted the fight with Esparza after other potential opponents turned it down. Calderwood will remain on the card and is now set to face off against Austrian striker Livia “T-Rex” von Plettenberg.

Hyatt (4-1-0) has yet to compete for Invicta FC, but she is already one of the promotion’s most popular fighters. The 23-year-old is currently riding a four-fight winning streak and has only been to a decision one time in her career. She has struggled to find opponents in her home country of Australia, however, and has endured last-minute changes on more than one occasion. Hyatt will now take a big step up in competition to face Esparza (8-2-0), who has already battled some of the sport’s top female fighters at 115 pounds and has totalled victories in five of her past six bouts.

Calderwood (4-0-0) was initially offered a chance to step into the title bout with Esparza after Gadelha withdrew due to injury, but she opted to remain focused on her fight with Hyatt, whom she had been training to face for the past six weeks. However, with Hyatt moved into the main event spot, Calderwood now faces von Plettenberg (1-0-0), a well-rounded fighter with a strong background in kickboxing and jiu-jitsu who won her pro MMA debut by first-round TKO in June. The 115-pound bout is expected to remain on the main card and serves as von Plettenberg’s North American MMA debut.

Invicta Fighting Championships 4 takes place on January 5, 2013 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The event will air live on Internet Pay-Per-View on the promotion’s official website.

 

Invicta Fighting Championships 4 Fight Card (subject to change):

– Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza vs Bec “Rowdy” Hyatt [Invicta FC Strawweight Title]
– Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler vs Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis [135 Pounds]
– Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith vs Raquel “Rocky” Pennington [135 Pounds]
– Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes vs Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio [135 Pounds]
– Ediene “India” Gomes vs Hiroko “Cat’s Eye” Yamanaka [145 Pounds]
– Joanne Calderwood vs Livia “T-Rex” von Plettenberg [115 Pounds]

– Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto vs “Sassy” Cassie Rodish [105 Pounds]
– Tamikka “Boom Boom” Brents vs Amanda “The Lady Killer” Bell [145 Pounds]
– “Lightning” Liz McCarthy vs Jodie Esquibel [105 Pounds]
– Emily Kagan vs Rose “The Riveter” Namajunas [115 Pounds]
– Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres vs “12 Gauge” Paige VanZant [115 Pounds]
– Katalina Malungahu vs Veronica “The Heartbreaker” Rothenhausler [145 Pounds]
– Laura Marcusse vs Cassie Robb [105 Pounds]

 

  1. Mmm… I think Carla will be too much for Bec Ryatt. Still, looking forward to seeing this fight.

    Just watched some Paige VanZant fights. She seems to be a sweet girl, but I think Tecia Torres will be too aggressive for her as well.