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Vanessa Porto vs. Pearl Gonzalez Flyweight Title Fight Headlines Invicta FC 34

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Kansas City, Mo. — Invicta Fighting Championships is returning to where it all began.

On Friday, Feb. 15, the promotion touches down at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. — the host of the first four Invicta FC events — for its 34th fight card. The event will stream live on UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. CT.

In the night’s main event, the vacant flyweight title will be on the line between Brazilian veteran Vanessa Porto (20-8) and surging contender Pearl Gonzalez (9-3).

Porto is riding the momentum of back-to-back wins, having earned a stoppage win at Invicta FC 26, before submitting Mariana Morais at Invicta FC 27. The 34-year-old will fight for Invicta gold for third time after coming up short on the scorecards in two prior attempts.

The Chicago native Gonzalez has been on a tear since joining the Invicta roster. After defeating Kali Robbins at strawweight in her promotional debut, the Team Hurricane Awesome product moved up to 125 pounds and has continued to find success. She submitted Brazilian Bárbara Acioly last March and then topped Daiane Firmino on the scorecards at Invicta FC 29.

Also on the card, a four-woman flyweight tournament will kick off to determine the next No. 1 contender. On one side of the bracket, UFC veteran Milana Dudieva (12-7) takes on undefeated Brogan Walker-Sanchez (6-0) of Guam. In the other half of the ladder, UFC veteran and former Invicta FC strawweight title challenger DeAnna Bennett (9-4-1) meets Missouri’s Miranda Maverick (4-1). The two winners will meet later this year for a shot at Invicta gold. A bout between Tracy Cortez (4-1) and Mexico’s Karina Rodriguez (6-3) will serve as the tournament’s reserve match-up.

The card also includes a featherweight match-up between former title challenger Faith McMah (6-3) and Helena Kolesnyk (5-2, 1 NC).

The current Invicta FC 34 fight card can be found below:

Flyweight Title: Vanessa Porto (20-8) vs. Pearl Gonzalez (9-3)
Flyweight Tournament Semifinal: Milana Dudieva (12-7) vs. Brogan Walker-Sanchez (6-0)
Flyweight Tournament Semifinal: DeAnna Bennett (9-4-1) vs. Miranda Maverick (4-1)
Flyweight: Tracy Cortez (4-1) vs. Karina Rodriguez (6-3)
Featherweight: Faith McMah (6-3) vs. Helena Kolesnyk (5-2, 1 NC).

Tickets for Invicta FC 34 go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 16, and are available for purchase at invictafc34.eventbrite.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. Follow Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (Facebook.com/InvictaFights), and Instagram (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.

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Invicta FC Adds 15 Fighters, Including Sarah Kaufman and Pearl Gonzalez

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Kansas City, Mo. — The Invicta Fighting Championships roster has grown with the signings of 15 athletes.

The bantamweight division will see the biggest influx of combatants with six signings: Sarah Kaufman (18-4, 1 NC), Marciea Allen (6-2), Julia Avila Shumate (4-0), Kerri Kenneson (2-0), Allison Schmidt (1-0) and Chelsea Chandler (0-0).

  • Canada’s Kaufman is a former Strikeforce champion and UFC veteran who previously competed in the Invicta cage in 2013. She holds victories over fellow Invicta veterans Shayna Baszler, Takayo Hashi, Roxanne Modafferi, Liz Carmouche and Leslie Smith.
  • Allen, dubbed the “Black Widow,” returns to the promotion for the first time since Invicta FC 3. She currently rides a three-fight winning streak that includes victories over veterans Carina Damm and Jan Finney.
  • Entering the promotion with an unbeaten record, the Californian Avila Shumate, also known as “The Raging Panda,” hold victories over current UFC fighter Marion Reneau and current UFC flyweight champion Nicco Montaño.
  • Also undefeated through two professional outings, Kenneson competes out of New Hampshire.
  • A product of the American Kickboxing Academy, Schmidt won her MMA debut via rear-naked choke.
  • Hailing from Stockton, Calif., and training under the tutelage of Cesar Gracie, Chandler will make her professional debut in the Invicta cage.

Joining the flyweight ranks will be Bianca “Bibi” Daimoni (7-2), Brogan Sanchez (4-0), Monica “PhenomAmom” Medina (3-1) and Helen Peralta (0-0). Fighting out of Imbituba, Santa Catarina, Brazil, the 31-year-old Daimoni has stopped five of her seven victories with strikes. Sanchez (formerly Walker), is a Guam native and has opened her career with four straight victories. Medina, who trains out of Alan Belcher MMA in Mississippi, has scored two triangle-choke finishes in her three professional wins to go with seven finishes by strikes as an amateur. Iowa’s Peralta compiled a 7-1 record as an amateur.

The strawweight division gets a pair of new faces in UFC veteran Pearl Gonzalez (6-3) and Canada’s Ashley Nichols (3-1). Chicago’s Gonzalez joins the promotion following a two-fight Octagon stint. The 31-year-old is a former XFC titleholder. A decorated striker who earned the World Professional MuayThai Federation super bantamweight title, Nichols has been in the cage and ring with many top names, including Randa Markos, Tiffany van Soest and Anissa Meksen. She currently rides a three-fight winning streak in MMA competition.

Finally, three new athletes have been added to the atomweight division: Loma Lookboonmee (0-0), Fernanda Priscila (3-1) and Rebekah LeVine (1-0). A veteran of more than a hundred Muay Thai bouts, Thailand’s Lookboonmee will make her professional MMA debut for the promotion. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt, Priscila trains out of the Academia Kimura Nova União. After going unbeaten as an amateur, California’s LeVine opened her professional career with a first-round armbar submission.

Look for many of the new athletes to compete inside the Invicta FC cage in 2018.

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. Follow Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (Facebook.com/InvictaFights), and Instagram (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.