Invicta FC 20 results: Yana Kunitskaya shocks Tonya Evinger with armbar to capture bantamweight title

The main event of the twentieth Invicta FC show featured the biggest upset in the history of the promotion when Yana Kunitskaya submitted Tonya Evinger with an armbar in less than two minutes to capture the bantamweight title.

Invicta FC 20 streamed live on UFC Fight Pass and took place at Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, Mo.

Evinger (18-6) wasted no time taking Kunitskaya (10-2) to the canvas, securing a takedown seconds into the bout. However, scoring the takedown started the countdown to the end of Evinger’s title reign.

Kunitskaya worked off her back and locked up an armbar against the cage. Evinger attempted to defend by standing on Kunitsaya’s face, but when escape was not to be found, tapped out on the challenger’s leg.

The shocking upset came at the 1:59 mark of Round 1, snapping Evinger’s dominant nine-fight winning streak.

A jubilant Kunitskaya said she was surprised to win by submission because she expected to take the title after a knockout.

Hill retains strawweight belt

Strawweight champ Angela Hill (6-2) showed off her continually improving MMA game by not only surviving, but often thriving on the ground with Kaline Medeiros (8-5).

Medeiros drove through Hill with a takedown near the 3:00 mark of Round 1. Hill, however, wasted no time locking in her legs in a triangle choke position. While Hill didn’t have the hold perfectly locked in for the submission, she did use the hold to land elbows to Medeiros’ head.

Medeiros managed to work her way out of the hold and got to her feet only to find herself on the receiving hend of a right hand from Hill.

The sharp right hands from Hill continued in the early stages of Round 2, but Medeiros sored with another takedown. This time, she was not in immediate danger from Hill and that allowed her to land a few strikes before the fight went back to distance on the feet.

In Round 3, Hill used a takedown counter to spend most of the round in top position, again keeping Medeiros from fighting comfortably in the areas where her game thrives.

Over the championship rounds, Hill’s striking was the difference because she picked apart Medeiros while taking a matador approach to the face-first rushes from Medeiros.

The judges scored the fight 50-45, 49-46, 48-47, all for Hill, who retains her 115-pound title.

Tiburcio snaps two-fight skid

Oddsmakers heavily favored former champ Herica Tiburcio (10-4) to take out Simona Soukupova (9-3), and for two rounds, the variety of successful offensive techniques from Tiburcio showed exactly why that was.

Tiburcio damaged Soukupova’s face on the feet before taking the fight to the ground and throwing heavy punches from top position. Soukupova managed to work back to her feet and end the opening round standing.

The barrage continued on the feet in the second round, with the longer fighter in Soukupova getting picked apart by the better technique of Tiburcio.

Soukupova amped up the aggression in Round 3, pushing in and throwing power shots with Tiburcio moving backward for the first time in the fight. Tiburcio landed crisp shots but Soukupova followed her pressure striking to lock up a clinch against the cage.

Soukupova landed a heavy right hand and a knee to the body that appeared to have Tiburcio stunned, but she was unable to do anything with the moment before the bout came to a close.

The official scorecards read 29-28 across the board, all for Tiburcio, who snapped a two-fight losing skid since winning the atomweight title with a win over Michelle Waterson.

Yoder taps Brown in second

The ground games of Ashley Yoder (5-1) and Amber Brown (6-3) were on display early in their bantamweight fight. Brown caught a kick early in the first round to take the fight to the mat. Brown advanced position initially, but the submission attack so Yoder kept her from completely unloading with her attack until the end of the round.

Early in the second round, Yoder was the one to drive through a takedown and put the fight on the ground. Brown worked to her feet but was taken down by a trip once again and Yoder began hammering with punches before locking up an armbar. Brown attempted to ride out the deep joint lock but was forced to tap as her elbow began to fully bend the wrong way.

The tap came at the 2:31 mark of Round 2. Yoder’s win in the fight, her Invicta debut, was her fourth consecutive victory.

Complete Invicta FC 20 results include:

• Yana Kunitskaya def. Tonya Evinger via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:59
• Angela Hill def. Kaline Medeiros via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 48-47) – to retain strawweight title
• Herica Tiburcio def. Simona Soukupova via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ashley Yoder def. Amber Brown via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 2:31
• J.J. Aldrich def. Lynn Alvarez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Alexa Conners def. Stephanie Egger via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Miranda Maverick def. Samantha Diaz via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:26

For more on Invicta FC 20, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.