Now that Invicta has announced the full card for their July 13 show in Kansas City, it's time to pick it apart as I always do. I don't believe they are getting a TV deal or they would have one already. And no network would allow a show this long. Because they only run four shows a year, they tend to do what we call in pro wrestling hotshotting. They overrate fighters and rush them to the top of the card. They are still doing that a little bit but maybe they are getting less antsy. It's also clear that Invicta plans to abandon the 135lb weight class. Of course they will deny that but one of the fights on this show says otherwise. The one good thing is I don't see any unproven European fighters with padded records on this show. I hope they have stopped doing that. The main event will have Marloes Coenen vs Cris Cyborg for the 145lb championship. Of course they have fought before and I haven't seen anything from Marloes that says that she do any better than last time. Carla Esparza will defend her 115lb championship against JEWELS champ Ayaka Hamasaki. They couldn't get Ayaka a few months ago so they did a title match that should have been delayed until they could get Ayaka. Of course Ayaka is trained by Megumi Fujii so she will be well prepared. A title change is certainly possible. Sarah D'Alelio will face Lauren Taylor. Lauren beat Kaitlin Young in her Invicta debut. This fight is at 135 but I wouldn't be surprised if both fought in different weight classes next time. I think it's too high on the card. Leslie Smith will face Jennifer Maia at 125lb. As far as I know, Leslie has always fought at 135. She just signed a new deal with Invicta though I think she should be in the UFC. Jennifer got a good win over Zoila Gurgel. Some thought it was an upset. I do not. Jessica Penne comes off losing her title to Michelle Waterson to face Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc. Jessica should be the favourite but one never knows how fighters react to a loss like that. Scottish fighter Joanne Calderwood will face Brazilian Claudia Gadelha. Claudia was supposed to face Carla Esparza for the title in January but she broke her nose in training. She is undefeated but has never faced a fighter at Joanne's level. Claudia is a jiu jitsu wiz but Joanne is hard to take down. This match should be higher on the card. Ediane Gomes will face Julia Budd. My guess is the winner of this fight will face the winner of Coenen vs Cyborg. Bec Hyatt will face MIZUKI. Though most fans here won't be familiar with MIZUKI, she is already an elite fighter at age 18. She started out kickboxing in J-Girls and then switched to MMA at JEWELS. Her only loss is to Ayaka Hamasaki. She is very mature for her age. Muay Thai wiz Miriam Nakamoto will face Brazilian Duda Yankovich making her US debut. Undefeated fighters Rose Namajunas and Tecia Torres will face each other. Both fighters bring a lot of energy to the cage. It should be higher on the card. Ashley Cummins will face Emily Kagan. In her last fight, Ashley was clobbered by a Joanne Calderwood knee. KO artist Veronica Rothenhausler shouldn't have any trouble with local club fighter Mollie Estes. And in the opener, Laura Sanko will face Livia von Plettenberg. Livia lost to Joanne Calderwood but I thought she hung in there well to go the distance with her. As always, the card is subject to change.
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