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Invicta FC 9 Results: Honchak Retains Title, Kowalkiewicz Edges Inoue

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On Saturday, Nov. 1, Invicta Fighting Championships hosted Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi from the RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa. The nine-fight event streamed live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.

In the night’s main event, Invicta flyweight champion Barb Honchak successfully defended her 125-pound title with a hard-fought decision win over Japan’s Takayo Hashi. Honchak’s strategy from the very beginning was to force Hashi against the fence and grind her out. Honchak was able to impose her will on the challenger and score with short punches and knees from the clinch. Hashi earned takedowns late in the third and fourth rounds, but she was unable to hold the champion on the ground. Honchak let her hands go late in the fifth frame, leaving no doubt who had won the contest.

The night’s co-main event featured the Invicta return of Japanese strawweight Mizuki Inoue, who welcomed unbeaten Polish fighter Karolina Kowalkiewicz to the Invicta cage. Kowalkiewicz used her length to keep Inoue at range during the first round, scoring with combinations and leg kicks. In the middle stanza, Inoue was able to score with a hip toss and put Kowalkiewicz on her back. Kowalkiewicz was able to survive the tough position and the round. The final frame saw Kowalkiewicz return to landing on the feet, but Inoue fired back. When it was all said and done, Kowalkiewicz claimed the narrow split decision win.

Stepping into the cage on just a week’s notice, Hawaii’s Raquel Pa’aluhi survived a tough first round and earned the nod over Kaitlin Young on the scorecards. Young battered Pa’aluhi in the opening frame, opening up multiple cuts on the Hawaiian’s face. Pa’aluhi bounced back in rounds two and three with takedowns. Pa’aluhi threatened to finish the fight with a rear-naked choke and strikes, but Young was able to survive to the final bell.

Jodie Esquibel put together one of the best performances of her career, outstriking Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc and earning a lopsided, unanimous decision win. Esquibel used her speed and footwork to land combination after combination and frustrate Rivera-Calanoc. The Jackson’s MMA fighter mixed in takedowns and survived a late guillotine attempt from Rivera-Calanoc to claim the victory.

Atomweights Amber Brown and Liz McCarthy engaged in a back-and-forth war that saw Brown eke out the win via split decision. McCarthy repeatedly took the fight to the ground with her wrestling, but Brown landed the more effective strikes. A knee from Brown opened a large cut over McCarthy’s right eye in round two, leading to a bloody affair.

Amanda Bell returned to the Invicta cage and scored a first-round TKO over promotional newcomer Maria Hougaard-Djursaa. Bell came out firing and overwhelmed the Danish fighter. Once on the mat, Bell rained punches and forced the referee to halt the bout late in the opening stanza.

Veteran striker Andrea K. Lee used her stand-up game to get the better of fellow flyweight Shannon Sinn. Lee dropped Sinn early and battered her throughout the remainder of the contest to take home the win on the scorecards.

Strawweight Jamie Moyle scored an impressive decision win in her pro debut, battering Jenny Liou Shriver for three rounds. Shriver had no answer for Moyle’s striking and suffered her first career loss.

Kelly McGill spoiled the pro debut of Maegan Goodwin in the first fight of the evening. The bloody affair saw McGill open up Goodwin with an elbow, helping her seal the decision win and move to 2-0.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Barb Honchak def. Takayo Hashi by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45) – for flyweight title
Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Mizuki Inoue by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Raquel Pa’aluhi def. Kaitlin Young by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Jodie Esquibel def. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Amber Brown def. Liz McCarthy by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Amanda Bell def. Maria Hougaard-Djursaa by TKO (strikes). Round 1, 4:56
Andrea K. Lee def. Shannon Sinn by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Jamie Moyle def. Jenny Liou Shriver by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Kelly McGill def. Maegan Goodwin by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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Invicta FC 9 Official Weigh-in Results

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On Friday, Oct. 31, Invicta Fighting Championships hosted the weigh-ins for Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi which takes place Saturday, Nov. 1, from the RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa.

The event will be headlined by Invicta flyweight champion Barb Honchak who will look to make the second defense of her 125-pound title as she squares off with Japan’s Takayo Hashi.

Honchak captured Invicta gold at Invicta FC 5 in April 2013 by dominating Brazil’s Vanessa Porto. The 35-year-old extended her current winning streak to eight with a one-sided performance against Leslie Smith in December. The win marked Honchak’s fourth victory under the Invicta banner. In addition to her wins over Porto and Smith, Honchak also holds notable victories over Invicta veterans Aisling Daly and Felice Herrig.

Hashi will be making her Invicta FC debut. The 36-year-old is unbeaten in her last three fights, topping veterans Roxanne Modafferi and Shizuka Sugiyama along the way. Hashi previously competed at bantamweight and has faced Invicta alums Cat Zingano, Tara LaRosa and Sarah Kaufman.

The night’s co-main event will feature the Invicta return of Japanese strawweight Mizuki Inoue, who welcomes unbeaten Polish fighter Karolina Kowalkiewicz to the Invicta cage. The 20-year-old Inoue bested Bec Rawlings at IFC 6 last July. Kowalkiewicz took her record to 5-0 in May, submitting Invicta veteran Jasminka Cive.

The nine-fight event will stream live and exclusively via UFC Fight Pass beginning at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Below are the results of the event’s weigh-ins.

Barb Honchak (124.4) vs. Takayo Hashi (124.8) – for flyweight title
Mizuki Inoue (115) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (115)
Kaitlin Young (145) vs. Raquel Pa’aluhi (145)
Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (105.2) vs. Jodie Esquibel (105.8)
Amber Brown (105.6) vs. Liz McCarthy (105.2)
Amanda Bell (145.6) vs. Maria Hougaard-Djursaa (148.6)*
Shannon Sinn (125.4) vs. Andrea K. Lee (125)
Jenny Liou Shriver (115.8) vs. Jamie Moyle (115)
Kelly McGill (135.8) vs. Maegan Goodwin (138.8)*

* – Hougaard-Djursaa and Goodwin elected not to cut any additional weight and were fined 25 percent of their fight purses

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Herica Tiburcio Forced Out of Invicta FC 9, Bout with Ayaka Hamasaki Scrapped

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Kansas City, Mo. – The atomweight contest between Brazil’s Herica Tiburcio (8-2) and Japan’s Ayaka Hamasaki (10-1) has been scratched from this Saturday’s Invicta FC 9 event, as visa issues for Tiburcio have forced the 22-year-old off the card at the last minute.

Tiburcio was slated to make her promotional debut for Invicta FC, currently riding a three-fight winning streak. Hamasaki, who previously fought for the organization at Invicta FC 6 in July of 2013, was looking for her second win in a new division after dropping to atomweight earlier this year.

Invicta FC 9 takes place from the RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa. The event will stream live via the UFC’s digital network, UFC Fight Pass. In the night’s main event, Invicta flyweight champion Barb Honchak (9-2) will make the second defense of her 125-pound title as she squares off with Japan’s Takayo Hashi (15-4). The night’s co-main event will feature the Invicta return of Japanese strawweight Mizuki Inoue (8-2), who welcomes unbeaten Polish fighter Karolina Kowalkiewicz (5-0) to the Invicta cage.

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Cindy Dandois Out of Invicta FC 9, Kaitlin Young to Face Raquel Pa’aluhi

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Kansas City, Mo. – Invicta Fighting Championships today announced that Belgian bantamweight Cindy Dandois (5-1) was forced to withdraw from her Invicta FC 9 match-up with Kaitlin Young (7-8-1) due to visa issues.

Stepping in on short notice to face Young on Nov. 1 is Raquel Pa’aluhi (3-4), fighting out of Hawaii. The bout, originally contracted for bantamweight, will now be contested at featherweight.

“I’m disappointed that Cindy is not able to fight on this card, but we’ll bring her back [to compete] at our next event,” said Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp. “Kudos to Raquel for taking on a veteran like Kaitlin Young with just a week’s notice. We love that kind of warrior spirit at Invicta and those two are going to put on a show next Saturday night.”

Dandois is expected to fight later this year at Invicta FC 10 on Dec. 5 against an opponent to be named at a later date.

Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi streams live on UFC Fight Pass from The RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 1 and is headlined by Invicta FC Flyweight Champion Barb Honchak (9-2) defending her title against Japanese veteran Takayo Hashi (15-4). In the co-main event, strawweight submission specialist Mizuki Inoue (8-2) returns to Invicta to take on undefeated newcomer Karolina Kowalkiewicz (5-0) of Poland.

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).

Press Contact:
Eric Jackman
718.354.9024
eric@jacktaylorpr.com
or press@invictafc.com

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INVICTA FC 9 FULL CARD ANNOUNCED Saturday, November 1st – Live on UFC Fight Pass

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INVICTA FC 9 FULL CARD ANNOUNCED Saturday, November 1st – Live on UFC Fight Pass

Plus Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino Headlines Invicta FC 10

Kansas City, MO – Invicta Fighting Championships today announced the full fight card for its next event. Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi will stream live on UFC Fight Pass from The RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa on Saturday, November 1st.

Training out of nearby Betterndorf, Iowa, Invicta FC Flyweight Champion Barb Honchak (9-2) headlines Invicta FC 9 as she defends her title against Japanese veteran Takayo Hashi (15-4). In the co-main event, strawweight submission specialist Mizuki Inoue (8-2) returns to Invicta to take on undefeated newcomer Karolina Kowalkiewicz (5-0) of Poland.

The full fight card for Invicta FC 9 can be found below:

Barb Honchak (9-2) vs. Takayo Hashi (15-4)
Mizuki Inoue (8-2) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (5-0)
Ayaka Hamasaki (10-1) vs. Herica Tiburcio (8-2)
Kaitlin Young (7-8-1) vs. Cindy Dandois (5-1)
Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (8-7) vs. Jodie Esquibel (4-1)
Amber Brown (3-1) vs. Liz McCarthy (2-1)
Amanda Bell (2-2) vs. Maria Hougaard-Djursaa (5-5)
Shannon Sinn (1-1) vs. Andrea K. Lee (1-0)
Jenny Liou Shriver (2-0) vs. Jamie Moyle (0-0)
Kelly McGill (1-0) vs. Maegan Goodwin (0-0)

Tickets for Invicta FC 9 will be available soon.

In addition, Invicta FC 10 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 5th, headlined by Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino (12-1) making her bantamweight debut. Justino, the current Invicta FC Featherweight Champion and former Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Champion has not lost since 2005. Invicta FC 10 location and event details will be announced at a later date.

For more information, visit InvictaFC.com.

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).

Press Contact:
Eric Jackman
718.354.9024
eric@jacktaylorpr.com
or press@invictafc.com

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Full Invicta FC 9 Fight Card

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On Saturday, Nov. 1, Invicta Fighting Championships will head to the RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa for Invicta FC 9.

In the night’s main event, Invicta flyweight champion Barb Honchak will make the second defense of her 125-pound title as she squares off with Japan’s Takayo Hashi. Honchak captured Invicta gold at Invicta FC 5 in April 2013 and extended her current winning streak to eight with a one-sided performance against current UFC fighter Leslie Smith in December. Hashi, a former Strikeforce title challenger, will be making her Invicta FC debut. The 36-year-old is unbeaten in her last three fights, topping veterans Roxanne Modafferi and Shizuka Sugiyama along the way.

The night’s co-main event will feature the Invicta return of Japanese strawweight Mizuki Inoue, who welcomes unbeaten Polish fighter Karolina Kowalkiewicz to the Invicta cage. The 20-year-old Inoue bested Ultimate Fighter 20 cast member Bec Rawlings at IFC 6 last July and most recently submitted Emi Tomimatsu under the Jewels banner in August. Kowalkiewicz took her record to 5-0 in May, submitting Invicta veteran Jasminka Cive in the first round at KSW 27.

Also on the card, Ayaka Hamasaki will make her second Invicta appearance, but at atomweight. She’ll take on Brazil’s Herica Tiburcio, who will be making her promotional debut. Hamasaki made a successful debut at 105 pounds in August with a first-round TKO finish of former Invicta title challenger Naho Sugiyama. The 22-year-old Tiburcio enters the fight riding a three-fight winning streak. Six of her eight career wins have come via submission.

The 10-fight event will stream live via the UFC’s digital network, UFC Fight Pass.

Invicta FC 9 Fight Card

Flyweight Title Fight: Champion Barb Honchak (9-2, Iowa) vs. Takayo Hashi (15-4-1, Japan)

Strawweight: Mizuki Inoue (8-2, Japan) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (5-0, Poland)

Atomweight: Ayaka Hamasaki (10-1, Japan) vs. Herica Tiburcio (8-2, Brazil)

Bantamweight: Kaitlin Young (7-8-1, California) vs. Cindy Dandois (5-1, Belgium)

Atomweight: Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (8-7, Oklahoma) vs. Jodie Esquibel (4-1, New Mexico)

Atomweight: Amber Brown (3-1, New Mexico) vs. Liz McCarthy (2-1, Oregon)

Featherweight: Amanda Bell (2-2, Oregon) vs. Maria Hougaard-Djursaa (5-5, Denmark)

Flyweight: Shannon Sinn (1-1, Colorado) vs. Andrea K. Lee (1-0, Lousiana)

Strawweight: Jenny Liou Shriver (2-0, Idaho) vs. Jamie Moyle (Pro Debut, Nevada)

Bantamweight: Kelly McGill (1-0, California) vs. Maegan Goodwin (Pro Debut, Oklahoma)