Women's MMA Report: Paige VanZant silences doubters, Invicta 12 on deck

Paige VanZant and Felice Herrig

Proving her critics wrong again, Paige VanZant earned her second octagon victory in impressive fashion on Saturday night at UFC on FOX 15 in Newark, N.J. Competing in her most high-profile bout to date, the 21-year-old Reebok-sponsored fighter easily defeated veteran contender Felice Herrig in a featured strawweight bout on the FOX-televised main card.

Leading into Saturday’s fight, some predicted that the hype surrounding VanZant (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) would come to an abrupt halt with a loss to Herrig (10-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who has been competing professionally in MMA for more than six years. Instead, just as she did in her November UFC debut, VanZant silenced doubters with another commanding victory.

Herrig’s best success came in Round 1 when she threatened with a rear-naked choke after reversing a takedown. However, VanZant has proven to be highly adept at escaping from submissions throughout her young career, and Saturday was no different. She slammed her way out of an armbar and landed some solid ground and pound from the top. Shortly before the bell, VanZant attempted a heel hook to put Herrig even further on the defensive.

While the opening round was a close one, VanZant was in complete control of the fight during the final 10 minutes. She stood over a downed Herrig and dropped hard punches and elbows in Round 2 that caused Herrig’s face to swell up. After attempting a rear-naked choke in Round 3, VanZant continued her offensive onslaught with non-stop ground and pound that left Herrig battered and bloodied, and referee Vitor Ribeiro kept a close eye on the action.

Herrig survived until the final bell, but VanZant’s dominance in Round 3 was enough to earn her a pair of 10-8 scores from the judges. She took a clear-cut unanimous-decision win with scores of 30-27 and 30-26 twice, and remains one of the fastest-rising stars – male or female – on the UFC roster today. VanZant is still a ways away from a title shot, and she has not yet challenged any of the division’s elite fighters, but she proved on Saturday that she is more than just hype.

Nine bouts set for Saturday’s Invicta FC 12 card in Kansas City

Katja Kankaanpaa

In spite of a pair of late changes this week, Invicta Fighting Championships 12 will proceed with nine female fights on Friday night at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The Invicta FC 12 card is headlined by a strawweight title fight between champion Katja Kankaanpaa (10-1-1) and undefeated Brazilian challenger Livia Renata Souza (7-0).

Kankaanpaa became the promotion’s second 115-pound champion in September when she submitted Stephanie Eggink in the fifth round of a vacant title fight. Her lone career defeat came via a close decision against current UFC fighter Joanne Calderwood at Invicta FC 7 in late 2013. Kankaanpaa holds victories over two other UFC competitors, Aisling Daly and Juliana de Lima Carneiro, and she looks to make her first successful Invicta FC title defense on Friday.

Souza enters her Invicta FC debut as a relative unknown to North American MMA fans, but the submission specialist has torn through the competition in her home country. The 24-year-old has submitted six of her opponents to date including five in the first round. Her most notable victory came in her most recent fight in September when she choked out Camila Lima, who holds a decision win – albeit a highly controversial one – over reigning Invicta FC atomweight champion Herica Tiburcio. Lima was completely overrun by Souza, who locked on a standing rear-naked choke right away and finished Lima in just 47 seconds.

The Invicta FC 12 co-main event features a rematch between flyweight contenders Roxanne Modafferi (17-11) and Vanessa Porto (17-6). The pair’s first meeting in April 2008 ended in a third-round TKO victory for Modafferi, who is currently in the midst of a career resurgence since relocating back to the U.S. in 2013. She has won back-to-back fights and most recently defeated Andrea Lee at Invicta FC 10. Porto has also won two in a row since dropping a five-round decision to Invicta FC flyweight champion Barb Honchak in April 2013. She now looks to avenge her past loss to Modafferi and earn another shot at Invicta FC gold.

In a featured featherweight matchup, hard-hitting prospect Amanda Bell (3-2) squares off against New Zealand’s Faith Van Duin (6-1). Bell re-signed with Invicta FC this past summer after knocking out highly-touted prospect Marina Shafir, and she earned her first Invicta FC victory in November by stopping Maria Hougaard Djursaa. Bell has finished three straight opponents. Van Duin opened her career with six consecutive victories. She became Storm MMA women’s featherweight champion by winning a one-night title tournament in August 2013. Her lone defeat came one year later when she was stopped by recent Bellator signee Arlene Blencowe in a Storm MMA rematch. She was initially slated to make her North American debut at Invicta FC 10, but her fight was scrapped when opponent Charmaine Tweet was not cleared to compete.

Elsewhere on the card, Ediane Gomes (10-3) battles Raquel Pa’aluhi (4-4) in a bantamweight bout. Gomes looks to rebound from a loss to Tonya Evinger in September, while Pa’aluhi has won two straight. Peggy Morgan (3-2) seeks her second Invicta FC victory when she takes on Sugar Creek Showdown women’s featherweight champion Latoya Walker (4-0), who makes her promotional debut. In strawweight action, Lacey Schuckman (10-8) returns to Invicta FC to face Jenny Liou Shriver (3-1). Schuckman is 3-2 since her thrilling bout with Michelle Waterson at Invicta FC 3, though two of those wins came against absurdly overmatched opponents.

Rounding out the action at Invicta FC 12, Sugar Creek Showdown women’s strawweight champion Delaney Owen (3-1) faces Sharon Jacobson (2-1) at 115 pounds, Shannon Sinn (1-2) meets Maureen Riordon (0-1) in a flyweight bout, and last-minute replacement Gina Begley (5-3 amateur) steps in to face Sijara Eubanks (1-0 amateur) at bantamweight. An atomweight bout between Cassie Rodish and Stephanie Skinner was scrapped from the card this week after Skinner suffered an injury in training.

Invicta FC 12 streams live this Friday night on UFC Fight Pass.

Quick results

Flyweight – Daniela Maria da Silva (2-2) def. Rayanne Nunes Melo (1-3) via submission (armbar) at the 4:53 mark of Round 1 at “Natal Fight Championship 8: Marcote vs. Edmar” on April 9 in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Da Silva bounced back from a close decision loss in her most recent bout with the first-round finish.

Flyweight – Ania Fucz (3-0) def. Renata Cseh-Lantos (0-2) via unanimous decision at Respect Fighting Championship 12 on April 11 in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Fucz captured the RFC women’s flyweight championship with the five-round victory.

Strawweight – Ericka Almeida (7-0) def. Jennifer Gonzalez (1-1) via submission (triangle choke) at the 1:52 mark of Round 1 at Jungle Fight 76 on April 11 in Itu, Sao Paulo, Brazil. After landing a series of knees on the feet, Almeida mounted her short-notice replacement foe and locked on a tight triangle choke for the tapout win. She remains one of Brazil’s top female fighters.

Strawweight – Also on the Jungle Fight 76 card, Amanda Ribas (4-0) def. Aline Sattelmayer (9-7) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Ribas controlled the action on the ground throughout the fight and cruised to an easy victory on the scorecards. The talented 21-year-old previously finished three straight opponents in the first round this past year.

Strawweight – Elen Torres (3-1) def. Kessiny Mara (1-8) via TKO (retirement) at the 4:31 mark of Round 2 at Paranagua Fight 8 on April 11 in Paranagua, Parana, Brazil. Torres rebounded from a decision loss two weeks prior by easily stopping the overmatched Mara.

Strawweight – Kaline Medeiros (4-4) def. Calie Cutler (3-1) via unanimous decision at “New England Fights: Fight Night 17” on April 11 in Lewiston, Maine. Medeiros has won three of her past four fights and she holds a seven-second knockout victory over recent Invicta FC title challenger Stephanie Eggink.

Bantamweight – Shanna Young (1-0) def. Katelyn Dykas (0-2) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 1:53 mark of Round 3 at Valor Fights 22 on April 11 in Knoxville, Tenn. Young made a successful pro debut with the tapout win.

Catchweight (120) – Tatiana Padilla Suarez (2-0) def. Carolina Alvarez (0-1) via submission (armbar) at the 2:01 mark of Round 1 at “Gladiator Challenge: California State Championship Series” on April 11 in San Jacinto, Calif. Suarez followed up on her Gladiator Challenge women’s flyweight title victory in July with another impressive win.

Featherweight – Also on the Gladiator Challenge card, Adrienna Jenkins (18-5) def. Kelsey Jorgenson (0-2) via TKO (punches) at the 27-second mark of Round 1. Jenkins returned from a near-five-year hiatus and made quick work of short-notice replacement Jorgenson. Jenkins will next compete at Bellator 137 on May 15.

Flyweight – Jingnan Xiong (4-0) def. Marina Lvova (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 1:52 mark of Round 1 at Kunlun Fight 22 on April 12 in Changde, Hunan, China. Top prospect Xiong continued her string of victories in the Kunlun Fight ring with a dominant first-round finish of Russia’s Lvova. Including kickboxing bouts, Xiong is 7-0 under the Kunlun Fight banner.

Flyweight – Also on the Kunlun Fight 22 card, Liliya Kazak (3-3-1) def. Jin Tang (21-7-3) via submission (armbar) at the 1:06 mark of Round 1. Kazak has won three of her past four fights since suffering a loss to reigning UFC champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in late 2012. She previously scored a notable second-round knockout win over Lena Ovchynnikova in December 2013.

Strawweight – Gabby Walker (1-0) def. Katie Halley (1-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 4:15 mark of Round 1 at “Alaska Fighting Championship 115: Mitchell vs. Patterson” on April 15 in Anchorage, Alaska. Walker kicked off her pro career with a slick first-round submission in the entertaining bout.

Bantamweight – Zaira Dyshekova (1-1) def. Ilona Daurova (1-1) via TKO (punches) at the 4:08 mark of Round 2 at “Absolute Championship Berkut 16: Grand Prix Berkut 2015, Stage 3” on April 17 in Moscow, Russia. Dyshekova notched her first pro win in the fight after dropping her debut to recent UFC signee Izabela Badurek in January.

Strawweight – Liz Tracy (1-0) def. Maria Rios (2-2) via submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 1 at “Lights Out Promotions/Bash Entertainment: Fight Night at Sportsmen’s Lodge 2” on April 17 in Los Angeles, Calif. Tracy followed up on her successful amateur career by quickly submitting the larger and more experienced Rios in her pro debut.

Atomweight – Julia Jones (3-0) def. Diana Rael (5-5) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 3:08 mark of Round 2 at Rumble on the Ridge 31 on April 17 in Snoqualmie, Wash. Jones has made a quick rise up the ranks since turning pro in February 2014. She earned her biggest win to date by submitting Rael, who has been an atomweight contender for close to four years.

Atomweight – Thaty Bergamaschi (3-0) def. Ana Beatriz Melo (0-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 4:58 mark of Round 1 at CHAP Fight 1 on April 18 in Iguacu, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Bergamaschi kept her perfect professional record intact with her second submission victory.

In other action on the CHAP Fight 1 card, Julie Mezabarba (2-1) def. Kakau Costa (0-1) via unanimous decision in a strawweight bout, and Janine Mello (1-0) def. Vanessa India (0-1) via submission (kimura) at the 2:15 mark of Round 1 in bantamweight action.

Catchweight (121) – Thaiane Souza (1-2) def. Aline Tanaka (0-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 2 at Monster Octagon Fight 5 on April 18 in Bage, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Souza returned to action following an 18-month hiatus and picked up her first professional victory with the second-round submission finish.

Flyweight – Reina Cordoba (8-0) def. Diana Reyes (0-3) via submission (armbar) at the 2:46 mark of Round 3 at Center Real Fights 16 on April 18 in Zapote, San Jose, Costa Rica. This bout was a rematch from the pair’s first fight in June, which Cordoba won via third-round TKO. In spite of the fighters’ mismatched records, the rematch was completely dominated by Reyes, who out-wrestled and out-grappled Cordoba on the mat and avoided Cordoba’s wild and sloppy punches on the feet. However, Cordoba was able to reverse a takedown into top position in Round 3 and she transitioned to an armbar for the comeback submission win.

Bantamweight – Marciea Allen (4-2) def. Carina Damm (22-12) via submission (armbar) at the 4:14 mark of Round 1 at “Dakota Fighting Championship 21: Spring Brawl 2015” on April 18 in Fargo, N.D. Damm punched her way into an early clinch and took Allen down, but Allen attacked with submission attempts from her back until she was able to lock on the fight-ending armbar. The struggling Damm has not won a fight in the United States since May 2008, shortly before she was suspended for a positive steroid test from a fight one month prior. She ran into trouble with athletic commissions again in June 2013 by falsifying a post-fight urine sample.

Bantamweight – Priscila de Souza (8-4) def. Luciana dos Passos Pereira (5-4-1) via split decision at Shooto Brazil 53 on April 19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The victory earned de Souza the inaugural Shooto Brazil women’s bantamweight championship. She was aggressive with punching combinations and kept Pereira on the defensive on the feet. De Souza has now won five of her past six fights and she currently sports a three-fight winning streak.

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.