Analysis of Invicta FC 25

Yesterday Invicta announced the full card of Invicta FC 25. the show will be Aug. 31 at the Tachi palace in Lemoore, CA. Well, at least it's not in Kansas City. As usually is the case with Invicta, the main card is a little weak but I've seen worse. When Tonya Evinger went to the UFC, Invicta moved Raquel Pa'aluhi vs Yana Kunitskaya to the main event of this show for the Invicta Bantamweight Championship to the Invicta FC 25 main event. I don't believe either are main event fighters. I guess the thinking is they were going to fight for a title shot anyway so have them fight for the title. It's a move of convenience which is not sound matchmaking. I understand it but I don't agree with it. The co-main will have former Strawweight champ Livia Renata Souza vs Jodie Esquibel. So the main reason this is high on the card is Jodie is very popular. She's also a dreaded points fighter. Of course I hate points fighters. This is for the vacant Invicta Strawweight Championship. Remember that just because a fighter is popular doesn't mean she's good. I don't know if either should fight for a title. So those are the two main fights and I guess they are booking the rest as prelims. In a Bantamweight fight, Alexa Connors will face Katharine Lehner. Alexa returns to Invicta after a 1-1 record in 2016. She won her last fight for LFA in April. She is 26 years old from Columbia, SC. Maybe she has improved. Katharine is 27 years old from Cologne, Germany. She's 5-0 and in her last fight she won a title in Germany. I would still describe her as unproven. It's high on the card when it's more suited to be a prelim. In a Strawweight bout, Sharon Jacobson will face Kali Robbins. Sharon is 33 years old from Colorado Springs, CO. Her record is 3-1 and 2-0 in Invicta. She beat Jamie Moyle in her last fight. Jamie is now in the UFC. Considering her experience, she's a little old. Kali is 33 years old from Milwaukee. She trains at Roufussport. She's 3-0 and I also think she's a little old. In an Atomweight bout, Shino VanHoose will Alyse Anderson. Shino has been in Invicta before. She also used to live in Japan. She now lives in Boise, ID. She's 22 years old and her record is 5-5. I haven't been impressed with her but maybe she has improved since moving to the US. Alyse is from Michigan but it looks like she is training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Her record is 3-0 but she's unproven. It might be OK. In a Bantamweight bout, Kelly McGill will face Amberlynn Orr. Both have fought on Invicta prelims with mixed results. It looks like Kelly may have had a couple of long layoffs. In a Bantamweight bout, Shaianna Rincon will face Stephanie Eggar. Shaianna made her Invicta and pro debut in May. She has a lot of amateur experience. Stephanie is from Switzerland with a 2-1 record. She lost in her Invicta debut Nov. 2016. I seem to recall that I liked Shaianna. In a Flyweight bout, Cheri Muraski will face Tracy Cortez. Both are debuting in Invicta. Cheri is 3-0. She's 38 years old from Denver. Tracy is 23 years old from Phoenix. She has a 5-0 amateur record. Invicta seems to do a lot of young vs old matches. In the opener, Atomweights Ashley Medina will face Jillian DeCoursey. Both are making Invicta and pro debuts. Ashley is 21 years old and she is a teammate of Aspen Ladd at MMA Gold in El Dorado Hills, CA. Jillian is from New York. The only thing I know about her is she has a rabid fanbase on Twitter. I guess that's enough to get an Invicta contract these days. As I said, the main card is weak. Most of the fights are prelim caliber.