Angela Hill on First Invicta FC Title Defense: 'I Know Her Game Plan' | MMAWeekly.com

Even though she had worked her way to an Invicta Fighting Championships strawweight title shot against champion Livia Renata Souza this past May, former UFC veteran Angela Hill believes she didn’t have a lot of fans backing her in the fight, but that’s okay with her.

Over the course of five rounds, Hill believes she did enough to come out with the victory, and with a split-decision, she came out on top, claiming the Invicta 115-pound championship.

“I was really happy about that fight just because I knew a lot of people thought I was going to get smashed, a lot of people thought I was going to get choked out,” Hill told MMAWeekly.com. ”Every time it went to the ground I know a lot of fans are freaking out because of what happened in the past.

“I showed my improvements on the ground. I think that was my biggest challenge that fight: was just getting back on my feet and being able to be fresh on my feet and score and make up for the few seconds that I was taken down.”

While pleased she was able to take the title, Hill admits there was a few seconds while the judges’ decision was being read that she thought it could be taken out from under her.

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“It sucks because you put your heart out there and you think the fight is going your way, but you never know what the judges are going to see,” said Hill. “I’ve seen people get robbed.

“I thought our fight was close-ish, but not that close. So when I heard it was split, I was like, ‘Oh no,’ because I didn’t really want to get that loss. I thought I did enough to get the win. It was definitely a scary few seconds.”

For her first title defense, Hill (5-2) will take on Kaline Medeiros (8-4) in a 115-pound championship co-main event at Invicta 20 on November 18 in Kansas City, Missouri.

“She’s definitely tough, and no discredit to her, but you’re always going to have tough people coming at you,” Hill said of Medeiros. “She’s on a two-fight winning streak, so she’s coming with a lot of confidence, but I’m ready for her.

“She’s definitely a strong opponent. She definitely has some skills. I can guess her game plan: it’s just like an overhand to take down. But I’m working hard to be ready for whatever she comes at me with.”

After having a banner year in 2016, Hill is looking forward to having an even better year in 2017, and should things go her way, be a lot busier in the process.

“I’m hoping this opens the door for a lot of other opportunities,” said Hill. “If it comes to defending my belt over and over again, or going to a different organization, I just want to fight the best – wherever it is, that’s where I want to go.

“I always want to be the person they can call on to fill in for any fight. I’m hoping to have even more fights next year if that’s possible. I want to be a full-time fighter; that’s the best way to get in there, get paid and get some experience.”

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