Champ Esparza injured, Hamasaki now meets Gadelha at Invicta FC 6

Invicta FC strawweight champion Carla Esparza (9-2) is injured, so Ayaka Hamasaki (9-0) will meet replacement Claudia Gadelha (9-0) at Invicta FC 6.

Gadelha tweeted news of the change on Saturday, though an official announcement wasn’t made. Esparza, though, today tweeted news of a knee injury following a report from MMAFighting.com.

As Esparza wrote on Twitter: “I am devastated, there is no worse thing for an athlete to experience. I have had this injury for a few weeks, but kept training and did what I could because that’s what fighters do, we fight through things even when they are tough. I was still planning to fight, until I recently discovered a tear was confirmed. I apologize to my fans, fans, and family who wanted to see me perform, I wanted to put on an amazing fight for you.”

Invicta FC 6 takes place July 13 at Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Mo. The event streams as an online pay-per-view. Hamasaki vs. Gadelha is slotted as the co-headliner.

Hamasaki, a standout Japanese fighter who’s also the current Pancrase women’s lightweight champion, is a Megumi Fujii-trained fighter. She’s won all nine of her pro bouts, including an Invicta FC 2 bout with Lacey Schuckman. Gadelha, meanwhile, was slated to fight Esparza for the title at Invicta FC 4 earlier this year but was forced off the card with a broken nose. The Brazilian and Nova Uniao fighter owns six stoppages (five submissions) in her nine career wins.

Gadelha initially was slated to fight Joanne Calderwood at Invicta FC 6. A replacement hasn’t been announced.

The latest Invicta FC 6 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (Online PPV, 10 p.m. ET)

• Marloes Coenen vs. Cristiane Santos – for inaugural featherweight title
• Claudia Gadelha vs. Ayaka Hamasaki
• Sarah D’alelio vs. Lauren Taylor
• Jennifer Maia vs. Leslie Smith
• Jessica Penne vs. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc
• Joanne Calderwood vs. opponent TBA
• Julia Budd vs. Ediane Gomes
• Bec Hyatt vs. Mizuki Inoue
• Miriam Nakamoto vs. Duda Yankovich

PRELIMINARY CARD (Online PPV, 8 p.m. ET)

• Rose Namajunas vs. Tecia Torres
• Ashley Cummins vs. Emily Kagan
• Mollie Estes vs. Veronica Rothenhausler
• Cassie Robb vs. Livia Von Plettenberg

For the latest on Invicta FC 6, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Claudia Gadelha)