Invicta Fighting Championships has added 15 new fighters to its roster as the all-female promotion prepares to hold its eighth fight card later this year. The group of newly-signed athletes includes TUF 18 competitors Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi and Peggy “The Daywalker” Morgan.
News of the roster additions was announced on Friday’s edition of Inside MMA. The new signings include fighters in all five of Invicta FC’s current weight classes, ranging from 105 to 145 pounds. Invicta FC 8 is targeted for April, though an exact date and location have not yet been announced.
Two of the biggest names in Friday’s announcement, Modafferi (15-11-0) and Morgan (2-1-0), are fresh off of stints on the historic 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter. While both women were eliminated from the competition during their time in the TUF house, both took part in the TUF 18 Finale on November 30th. Modafferi engaged in a competitive bout with prospect Raquel “Rocky” Pennington, but ultimately dropped a close Unanimous Decision. Morgan was outpointed by Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke in another featured main card matchup.
For Modafferi, who is dropping back down to 125 pounds to compete in Invicta FC’s flyweight division, securing a victory in her promotional debut will be crucial. The popular veteran has dropped six straight fights, but a recent move back to the United States has yielded significant improvements to her training and skills. Morgan, a former featherweight, will remain in the bantamweight division when she competes for Invicta FC. The 6’1″ Morgan owns a key win over Revelina “Nana” Berto from this past March.
Rounding out the bantamweight additions to Invicta FC’s roster, the promotion has signed one-time featherweight contender Cindy “Battlecat” Dandois (5-1-0) and devastating knockout artist Irene Aldana (3-1-0). Belgium’s Dandois makes her return to action for the first time in more than three years. She holds big wins over former Strikeforce champion Marloes “Rumina” Coenen and UFC veteran Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff, and has recently begun training with Miesha “Cupcake” Tate. Aldana, an explosive striker from Mexico, destroyed her first three opponents in a matter of seconds and she now looks to rebound from her first professional defeat.
Joining Modafferi in the Invicta FC flyweight division is unbeaten Polish prospect Joanna Jędrzejczyk (4-0-0), Canadian veteran Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau (4-3-0) and former multi-time amateur champion Rachael Ostovich (0-1-0). Jędrzejczyk, a skilled striker, is coming off of her biggest win to date when she defeated Julia Berezikova in June. Létourneau, who lost to Modafferi in the TUF 18 elimination round, last fought officially in April 2012 when she was narrowly outpointed by Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha. Ostovich captured three titles during her 6-0 amateur career in Hawaii, but dropped her pro debut to Jennifer Liou this past month.
Invicta FC’s featherweight and atomweight divisions each received one new addition with the recent signings. At 145 pounds, unbeaten Storm MMA champion Faith Van Duin (4-0-0) looks to jump right into title contendership. The New Zealander captured the Storm MMA title in August by defeating three opponents in one night. At 105 pounds, fast-rising prospect Amber “The Bully” Brown (3-1-0) brings momentum into her Invicta FC debut after defeating former top Japanese contender Kikuyo Ishikawa in July. The New Mexico native’s lone defeat came in a short-notice fight at 115 pounds against WSOF signee Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino.
As expected, Invicta FC’s most talent-rich division, the 115-pound strawweight class, received the highest number of new additions. With most of the promotion’s top 115-pound talent sent to the UFC to compete on TUF 20 later this year, Invicta FC needed to bring in new prospects in order to develop a wave of future stars.
The strawweight additions include undefeated fighters Livia “Livinha” Renata Souza (5-0-0) and Karolina Kowalkiewicz (4-0-0), who are two of the division’s most promising newcomers. Renata Souza earned all five of her pro wins in 2013 and she submitted her opponents in all but one bout. KSW champion Kowalkiewicz captured the title with a quick submission victory over Marta Chojnoska in June. She most recently defeated late-replacement opponent Simona Soukupova in September and is already set to defend her KSW belt against Jasminka “Impressive” Cive in May.
Elsewhere at 115, grappling ace Hérica Tibúrcio (7-2-0) makes her North American debut and brings along six submission victories including a key win over highly-touted prospect Kinberly Novaes. Dutch striking sensation Mellony Geugjes (0-1-0), a K-1 world champion with a combined boxing and kickboxing record of 28-5-2, seeks her first MMA win when she joins the Invicta FC roster this year.
Former amateur standouts Delaney “Lil’ Scrappy” Owen (1-0-0) and Ashley “Doll Face” Greenway (0-0-0) round out the announced signings. Owen went 7-2 in the amateur ranks and kicked off her pro career by winning the Sugar Creek Showdown women’s flyweight title this past month. Greenway was 5-1 as an amateur, with her lone defeat coming against unbeaten star Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres.
Invicta Fighting Championships 8 is targeted for April and may mark the promotion’s first foray outside of the Kansas City area. Event announcements are expected to be made in the coming weeks.