Bantamweight contenders Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio and Lauren Taylor will meet in a featured main card matchup at Invicta Fighting Championships 6 on July 13th in Kansas City, Missouri. The D’Alelio-Taylor bout is one of many new fights that were announced for the card earlier this evening.
Also on the Invicta FC 6 main card, unbeaten rising stars Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood and Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha will face off in a strawweight contender’s bout. Calderwood is 2-0 in the Invicta FC cage. Gadelha makes her promotional debut after an injury forced her off of the Invicta FC 4 card.
D’Alelio (7-3-0) was a part of each of the first four Invicta FC cards. She scored submission victories over Vanessa Mariscal and Vanessa Porto to set up a showdown with fellow grappler Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler in October, but D’Alelio’s winning streak was halted by a second-round rear-naked choke from the savvy veteran. At Invicta FC 4 in January, D’Alelio stepped back into the cage and dominated former Strikeforce contender Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes en route to a lopsided Unanimous Decision win.
Taylor (6-0-0) began her career in the featherweight division and won a pair of championship titles in her home state of Alaska. She recently relocated and now splits her time between her home in Florida and primary gym in Texas. Stepping in on short notice, Taylor mauled Jennifer “Superstar” Scott for a brutal first-round TKO win at Legacy FC 18 in March. She then replaced an injured Amanda Nunes and upset veteran striker Kaitlin Young at Invicta FC 5 earlier this month. The victory over Young vaulted Taylor into bantamweight contender status.
Calderwood (6-0-0) is one of MMA’s premier female strikers and she is arguably the top standup fighter at 115 pounds. The multi-time Muay Thai champion, who holds a 19-2 Muay Thai record, won three straight MMA bouts leading into her Invicta FC debut in October when she stopped the previously unbeaten Ashley “Smashley” Cummins to take home Knockout of the Night honours. She outpointed late replacement Livia “T-Rex” von Plettenberg at Invicta FC 4 and most recently stopped “Slick” Sally Krumdiack in her home country of Scotland at Cage Warriors 53.
Gadelha (9-0-0), a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has finished seven of her nine opponents to date. She earned her first TKO stoppage in September and had planned to make her Invicta FC debut in January against Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza for the inaugural Invicta FC strawweight title. However, an accident in training left Gadelha with a broken nose and she was forced to withdraw from the fight on short notice. She must now get past Calderwood in order to get back into Invicta FC title contention.
Invicta Fighting Championships 6 takes place on July 13th at the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. The event is headlined by a pair of championship fights.
Invicta Fighting Championships 6 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Marloes “Rumina” Coenen vs Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino [Invicta FC Featherweight Championship]
– Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza vs Ayaka Hamasaki [Invicta FC Strawweight Championship]
– Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio vs Lauren Taylor
– Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith vs TBD
– Jessica Penne vs Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc
– Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood vs Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha
– Ediane “India” Gomes vs Julia “The Jewel” Budd
– Bec “Rowdy” Hyatt vs Mizuki Inoue
– “The Queen of Mean” Miriam Nakamoto vs “Diamond” Duda Yankovich
– “Thug” Rose Namajunas vs Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres
– Ashley “Smashley” Cummins vs Emily Kagan
– “Miss” Mollie Estes vs Veronica “The Heartbreaker” Rothenhausler
– “Fancy” Laura Sanko vs Livia “T-Rex” von Plettenberg
(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)