Yesterday Invicta finally announced the full card for Invicta FC12 Apr. 24 at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. This will air on UFC Fight Pass. When the main card was announced the other day, my first thought was that Invicta just can't seem to put together solid main cards. Look, fighter popularity or appearing on TUF18 doesn't mean a fighter deserves to be on a main card. I'll get to that in a minute. The main event will have Katja Kankaanpaa defending he Invicta Strawweight Championship against Brazilian Livia Souza. Who? Yeah, I know. Souza's record is 7-0 and six of her seven wins have been by submission. Of course her competition level is low so it's a big step up for her. I watched one of her fights. She's quick but it's hard to tell how she will do against an elite fighter like Katja. I have no problem with Invicta bringing her over but she shouldn't be in the main event. How can you sell tickets when no one has heard of one of the fighters in the main event? You can't. And it's not like Katja is a draw though she is an elite fighter. The co-main event will have Roxanne Modafferi vs Vanessa Porto and I assume the winner will get a shot at Barb Honchak's Invicta Flyweight Championship. That's why it's a co-main event though it should be lower on the card as both are midcard fighters at best. Roxanne's popularity is what gets it higher on the card. Fighter popularity is a red herring especially when there is a barrage of Tweets begging for a favourite to be on an Invicta card. I'm just not crazy about either fighter and I'm not expecting a great fight and that's why it should be lower on the card. In a Featherweight bout, Amanda Bell will face Faith Van Duin. Again, this should probably be lower on the card as both are making their Invicta debuts. Amanda's claim to fame is she won by KO over Ronda Rousey's BFF Marina Shafir. But she has also lost to fighters she should beat. Faith is from New Zealand and the talent level just isn't high there. In her latest fight, she lost to Arlene Blencowe who just signed with Bellator. In a Bantamweight fight, Ediane Gomes will face Raquel Pa'aluhi. Gomes should probably be fighting at 145 and Raquel should probably be fighting at 125. Raquel usually loses when she fights above her proper weight class. I think she could be a title contender at 125. I guess Gomes wants to go to the UFC though I don't see that happening. And in a Featherweight match, Peggy Morgan will face Latoya Walker. I know Peggy was on TUF18. I didn't like her on the show and she hasn't shown me anything in Invicta. She won her last fight but both fighters gave poor performances. Latoya is 4-0 and is making her Invicta debut. She's 4-0 but hasn't fought anyone good. At least two of these fights should probably not be on the main card and that's why it's weak. In the prelims, we have Lacey Schuckman vs Jenny Liou in a Strawweight fight. Lacey is a veteran fighter who tends to lose to elite fighters. Her record is 10-8. She lost to former Invicta Atomweight Champion Michelle Waterson by a controversial split decision and chose to stay at Straweight instead of getting a title shot. Hmmm. Jenny lost to Jamie Moyle in her Invicta debut. She didn't look good. She's also in her mid-30s which always sends up a red flag for me. Cassie Rodish will face Stephanie Skinner in an Atomweight fight. Cassie is from Iowa. She's 5-4 and 1-1 in Invicta. Stephanie is from Wyoming. She's a fighter that gets pimped on Twitter all the time. Her record is 4-5 and this will be her Invicta debut. I haven't seen her fight. In a Strawweight fight, Delaney Owen will face Sharon Jacobson. Delaney lost her Invicta debut in September. Sharon has fought previously at 125. Her record is 2-1 and she will be making her Invicta debut. In a Flyweight bout, Shannon Sinn will face Maureen Riordon. Shannon is an older fighter who lost to Andrea Lee in her Invicta debut in Nov. IIRC, she didn't look good. Maureen lost her MMA debut to Marion Reneau on an Aug. RFA show. It looks like she is dropping from 135 to 125. I think I saw that fight and I didn't like her. Maybe 135 is too high for her. This will be her Invicta debut. The opener will have Roma Pawelek vs Sijara Eubanks in a Flyweight bout. Both are making their Invicta debuts and Sijara is making her pro MMA debut. Roma is another fighter that gets pimped on Twitter. Her record is 1-0 and she seems to be dropping from 135 to 125 for this fight. I'm not as critical of the prelims because that should be a proving ground. I just don't agree with putting debuting fighters on the main card especially in the main event.
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