After an ankle injury delayed her return to action, Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino steps back into the cage on February 27th at Invicta Fighting Championships 11 in Los Angeles, California. The hard-hitting Justino defends against Charmaine “Not So Sweet” Tweet.

The Invicta FC 11 strawweight co-feature pits undefeated Mexican knockout artist Alexa Grasso against highly-touted Japanese prospect Mizuki Inoue. Grasso is 2-0 inside the Invicta FC cage. Inoue most recently dropped a razor-thin decision to KSW champ Karolina Kowalkiewicz at Invicta FC 9.

Justino (12-1-0, 1 ND) made her much-anticipated debut for Invicta FC in April 2013 and mauled an overmatched Fiona Muxlow en route to a first-round TKO triumph. Three months later, she stopped former Strikeforce rival Marloes “Rumina” Coenen for a second time to become the inaugural Invicta FC Featherweight Champion. She has not competed in MMA since then, and a brief plan to drop down to the 135-pound bantamweight division was scrapped in December following her injury. She remains at 145 pounds and looks to retain her Invicta FC title with another dominant win.

Tweet (6-4-0) transitioned from Muay Thai to MMA in mid-2011 and dropped her pro debut to current UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. Her second bout ended in a brutal 18-second knockout loss to Anna “Smiles” Barone, but the Canadian striker has since won six of eight fights. She has showcased her underrated ground game by submitting her opponents in five of those wins. In her most recent fight, Tweet overwhelmed Veronica “The Heartbreaker” Rothenhausler for a first-round TKO victory at Invicta FC 8.

Grasso (6-0-0) began her pro career as a flyweight in her home country of Mexico, where she brutally knocked out three of her first four opponents and became the Xtreme Kombat Women’s Flyweight Champion. This past September, Grasso dropped down to 115 pounds for her Invicta FC debut and outpointed Ashley “Smashley” Cummins at Invicta FC 8. She made a quick return to the cage and handily dispatched of Alida Gray at Invicta FC 10 to move one step closer to a title shot.

Inoue (8-3-0) remains one of the most talented female fighters in Japan today, but she now finds herself in need of a big victory in order to get back into Invicta FC title contention. The two-time Shoot Boxing 53.5kg Girls S-Cup Champion and reigning Deep Jewels Lightweight Champion appeared to be one win away from an Invicta FC title shot until November, when she suffered a close and competitive decision loss to Kowalkiewicz at Invicta FC 9. She returns to Invicta FC to face off against Grasso in a battle between two of the division’s top strikers.

Elsewhere on the Invicta FC 11 main card, top flyweight contender DeAnna “The Argentine Assassin” Bennett (6-0-0) moves down to 115 pounds to face Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez (6-3-0). Bennett earned a contentious decision victory over Jennifer Maia at Invicta FC 10 and appeared to be next in line for a shot at the Invicta FC Flyweight Championship. Instead, she departs the division in search of a new challenge as a strawweight against Alvarez, who returned to MMA one year ago with a quick and impressive stoppage win over Amber “The Apex Predator” Stautzenberger.

Joining teammate Grasso on the card, Mexican striker Irene Aldana “Robles” (4-1-0) squares off against Melanie Lacroix (3-2-0) in a bantamweight matchup. Aldana captured the Xtreme Kombat Women’s Bantamweight Championship by winning a one-night tournament in October 2013. She rebounded from her first career loss later that year by destroying TUF 18 alum Peggy “The Daywalker” Morgan at Invicta FC 8. ShoXC veteran Lacroix took a lengthy hiatus from fighting before returning to MMA this past year. She went 1-1 in 2014 and most recently dropped a decision to Christina Marks.

Rounding out the eight-fight Invicta FC 11 card, former Tuff-N-Uff champion Jamie Moyle (1-0-0) meets J.J. Aldrich (1-0-0) in strawweight action. Brianna “Tha Bull” VanBuren (3-1-0) takes on Amy “The Resurrection” Cadwell Montenegro (5-1-0) in another featured fight at 115 pounds. In flyweight bouts, Christine Stanley (3-1-0) battles Emily “The Mantis Shrimp” Corso (4-0-0), and Kristi “Loba” Lopez (2-0-0) welcomes 19-year-old Aspen Ladd (0-0-0) to the professional ranks.

Invicta Fighting Championships 11 takes place on February 27th at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The title bout between Justino and Tweet headlines the all-female card.

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