Analysis of Invicta FC10 card

Michelle Waterson

The entire card for Invicta FC 10 was announced today. The show will be Fri. Dec. 5 at the Arena Theatre in Houston. It will air on UFC Fight Pass. They announced a couple of matches on the Nov. 1 broadcast but I decided to wait to give my analysis once the whole card was announced. The main problem with the last couple of Invicta shows is the main events have sucked. It doesn't look like they have learned their lesson. The main event will have Michelle Waterson defend her Invicta Atomweight Championship against Brazilan fighter Herica Tiburcio. Tiburcio was supposed to be on the last Invicta show but had visa problems. Her record is 8-2 but she has never fought outside Brazil. So she's unproven. When this match was announced on the broadcast, matchmaker Julie Kedzie was immediately defensive about Tiburcio getting a title shot meaning they know it's poor matchmaking. Unproven fighters shouldn't be on main events. She needs to establish herself first. Good matchmaking is not rocket science. She's also 4'11" which is short for Atomweight. It makes me think they are looking to establish a Pinweight division especially with the return of Satoko Shinashi. I know they are trying to establish Michelle as a star but main event mismatches won't help her. I would rematch her with Lacey Schuckman because a lot of fans thought Lacey won their fight. They have unfinished business that's worthy of a main event. The semi-main will have Tonya Evinger vs Belgian Cindy Dandois. Cindy was also supposed to be on the last show but pulled out due to visa problems. Cindy is returning after over a three year break after having a baby. I think Tonya is a good opponent to test her out. The winner of Vanessa Porto vs Roxanne Modafferi will get a shot at Barb Honchak's  Invicta Flyweight Championship. Barb has beaten both of them so I'm not sure either of them deserve a title shot. A more interesting fight in the same weight class is Jennifer Maia vs DeAnna Bennett. DeAnna looked very good winning over Michelle Ould on the Sept. Invicta show. Jennifer is probably not as good as her 9-3-1 record. In a Featherweight match, Charmaine Tweet will face New Zealander Faith Van Duin. On the Sept. Invicta show, Charmaine did us all a big favour by beating the overhyped Veronica Rothenhausler. This will be Faith's first fight outside Australia. It's a big step up in competition for her. Mexican Irene Aldana returns to face Marion Reneau. Irene looked good winning over Peggy Morgan on the Sept. Invicta show. Marion is 4-1. She trains at Elite MMA in Visalia, CA with Bellator fighter Doug Marshall. This is a step up in competition for her. The aforementioned Peggy Morgan moves back to 145lb to face the debuting Andria Wawro. Peggy was on TUF18. I'm not a fan of hers. But she might be a good test for Andria who is 4-1 and trains at Renzo Gracie Philly. The other Mexican fighter Alexa Grasso will face Alida Gray. Alexa beat Ashley Cummins on the Sept. Invicta show but I wasn't impressed with her. Alida lost to Jessica Aguilar on the Jan. 18 WSOF show. It was a predictable mismatch. She needs to show she is better than that. Jinh Yu Frey will face Cassie Robb. Jinh lost a split decision to Jodie Esquibel on the Sept. Invicta show. Cassie is 0-2 and is from Casper, WY. This will be her Invicta debut. And the opener will have Rachael Ostovich vs Evva Johnson. Rachael has a 1-1 record and is from Honolulu. I guess what some will point out her 6-0 amateur record which doesn't mean anything in the pro game. Evva also has a significant amateur record and won her pro debut in Sept. She's from Somerset, KY. Both are making their Invicta debuts. I have no problem with unproven fighters opening the show. I just have a problem with unproven fighters in main events.