Invicta Fighting Championships will stage its inaugural all-female event on April 28th at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The night’s five-fight preliminary card is expected to be headlined by a 105-pound bout between Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc and Amy “Lil’ Dynamite” Davis.

Also announced for the card today was the long-awaited MMA debut of 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Randi Miller, who faces Mollie Ahlers-Estes. Top prospect Ashley “Smashley” Cummins battles the returning Sofia Bagherdai and Jessica Philippus makes her pro debut against Meghan Wright.

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A lightweight bout between contenders Evan Dunham and Edson Barboza has been added to UFC 146: “Dos Santos vs Overeem” on May 26th in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC President Dana White announced the matchup earlier today. Both fighters are coming off of stoppage victories in January.

Dunham had a rough start to his 2011 campaign and suffered a quick TKO loss to Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard, but he has now battled back with two wins to begin his climb back up the lightweight ranks. Barboza remains unbeaten and scored a highlight-reel knockout win at UFC 142.

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Rising star Jessica “Evil” Eye won for the third straight time tonight in a featured 125-pound women’s bout at North American Allied Fight Series: “Caged Vengeance 10” in Cleveland, Ohio. Eye outstruck one-time NAAFS title challenger Kelly Warren en route to a Unanimous Decision victory.

Tonight’s win could set up a rematch between Eye and current NAAFS women’s champion Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly later this year, but both fighters will have other matters to attend to first. Daly has two upcoming fights booked, while Eye appears poised for a return to Bellator in April.

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Strikeforce veteran Shana “Rock Solid” Nelson’s bantamweight debut did not go as planned, but she nevertheless scored a first-round TKO win over Sweden’s Lina “Lynx” Eklund tonight in Fargo, North Dakota. The lopsided bout was part of Cage Fighting Xtreme and Crowbar MMA’s “Winter Brawl.”

Nelson, who came in five pounds over the 135-pound limit, battered her smaller opponent with punches and knees throughout the one-round fight. Eklund tried to maintain space as she circled on the outside, but she had very little success and was eventually overwhelmed by Nelson’s punches.

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The North American Allied Fight Series made its return to Gray’s Armory in Cleveland, Ohio tonight for NAAFS: “Caged Vengeance 10.” The card was headlined by a welterweight matchup between NAAFS mainstay Nick “The Savage” Duell and late replacement opponent Brandon “White Steel” Saling.

In the co-feature, Paul “Straight Outta” Compton returned to the NAAFS for the first time since 2009 to face Antonio Castillo Jr. in a featherweight bout, while Jessica “Evil” Eye battled Kelly Warren in a 125-pound women’s matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s NAAFS card.

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Amanda “Powerhouse” Lucas captured her first mixed martial arts title belt tonight at DEEP: “57 Impact” in Tokyo, Japan. Lucas survived a late rally from veteran opponent Yumiko Hotta en route to claiming the vacant DEEP Women’s Open-Weight Championship with a third-round keylock.

Despite making her first appearance in an MMA ring since November 2000, Hotta put up a much tougher fight in defeat than many had expected. She was nearly able to finish Lucas with a guillotine choke in the early stages of round three, but Lucas escaped and secured the fight-ending submission.

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Bellator star Jessica “Jag” Aguilar posted her fourth straight victory tonight with a convincing Unanimous Decision win over Oregon-based prospect “Little” Patricia Vidonic. The 115-pound women’s bout headlined Fight Time Promotions 8 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Aguilar employed an effective game plan that consisted of takedowns and ground and pound throughout the fight. She prevented Vidonic from getting back to her feet by kicking at her legs. Vidonic worked for submissions, but was unable to get anything going and Aguilar took the clear-cut decision.

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Invicta Fighting Championships, an all-female mixed martial arts promotion led by former Strikeforce executive Shannon Knapp, will hold its first event on April 28th at the famed Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The debut card is headlined by a bout between Marloes Coenen and Romy Ruyssen.

Knapp, who serves as co-owner and vice president of the new company, spoke exclusively with MMARising.com on Thursday and outlined her plans and goals for Invicta’s immediate future. The promotion is expected to stage at least three events in 2012, with fights contested in five weight classes.

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