Women's MMA fans were rightly overjoyed when it was announced that Invicta FC became part of the UFC family with their addition to UFC Fight Pass. Today, a special conference call was held to discuss the next step in that relationship, as well as Invicta's future.
Most importantly for MMA fans, Invicta FC 8 was announced. The card will be held September 6, and will air exclusively in the United States on UFC Fight Pass.
The event will be headlined by an atomweight title fight between reigning champion Michelle Waterson and Yasuko Tamada. The co-main event will be a fight for the vacant 115-pound title between Katja Kankaanpaa and Stephanie Eggink.
The card will also feature The Ultimate Fighter season 18 competitors Roxanne Modafferi, Tara LaRosa, Peggy Morgan and Tonya Evinger, as well as Invicta FC's first-ever lightweight (155-pound) fight between Veronica Rothenhausler and Charmaine Tweet.
Other fights: Gomes vs. Evinger. Modafferi vs. LaRosa Morgan vs. Aldana 155: Rothenhauser vs. Tweet will be first lightweight fight.
— Heidi Fang (@HeidiFang) July 10, 2014
Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino will not be fighting at Invicta FC 8. However, Invicta stated that the former Strikeforce champ is in the process of working her way down to 135 pounds (she currently fights at 145), but she remains a part of the Invicta FC team at this time.
On the business end, the UFC will begin attempting to secure international TV deals for Invicta FC. Executives from both promotions also stated that pay-per-view events may be a possibility in the future but in the meantime, Invicta will air exclusively in the United States, on UFC Fight Pass.
UFC will be pushing Invicta for TV deals around the world.
— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) July 10, 2014
Last but not least, for those who missed it, Invicta's first seven events have all been added to UFC Fight Pass, including fights like Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino vs. Marloes Coenen 2, Jessica Penne vs. Michelle Waterson and Tecia Torres vs. Felice Herrig.
This is all exciting news for Invicta. While the promotion has been a boon for fans, there were questions about the promotion's longevity after frequent issues regarding its online PPV structure, as well as the UFC's buyout of its strawweight division, and frequent skimming of the promotion's top female bantamweights.
The promotion's move to Fight Pass, hopefully, will give it a platform where it can move upwards in terms of size, sponsorships and revenue.
