Invicta FC Flyweight Champion Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak makes the first defence of her new title on December 7th at Invicta Fighting Championships 7 in Kansas City, Missouri. Honchak is set to face off against fast-rising star Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith in a five-round championship fight.
Invicta FC officials announced the title bout today. Honchak became Invicta FC’s first 125-pound champion in April when she defeated Vanessa Porto at Invicta FC 5. She has won seven straight bouts. Smith made a successful flyweight debut at Invicta FC 6 in July when she defeated Jennifer Maia.
Honchak (8-2-0) rose up the women’s flyweight rankings with four straight victories against formidable opponents in 2011. The streak included notable wins over recent Invicta FC signee Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig and former Strikeforce title challenger Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi. This past year, Honchak debuted for Invicta FC and scored back-to-back wins over Bethany Marshall and Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly. On April 5th, she stepped back into the cage and captured the inaugural Invicta FC Flyweight Championship by defeating Porto in a back-and-forth five-round battle.
Smith (6-3-1) brought a 3-2 record into her Invicta FC debut on the promotion’s inaugural card in April 2012. She engaged in a spirited three-round war with Kaitlin Young that ended in a Split Draw. Many observers felt that Smith had won the fight, and she left nothing to chance when she stopped Young in a rematch at Invicta FC 3. After defeating Raquel “Rocky” Pennington in early January, Smith dropped a razor-thin Split Decision to former Strikeforce champ Sarah Kaufman. The loss led Smith to move down to 125 pounds and the three-time Fight of the Night winner outpointed Maia at Invicta FC 6.
Invicta Fighting Championships 7 takes place on December 7th at Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
Invicta Fighting Championships 7 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak vs Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith [Invicta FC Flyweight Title]
– Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza vs Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha [Invicta FC Strawweight Title]
– Lauren Murphy vs “The Queen of Mean” Miriam Nakamoto [Invicta FC Bantamweight Title]
– Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig vs Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres
– Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood vs Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää
– Julia “The Jewel” Budd vs Charmaine “Not So Sweet” Tweet
– Vanessa Porto vs Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto Gurgel
– Kelly “Blood Red” Kobold vs Tonya “Triple Threat” Evinger
– Munah “The Perfect Storm” Holland vs Nina “The Strina” Ansaroff
(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)