The 9th InvictaFC strawweight champion was crowned in Denver Wednesday night.
InvictaFC held its 50th numbered event with a history making strawweight tournament that found the two finalists fighting for 30 minutes in one night. It was Valesca Machado whose hand was raised in the main event as she got the nod from the judges 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 over Poland’s Karolina Wojcik. Machedo becomes the third Brazilian to hold the strawweight title and 31st champion in the promotion. The main event was the 100th official strawweight bout in the company’s history.
We now have a complete card for InvictaFC’s 50th numbered event.
A last minute drop and the official draw has changed a few things around as we head into the strawweight championship tournament Wednesday night at Reelworks in Denver, Colorado.
It was April 28th, 2012 when Cassie Roddish and Meghan Wright stepped into the cage to kick off InvictaFC’s first event. More than 50 events later, the promotion can lay claim to developing the women’s divisions of MMA to the point of being a worldwide phenomena. Many athletes from across the globe have come to InvictaFC to prove their skills.
The promotion has nurtured many stars that went on to be world champions. Many girls have seen competing in InvictaFC as a goal, with several who watched from the beginning making that a reality.
As we head into InvictaFC’s 50th numbered event, let’s look back at the historic milestones the all women’s promotion accomplished.
Once again the promotion looks for it’s next champion in the division as it will hold a four woman tournament November 16 at Reelworks in Denver, Colorado, as previous champion Emily Ducote has vacated the title to fight for the UFC.
Before Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, there was Christy Martin.
The former boxing world champion broke through into pop culture in the 90’s having been the first female fighter to fight on a major pay-per-view card. It was also the start of audiences accepting women as fighters that has been growing ever since.
It was 2011 when Cris Cyborg was in Las Vegas for the GFight Summit, doing an all women’s seminar.
A decade and several belts later, she is still helping the next generation of female fighter and encouraging girls to start training in combat sports.
“For me it’s very special when I see the girls. ‘I started training after I saw you fight Gina Carano’,” Cyborg told us in a sit down interview this past week. “I am very blessed. After the fights the girls still talk to me (about fighting). It wasn’t big at the beginning but now I can leave a little bit more (of a legacy). A lot of people like to watch women in MMA which makes me very happy.”
Cris Cyborg and her family are celebrating their 10th card with a trio of female title bouts.
Nação Cyborg‘s all female event is set for October 21st in Bocaiuva do Sul, Parana, Brazil and opens up “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”. The main event features atomweight champion Aline Pires (4-4) defending her title against 3-1 Elisandra “Lili” Ferreira.
Update; InvictaFC and Legacy FC vet Nicolle Caliari (4-2) was going to face Mayara “Cangaceira” Reis (6-2-1) for the vacant strawweight title. (See pictures above) but Caliari has dropped out of the fight due to weight issues.
If we are talking about the future of the women’s divisions of MMA, look no further than the IMMAF.
Their youth divisions for athletes under 18 have provided a secure environment to grow and learn. It also gives them an opportunity to prove their skills against others and win championships.
In the coming weeks we are highlighting some of these athletes.
Abigail Alvarez took home gold at the IMMAF Youth World Championships in Bulgaria representing One Legacy Training Center and Barreto BJJ lin San Diego, California. A second generation fighter, she is coached by her father Christian along side Victor Barreto and Victor Cubillas. She fell in love with Muay Thai at a young age, but took a while until she could train striking martial arts. Since then she is finding success in all aspects of the sport.
Sweden has established itself as the new hotbed of female talent in MMA.
The team took home five medals with three of them gold at the IMMAF’s World Cup in Prague Czech Republic the week for September 11. Germany would take home three medals.
The event featured some of the best up and coming amateur talent in MMA in Europe.
If we are talking about the future of the women’s divisions of MMA, look no further than the IMMAF.
Their youth divisions for athletes under 18 have provided a secure environment to grow and learn. It also gives them an opportunity to prove their skills against others and win championships.
In the coming weeks we are highlighting some of these athletes.
Lariah Gill won the gold at atomweight at the 2021 IMMAF Youth Championships in Bulgaria and is already looking like a prodigy in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Starting only four years ago in BJJ under Ricardo Guimaraes at Gracie Humaita Temecula, she started to win local titles in her weight class. This soon picked up to training other arts, including Muay Thai at Hernandez Kickboxing with Richard Hernandez, Judo at Socal Judo with Israel Hernandez, and Wrestling at Lions Den with Brandon Williamson.
If we are talking about the future of the women’s divisions of MMA, look no further than the IMMAF.
Their youth divisions for athletes under 18 have provided a secure environment to grow and learn. It also gives them an opportunity to prove their skills against others and win championships.
In the coming weeks we are highlighting some of these athletes.
Andrea Frisque got the silver at the 2021 IMMAF Youth Championship in Bulgaria, which solidified Kihon MMA even more as a hotbed for young talent. Having trained in taekwondo at a young age, Frisque soon met Coach Eddie Bates and transitioned into MMA and has been training in it for five years.
If we are talking about the future of the women’s divisions of MMA, look no further than the IMMAF.
Their youth divisions for athletes under 18 have provided a secure environment to grow and learn. It also gives them an opportunity to prove their skills against others and win championships.
In the coming weeks we are highlighting some of these athletes.
Alexis Hazelton is coming off a bronze medal at the 2021 IMMAF Youth Championship and is proving to be the future of the MMA Gold gym in El Dorado Hills, California. Under her coach Jim West, she is also a teammate of current UFC star Aspen Ladd. Hazelton isn’t one not to learn from one coach, as she also trains boxing at Mike Guy Boxing, Muay Thai with with Jake Douangdara, and strength and conditioning with Coach Doug Casebier at Our House Fitness. Not to mention is a part of the Folsom High School and Mad Dawg Wrestling Club.
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