A back injury has forced Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc out of a planned atomweight bout against “Sassy” Cassie Rodish at Invicta Fighting Championships 5 on April 5th in Kansas City, Missouri. England’s Simona Soukupova has stepped in to face Rodish on the event’s preliminary card.
MMARising.com confirmed details of the change this past weekend and Invicta FC officials announced the revised bout today. Soukupova is coming off of a first-round submission win in November. Rodish is riding a four-fight winning streak that includes two victories inside the Invicta FC cage.
Soukupova (3-2-1) makes her atomweight debut on the Invicta FC 5 card after previously campaigning in the 115-pound strawweight division. She earned stoppage wins in each of her first two fights before stepping up to face Spanish prospect Karla Benitez in 2011. Benitez prevailed via Unanimous Decision and Soukupova dropped a second straight fight to top-ranked contender Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig at XFC 19 in August, but put on a strong showing in defeat. Soukupova made a quick return to action and battled unbeaten Finnish standout Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää to a Split Draw in arguably her most impressive performance to date. She then closed out 2012 with a quick submission win.
Rodish (4-3-0) also opted to make the move down to the atomweight division after encountering mixed success while competing at higher weights. The move has paid off and the Iowa native is now one of the top 105-pound competitors on the Invicta FC roster. Rodish debuted for the promotion on its inaugural card this past April and submitted Meghan Wright with a guillotine choke in just 36 seconds. The fight was the first bout ever promoted under the Invicta FC banner. Since then, Rodish has posted two more stoppage victories. She is coming off of her biggest win to date, a third-round TKO of rising prospect Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto, at Invicta FC 4 in January.
In addition, an Invicta FC 5 bantamweight bout between River “Ruckus” Jones (6-0-0 amateur) and Lauren Barefoot (1-0-0) has been postponed due to a Jones injury. The fight will likely take place at Invicta FC 6 in July.
Invicta Fighting Championships 5 takes place on April 5th at the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. The event is headlined by a pair of championship fights.
Invicta Fighting Championships 5 Fight Card (subject to change):
– Jessica Penne vs Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson [Invicta FC Atomweight Championship]
– Vanessa Porto vs Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak [Invicta FC Flyweight Championship]
– Ediane “India” Gomes vs Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
– Sarah Kaufman vs Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith
– Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel vs Jennifer Maia
– Kaitlin Young vs Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes
– Julia “The Jewel” Budd vs Fiona Muxlow
– Bec “Rowdy” Hyatt vs Jasminka Cive
– “Sassy” Cassie Rodish vs Simona Soukupova
– Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke vs Miriam Nakamoto
– Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää vs Juliana “Ju Thai” Carneiro Lima
– Veronica “The Heartbreaker” Rothenhausler vs “Miss” Mollie Estes
– Alex Chambers vs Jodie Esquibel
– “Thug” Rose Namajunas vs Kathina “Kill Switch” Catron
(Photo Credit: Fabio Liguori)