Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc To Face Cassie Rodish At Invicta FC 5Top atomweight contenders Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc and “Sassy” Cassie Rodish will meet in a featured main card matchup at Invicta Fighting Championships 5 on April 5th in Kansas City, Missouri. Invicta FC officials announced plans for the 105-pound bout earlier today.

Rivera-Calanoc and Rodish are both coming off of impressive victories in their most recent fights. Rivera-Calanoc earned a clear-cut Unanimous Decision win over “South Valley’s Own” Angelica Chavez at Invicta FC 2 in July. Rodish stopped Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto at Invicta FC 4.

Rivera-Calanoc (8-6-0) spent much of the early portion of her career competing at 125 pounds and captured the Freestyle Cage Fighting women’s flyweight title in 2008. After losing the belt in late 2009, she dropped down in weight and eventually found a home in the atomweight division this past year. Rivera-Calanoc’s 105-pound debut came at Invicta FC 1 when she engaged in a competitive battle with veteran striker Amy “Lil’ Dynamite” Davis before falling victim to a Kimura late in the second round. She got back on track with her biggest win to date by defeating Chavez three months later.

Rodish (4-3-0) also began her career competing at higher weights and suffered tough losses in each of her first three fights. Since September 2011, however, Rodish has won four straight fights and all four victories have come inside the distance. She made her Invicta FC debut on the promotion’s inaugural card and submitted Meghan “The Babe” Wright in just 36 seconds, then followed that up with a win over former amateur standout Summer Artherton at Midwest Cage Championship 43 in October. Rodish returned to Invicta FC this past month and scored a big win by defeating Frausto via third-round TKO.

Both fighters have their sights set on continuing to climb closer to a shot at the Invicta FC Atomweight Championship and the winner of the April matchup will join a short list of contenders for the title.

Invicta Fighting Championships 5 takes place on April 5th and is targeted for the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. The event is headlined by an Invicta FC Atomweight Championship bout between champion Jessica Penne and Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson. The inaugural Invicta FC Flyweight Championship is up for grabs when Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak battles Vanessa Porto.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)

  1. Glad to see The Night Queen back in action and can’t wait to see her fight live again at IFC5 on April 5th! Proud to sponsor and call Nic a friend. #BabesofMMA