DeCoursey vs. Dos Santos Title Showdown Headlines Invicta FC 53 in Denver
DENVER — The next action-packed fight card from Invicta Fighting Championships has taken shape. The world’s premier organization for women athletes returns on Wednesday, May 3 for Invicta FC 53: DeCoursey vs. Dos Santos from Reelworks Denver.
In the night’s headliner, recently crowned atomweight champion “Lionheart” Jillian DeCoursey (6-3) puts her strap on the line opposite Brazil’s Rayanne dos Santos (13-6). New York’s DeCoursey cemented herself atop the 105-pound division with a pair of dominant first-round finishes. After crushing Lindsey VanZandt in 61 seconds at Invicta FC 47, DeCoursey dethroned Jéssica Delboni at Invicta FC 49 to capture gold. The 27-year-old Dos Santos made a quick impression on the division in January, besting veteran Katie Saull to earn her sixth victory in her last seven bouts and establish herself as the No. 1 contender.
The co-main event will take place in the bantamweight division as former title challenger “Big Bad” Olga Rubin (8-3) collides with Denver native “Grizzly” Claire Guthrie (5-1). Both fighters were victorious at Invicta FC 51 in January, with Rubin topping Serena DeJesus and Guthrie besting Auttumn Norton, both via decision.
Also on the card, former atomweight queen Jéssica Delboni (12-4) moves up to strawweight against UFC veteran “Dynamite” Danielle Taylor (11-8), São Paulo native Monique Adriane (5-2) welcomes undefeated Mexican atomweight Nicole Geraldo (5-0) to the promotion, flyweight Liana “Li” Pirosin (8-5) takes on striking specialist “The Piece” Elise Pone (2-1), Brazilian Elisandra “Lili” Ferreira (5-2) faces off with Flor “Compean” Hernandez (4-0) of Mexico in an atomweight match-up, undefeated Colorado product Natalie Salcedo (1-0) meets Brazil’s Dayane Cristine (1-0) also at 105 pounds, and Colorado flyweight Ky “Kobra” Bennett (2-2) will take on a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
Invicta FC 53: DeCoursey vs. Dos Santos will be overseen by the Colorado Combative Sports Commission and will feature open scoring. The event will kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. MT, with the night’s main card beginning at 9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT. The main card will air live on Invicta’s official YouTube Channel and Facebook Page, AXS TV in the U.S., Fight Network in Canada, Fox Sports in Mexico, Globo’s Combate in Brazil, DirecTV across Latin America, Viaplay and Match TV in Europe and Star Times across Africa. Tickets to the event are on sale now through Eventbrite.
The current fight card can be found below:
Atomweight Title: Jillian DeCoursey vs. Rayanne dos Santos
Bantamweight: Olga Rubin vs. Claire Guthrie
Strawweight: Jéssica Delboni vs. Danielle Taylor
Atomweight: Monique Adriane vs. Nicole Geraldo
Flyweight: Liana Pirosin vs. Elise Pone
Atomweight: Elisandra “Lili” Ferreira vs. Flor Hernandez
Atomweight: Natalie Salcedo vs. Dayane Cristine
Flyweight: Ky Bennett vs. TBD
About Invicta FC:
Invicta Fighting Championships (invictafc.com) 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. Follow Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (InvictaFights) and Instagram (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.
About Anthem Sports & Entertainment, Inc.
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc. is a global multi-platform media company with offices and studios in Los Angeles, Denver, Nashville, New York, Kansas City, Cleveland and Toronto. Anthem’s portfolio includes AXS TV, a leading music, entertainment and lifestyle television channel and digital media company; global film distribution company Gravitas Ventures; Fight Network, the world’s premier combat sports channel; IMPACT Wrestling, one of the world’s leading wrestling organizations specializing in original programming and live events; Invicta Fighting Championships, the world’s premier all-women mixed martial arts promotion; Game+, the leader in Esports and gaming content; GameTV, the home of game shows and competition-based reality series; and HDNet Movies, which features theatrically released films and documentaries. Anthem also has a significant ownership interest in Pursuit Channel, one of the top outdoor channels in the U.S.
