Invicta FC announced the full card for their July 28 show in Kansas City. I think the announcement is early and I fully expect at least three of these matches to change. Someone suggested to me they did that to boost ticket sales. What ticket sales? They didn't even announce paid attendance or live gate for the first show. So it must have been worse than expected. Instead they announced a ridiculous unfiltered live stream figure that generated zero revenue so I don't care about it anyway. The bottom line is that without a TV deal, Invicta is on borrowed time. So I guess they're gonna spend money like drunken sailors and go out in a blaze of glory. The numbers don't add up if their only revenue is from the live gate. Didn't anyone learn anything from Bellator? They started out with a terrible TV deal. But it attracted a big sponsor (Ford) and then VIACOM bought them. The visibility is important to attract potential sponsors and a free stream or iPPV does not provide the visibility of a TV deal. The main event of the show has Shayna Bazsler vs Sara McMann. Shayna's record is 14-6 but she's been having trouble finding fights recently. her last fight was a win over Elaina Maxwell on the Nov. 19, 2010 show at Hankinson, SD. At one point, she won a Strikeforce contract but it never materialized. Sara is the 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist in Wrestling. Her MMA record is 5-0 and her last win was over Hitomi Akano on the Jan. 21 Pro Elite show in Honolulu.Apparently she has a fight coming up vs Anita Rodriguez on June 16. I've watched some of Sara's fights and I don't think she has been dominant enough. And some of her fights have been size mismatches. There's no question Shayna will be her toughest competition to date and the winner should be in line for a shot at Ronda Rousey's Strikeforce title. Alexis Davis will face Hitomi Akano. Alexis' record is 11-5 and her last fight was a loss to Sarah Kaufman on the Mar. 3 Strikeforce show in Columbus, OH. My observation about Alexis is she tends to lose because of strategy errors and that's what happened in her last fight. She got behind and then couldn't finish. This could cost her with submission specialist Hitomi Akano. Her record is 18-9 and her last fight was a loss to Sara McMann on the Jan. 21 Pro Elite show in Honolulu. I wonder if she'll retire if she loses. Liz Carmouche will face Kaitlin Young. Liz' record is 6-2 and her last fight was a win over the overmatched boxer Ashleigh Curry on the first Invicta show. Kaitlyn is 6-5 and her last fight was a draw vs Leslie Smith on the first Invicta show. By her own admission, Kaitlyn is a kickboxer. I expect Liz to use her power to take her down and pound her. Not sure how Kaitlyn will prevent that. Brazilian fighter Amanda Nunes will face Russian Milana Dudieva. Amanda's record is 6-2 and her last fight was a loss to Alexis Davis on the Sept. 10 Strikeforce show in Cincinnati. Milana is 8-1 but you never know with Russian fighters. They get heavily protected over there. Her last fight was a win over Danielle West on the Apr. 1 Pro FC show in Volgograd, Russia. All reports indicate that fight was stopped prematurely by the ref. Who knows what she'll be like without a Russian ref to protect her? Kelly Kobold will face Brazilian Vanessa Porto. Kelly's record is 18-3-1 and her last fight was a win over Pipi Taylor on the Apr. 15, 2011 Brutal Fight Night show in Owatonna, MN. That was Kelly's first fight since 2008 so rust could be a factor. It got so bad she played Lingerie Football for a while. Vanessa is 14-4 and her last fight was a win over Luana Teixeira on the Mar. 10 Pink Fight show in Goytacazes, Brazil. Right now I don't think the level of competition is that high in Brazil. Barb Honchak will face Bethany Marshall. Barb is 5-1 and her last fight was a win over Roxanne Modafferi on the Oct. 1 Blackeye show in Fletcher, NC. Bethany is 4-0 and her last win was over Stacy Grant on the Mar. 25, 2011 M-1 Global show in Norfolk, VA. This looks like a big step up in competition for her. Julia Budd will face Swede Elina Nilsson. Julia's MMA record is 2-2 but she has a lengthy kickboxing resume. Her last fight was a loss to Ronda Rousey on the Nov. 18 Strikeforce show. Elina is 2-2 and her last fight was a win over Danielle West on the May 7, 2011 The Zone FC show in Gothenburg, Sweden. Again, one never knows what these little known European fighters will be like. Carla Esparza will face Sarah Schneider. Carla is an All American wrestler. Her record is 6-2 and her last fight was a win over Felice Herrig on the Dec. 2 XFC show in Tampa. Carla should be fine if she sticks to wrestling and doesn't try to be a kickboxer. Sarah is 6-5 and her last fight was a win over Sally Krumdiak on the first Invicta show. Her record is deceiving because she likes to fight top competition. Angelica Chavez will face Kikuyo Ishikawa. Angelica's record is 4-1 and her last fight was a loss to Diana Rael on the Aug. 13 MMA Fight Pit show in Albuquerque. Her dad is her trainer and has been known to pull her from fights for no reason. New Mexico needs more regulation anyway. Kikuyo is 7-3 and her last fight was a win over Shino VanHoose on the May 20 PANCRASE show in her home town of Okinawa. I'm sure that was a big deal for her. This will be her first fight outside Japan and her first in a cage. Jessamyn Duke will face Suzie Monteiro. This will be Jessamyn's pro debut but she has a 5-2 amateur record. Suzie is 1-0. She beat Kim Couture on the Oct. 15 W-1 show in Coral Gables, FL. So this might as well be her pro debut. Jocelyn Lyberger will face Cheryl Chan. Both are making pro debuts. Jocelyn's amateur record is 4-2. Cheryl's amateur record is 6-3. Also making pro debuts will be Jessica Philippus vs Liz McCarthy. Jessica's amateur record is 7-1. Liz' amateur record is 6-0. Stay tuned to Twitter as I'm sure there will be changes to the show as it gets closer.
No comments:
Post a Comment