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Invicta FC 12 Loses Cassie Rodish vs. Stephanie Skinner

Kansas City, Mo. – The fight card for Invicta FC 12 has undergone a last-minute change.

Atomweight Stephanie Skinner (4-5) has suffered an injury in training and her bout against Cassie Rodish (5-4) has been pulled from the event. The match-up was to serve as Skinner’s promotional debut, while Rodish was slated to return to the Invicta cage for the first time since 2013.

Invicta FC 12 takes place Friday, April 24, from the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The event will stream live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass. In the night’s main event, strawweight champion Katja Kankaanpää (10-1-1) will look to defend her title for the first time against unbeaten Brazilian Livia Renata Souza (7-0).

The updated fight card for Invicta FC 12 can be found below:

Strawweight Title: Katja Kankaanpää (10-1-1) vs. Livia Renata Souza (7-0)
Flyweight: Roxanne Modafferi (17-11) vs. Vanessa Porto (17-6)
Featherweight: Amanda Bell (3-2) vs. Faith Van Duin (4-1)
Bantamweight: Ediane Gomes (10-3) vs. Raquel Pa’aluhi (4-4)
Featherweight: Peggy Morgan (3-2) vs. Latoya Walker (4-0)
Strawweight: Lacey Schuckman (10-8) vs. Jenny Liou (3-1)
Strawweight: Delaney Owen (3-1) vs. Sharon Jacobson (2-1)
Flyweight: Shannon Sinn (1-2) vs. Maureen Riordon (0-1)
Bantamweight: Gina Begley (0-0) vs. Sijara Eubanks (0-0)


About Invicta FC:

Invicta Fighting Championships is a world championship, all-pro mixed martial arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible match-ups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport. For more information, visit InvictaFC.com, follow Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights) and like Invicta on Facebook (Facebook.com/InvictaFights).

Atomweight Cassie Rodish Re-signs with Invicta FC

Kansas City, Mo. — The Invicta atomweight division is welcoming back Cassie Rodish.

The 34-year-old Iowa native has re-signed with the promotion nearly two years after her last appearance in the Invicta cage. Rodish has competed for the organization on three occasions, falling short against Simona Soukupova, but submitting Meghan Wright at the promotion’s inaugural event in 2012 and defeating Stephanie Frausto by TKO at Invicta FC 4.

Rodish has five career wins, with all five coming before the final bell. She’s won five of her last six fights and is coming off a first-round submission win over Raquel Magdaleno in October.

“I’m very excited to return to the Invicta cage,” said Rodish. “It’s such an awesome platform for women to showcase their skills. It’s hard not to be inspired when you have a room full of high level fighters ready to put it all on the line.

“It’s been almost two years since my last Invicta fight, but I’m constantly evolving in the gym and sharpening my tools. I never want to be the same fighter in the cage twice. If you thought you had my number figured out, just wait! I’m excited for this opportunity and I’m not going to let it slip through my finger tips.”

Rodish’s return to the Invicta cage will take place in early 2015.


About Invicta FC:

Invicta Fighting Championships is a world championship, all-pro mixed martial arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible match-ups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport. For more information, visit InvictaFC.com, follow Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights) and like Invicta on Facebook (Facebook.com/InvictaFights).

FIGHTING WORDS: CASSIE RODISH

“Sassy” Cassie Rodish returns to the Invicta cage for the third time on April 5th against England’s Simona Soukupovaon at Invicta FC 5.

Looking to move to 3-0 under the Invicta banner, and 5-3 overall, Rodish is also looking to put her name in the conversation of contenders at 105lbs. Quiet outside the cage, but angry within it, Rodish wants to continue her current four fight win streak on April 5th.

Corey Smith: You jumped into MMA after taking a kickboxing camp, switching over to Muay Thai and getting addicted to the sport. What was the extent of your knowledge of the sport at that time?

Cassie Roddish: I had no clue what MMA was. I had never seen a fight on T.V. or live.  As a child my father was big into Karate. When I was little, he owned a gym and did private lessons. At the time I was too little to be involved, but I remember growing up listening to stories and looking at pictures.  So I guess it’s in my DNA.

CS: What discipline of MMA is your favorite to train? And what is your least favorite?

CR: Hard question!! I truly love all combative sports. My training philosophy has always been to train your weaknesses.  In my last fight my opponent had a good Judo Hip toss. The last few months I’ve been working with a couple Judo Black belts to work on my defense as well as adding some throws and trip to my game.

CS: You train primarily out of Des Moines Jui Jitsu in Iowa. What is a typical day of training like?

CR: I do a really good job of dividing up my training. I get a couple sessions of Pads, jits, wrestling, judo and sparing in every week. I feel like I’m cheating myself if I only train one discipline at a time. Doing it this way also keeps up my excitement for the sport. I don’t ever want to get bored with my training.

CS: You turned pro in 2010, how long had you been training at that point?

CR: Not very long at all, maybe 6 months. It was a horrible idea and I wish someone would have told me to wait.  At the time I never saw myself really going further in the sport. Fighting was fun and I would have done anything to get in the cage.

CS: A common expression is that you learn more from your defeats, than you do from your victories. After losing the first three fights of your career, you have since won four in a row. What did you learn in those first three fights that have helped you in the past four?

CR: Any time you get into the cage you are going to learn about where your strengths and weaknesses are. The biggest thing I learned was how BIG my heart was. I hated to lose, that feeling ate me up. I wanted to train harder and be the best I could be. Everyone gets knocked down, it is how you pick yourself up that matters.

CS: In the past you have fought as high as 135lbs, but now you fight at 105lbs. Do you feel like this is your natural weight class? What are your thoughts on the talent level like at 105lbs?

CR: Now that I’ve had the opportunity to fight at 105, I can’t believe that I ever fought at a different weight class. That goes back to that old mentality of I will do anything to fight. Luckily we have great organizations like InvictaFC to give us these opportunities. The 105 division is stacked. The level of skill in this division is sick and there are new girls emerging all the time.

CS: What types of superstitions do you have before on fight day? Do you keep the same routine leading up to the fight?

CR:  I don’t have any crazy superstitions other then I will never walk out to a song I used for a fight I lost. I won’t even listen to the song on the radio. One time I was sparring light and a song came on that I lost to, and I bloodied my partner’s nose. I just got so angry that I couldn’t help but go hard.

CS: What type of feedback and coaching do you prefer during a fight? Whose voice do you look to the most?

CR: I’m very hard headed so I need a coach to be the same. It’s not very lady like but I don’t mind if my coach uses “sailor language” before we hit the cage.  It’s a fight and angry seems to be contagious. In the cage I love it when my coaches are vocal about the things I am doing right. If I land a hard kick I want to hear “AHH!!” It pumps me up and mentally chips away at the opponent.

CS: You have fought on two past Invicta events, and are scheduled to face England’s Simona Soukupovaon on April 5th at Invicta FC 5. How has your experience been with Invicta so far? What separates Invicta from other organizations that you have fought for in the past?

CR: I love Invicta and everything it stands for. It gives many, many women the chance to showcase their talents. Before Invicta, I was begging for fights. I was lucky if I fought twice a year. Invicta gave me the chance to turn fighting into a CAREER, not a hobby. The people that are involved with Invicta really care about the fighters. I could walk up to Shannon or Janet and give them a big hug and kiss on the cheek and that would not be abnormal.  They are building a family of warriors!!!  You will never find a promotion that treats their fighters as well.

CS: With an organization like Invicta holding regular all female events, and the UFC adding a women’s division, what are your thoughts on the state of women’s MMA?

CR: I’m very, very excited. I think it’s awesome for these women to be getting a little recognition.  Once people get to see more female fights, I truly believe the men will have to step it up to keep their spots on the cards.  The one concern I have is shows picking up a few fighters under contract and not sharing in the talent pool. That will only hurt WMMA.

CS: When you aren’t training, what types of activities do you enjoy doing? What helps you unwind after a long day of training camp?

CR: I like the outdoors.  I love sitting by a bonfire and watching my kiddos catch fireflies. Anything the involves chilling with my family is my kind of heaven

CS: Fighting is equally a team sport as it is a individual sport. Who would you like to thank?

CR: I have an amazing team at Des Moines Jui Jitsu. Doug Ownes and Donovan Carboney are my two head trainers. They are amazing and inspire me to be my best. Angela Barr is my go to girl for training. She kicks the tar out of me all week. I have a wonderful group of trainers at Crossfit515, that keep me strong, including Michele Clark. I have the opportunity to travel and train this camp so big shout out to Summer Arthenton, Jessica Philippus, Barb Honchak, Sarah Maloy and her team.  I’m so blessed to know such amazing women in this sport.