Invicta FC 7 took place in Kansas City, Missouri, and in the night’s main event, Barb Honchak retained her Invicta flyweight championship by defeating challenger Leslie Smith with a unanimous decision.
Honchak controlled the first two rounds with her wrestling and sharp striking. She was able to take down Smith in the periods and connect with the cleaner shots.
The tide changed in the third frame as Smith was able to keep the fight standing and began to unload with combinations. Honchak returned to form in the latter two rounds with a well-executed takedowns. Leslie Smith was able to get up, but she didn’t put up enough striking offense to steal the rounds.
Honchak (9-2) has extended her impressive winning streak to eight with the victory, and Smith (6-4-1) has now lost the fourth decision in her career.
Murphy claims bantamweight championship as Nakamoto suffers an injury
What was playing out as an exciting, back-and-forth contest ended in disappointing fashion as Miriam Nakamoto suffered a knee injury in the third round of the Invicta FC bantamweight championship fight against Lauren Murphy that led her to demise in the fourth.
Nakamoto injured her knee as she was taken down by Murphy in the third frame, but she gutted out the injury after the round and continued. As Nakamoto set her feet in the early moments of the fourth round, she collapsed leading to the end of the contest. It was a terrible sight to see a talented fighter like Nakamoto injure herself.
The first two rounds of the fight were clearly for Nakamoto. She was able to control the fight with her superior stand-up and vicious leg kicks, but Murphy gained the momentum in the third round as she introduced her clinch and wrestling game.
Murphy (8-0) has now won her eight straight contest since starting the sport in 2010, and Nakamoto (2-1, 1 NC) has now lost for the first time in her young, yet promising career.
Torres makes a statement with decision victory against Herrig
It’s time to stop labeling Tecia Torres as a prospect. The 24 year-old strawweight shed that label with her most impressive victory by out-working Felice Herrig on the feet to win a unanimous decision.
Torres was able to find her range fairly quickly connect with clean striking exchanges in each round. Her speed and unpredictability when it comes to strike output led to her to an unquestionable victory. After the fight, Invicta FC strawweight champion Carla Esparza called out Torres, and it appears that her next next title defense will be against the “Tiny Tornado”.
It was the fourth decision win for Torres (4-0) as her bright career continues in an upward trajectory, and Herrig (9-5) suffered her first defeat since 2011.
Calderwood takes close decision win over Kankaanpaa
Strawweight striking artist Joanne Calderwood impressed with her footwork, head movement, and hand speed to win a relatively close decision over Katja Kankaanpaa.
Kankaanpaa put Calderwood in precarious positions in the latter two frames with her wrestling and clinchwork, but Calderwood was able to get return to the feet and go back to work with her technical striking. The biggest issue with Calderwood’s gameplan in the fight was how hesitant she was. While I understand that her game relies on counterstrikes, her inactivity nearly led to an unnecessary loss.
Calderwood (8-0) evened out her decision to KO ratio at 1:1 with her fourth career decision, and the loss is the first blemish on Kankaanpaa’s career (8-1-1).
Budd makes case for Cyborg fight with a convincing decision win
Julia Budd utilized her wrestling and grappling to dominate Charmaine Tweet for three rounds which led to a clear unanimous decision that may have earned her a future shot against Invicta FC Featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino.
The strength and balance of Budd was on display throughout the fight as she was able to take down Tweet at will and smother her form the top position with little trouble. The highlight of the fight for Tweet came in the second round when she was able to sweep Budd, but it was only a matter of time before she was on her back once again.
The win is Budd’s (6-2) fourth straight, and Tweet’s (4-4) record returns to .500 with the loss.
Porto defeats former Bellator champion with a decision
In the flyweight division, the key to Vanessa Porto’s unanimous decision victory over the inaugural Bellator women’s strawweight champion, Zoila Gurgel, was her powerful right cross. Gurgel was wary of the strike throughout the bout which negatively impacted her performance as she was too patient and allowed her opponent to control the pace of the fight.
Both women failed to employ much damage in a first frame that went down as more of a feeling out process than an actual round, although Gurgel did punctuate the ending of the period with a right head kick. In the second and third round, Porto began to let her right hand loose and connect with several combinations that centered around that punch.
With the victory, Porta (16-6) returns to the winners circle after a loss to Barb Honchak, and Gurgel’s (12-4) losing streak was extended to three.
Evinger and Ansaroff victorious on the prelims
Women’s MMA veteran Tonya Evinger went back to her wrestling roots to grind out a tough unanimous decision win over Sarah D’Alelio.
With the bantamweight fight tied up heading into the third round, Evinger took down a drained D’Alelio and maintained control from the top position while fending off submission attempts. With the victory, Evinger (13-6) now matches the longest winning streak of her career at four, while D’Alelio’s (7-6) Invicta FC record regresses to 3-3.
A fierce flurry of right and lefts from rising flyweight Nina Ansaroff put away Munah Holland in the second frame. The combination dropped Holland, and Ansaroff polished the two time Bellator fighter off with a few more punches until John McCarthy stopped the contest. Since starting her career off 1-3, Ansaroff (7-3) has turned her career around with her fifth straight victory. The loss is Holland (5-4) lone performance in 2013.
Main Card (PPV)
Barb Honchak def. Leslie Smith via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Lauren Murphy def. Miriam Nakamoto via TKO – Round 4, :23
Tecia Torres def. Felice Herrig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joanne Calderwood def. Katja Kankaanpaa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Julia Budd def. Charmaine Tweet via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Vanessa Porto def. Zoila Gurgel via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card (InvictaFC.com)
Tonya Evinger def. Sarah D’Alelio via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Nina Ansaroff def. Munah Holland via TKO – Round 2, 3:54