Invicta FC 21 headliner Megan Anderson vs. Charmaine Tweet now for interim featherweight title

With featherweight champion Cristiane Santos potentially sidelined for the foreseeable future after a potential anti-doping violation, Invicta FC 21 will see a big change at the top of the card.

The headliner between Megan Anderson (7-2) and Charmaine Tweet (9-5) now will be for the interim featherweight title. The promotion announced the news today.

Invicta FC 21 takes place Jan. 14 at Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, Mo. The card will stream live on UFC Fight Pass.

In December, UFC officials announced that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency noted a “potential anti-doping policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on Dec. 5, 2016” for “Cyborg” Justino.

In addition, DeAnna Bennett (8-2) has been forced out of the strawweight co-main event against Jodie Esquibel (5-2). Instead, Esquibel now will meet unbeaten promotional newcomer Kali Robbins (4-0) in a 120-pound catchweight fight.

Megan Anderson

Anderson is riding a three-fight winning streak, with all three vitories coming by way of knockout. Most recently, she scored a first-round knockout of Peggy Morgan at Invicta FC 18. Five of her seven career victories have come by way of stoppage.

“I think this is a great move in the right direction for the Invicta featherweight division,” Anderson stated. “It’s an exciting time for the 145-pound athletes and I’m looking forward to bringing my belt back to my team, my family and taking another step forward in my career.”

Tweet is riding her own three-fight winning streak dating back to a loss to featherweight champion Cristiane Justino at Invicta FC 11. After two wins at upstart regional promotion Prestige FC, Tweet returned to Invicta FC in May. At Invicta FC 17 with a spinning backfist knockout of Latoya Walker.

“I’m so excited that this has become an interim title fight,” Tweet stated. “It gives us an even larger platform to showcase the amazing talent in the featherweight division – not that I needed the added incentive of a title to bring the heat in this fight. It was always going to be a barn burner.”

With the changes, the Invicta FC 21 card now includes:

• Megan Anderson vs. Charmaine Tweet – for interim featherweight title
• Jodie Esquibel vs. Kali Robbins – 120-pound catchweight
• Pannie Kianzad vs. Raquel Pa’aluhi
• Aspen Ladd vs. Sijara Eubanks
• Andrea Lee vs. Jenny Liou
• Brieta Carpenter vs. Heather Hardy
• Celine Haga vs. Amy Montenegro
• Christine Ferea vs. Rachael Ostovich

For more on Invicta FC 21, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.