INVICTA FC 16
MARCH 11, 2016
LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
Invicta FC 16 hits UFC Fight Pass tonight from the Trinidad Pavilion at the Tropicana in Las Vegas, headlined by two title fights from the all women’s MMA organization. We’ll have live results on tonight’s event as they happen with some commentary strewn throughout in this report as well. Stick around with us all night for updates as the card kicks off at 8:30PM ET!
Note for App Users: For fastest refresh rate on our fight result updates throughout the event, we recommend you visit our mobile-friendly browser-based website at http://www.mmatorch.com. Our App unfortunately doesn’t update article changes in real time, but our mobile site does, so there will be delays in live results on our app but not on our mobile site during the event.
Also for App users, swipe right to view next article, swipe left to view previous article.
-Strawweight: Ashley Greenway def. Sarah Click via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)
Note: Competitive opening two rounds with both getting in damaging offense on the feet. Third round was an entertaining ground battle with Greenway searching for armbars and triangles while Click fought out of them.
-Bantamweight: Aspen Ladd def. Kelly McGill via TKO at 1:47 of the third round
Note: Just absolute domination on the part of Ladd. Was on her way to a 30-24 decision after controlling everything on the ground for the first 11 and a half minutes, then finished it off as she kept throwing unanswered strikes on the ground. Nice work from the 21-year-old.
-Flyweight: Sarah D’Alelio def. Andrea Lee via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:21 of the third round
Note: Crazy finish from D’Alelio in a fight she was on her way to losing. Bit of a crushing loss for Lee after what had been a really solid performance for about 13 minutes of that fight. High level matchup for this division, really good fight.
-106.9 lb. Catchweight: Jinh Yu Frey def. Herica Tiburcio via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Note: Had some stream issues on Fight Pass, so wasn’t able to fully catch this bout; Tiburcio seemed convinced she’d won afterward, but it didn’t seem like she’d gotten the best of things in what I was able to see, and she got knocked down badly at the end of the second round.
-Flyweight: Roxanne Modafferi def. DeAnna Bennett via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Note: Slightly surprised it was a split, thought Modafferi did enough to take the two rounds she won fairly clearly. Competitive fight, nothing overly special, but a nice win for Modafferi, who has been better in her Invicta run than she had been for several years prior.
-136.6 lb. Catchweight: Irene Aldana def. Jessamyn Dukevia TKO at 3:08 of the first round
Note: Excellent striking performance from Aldana. She was connecting on Duke throughout the round, and finished her off against the cage with a really well put together combination to the body that opened up a knock down strike to the head. Impressive work.
-Strawweight: Angela Hill def. Stephanie Eggink via TKO at 2:36 of the second round
Note: Eggink tried to work kicks from the outside, but Hill continued to press forward to attack, and she continuously found a home for her strikes. That started to add up until Hill finally dropped Eggink with a looping overhand right to the jaw. She wanted to walk off as Eggink was clearly hurt, but with the ref not stepping in Hill added a couple more strikes to force the stoppage. She’s looked great with Invicta now that she gets to fight experience-appropriate competition. She’d been thrown to the wolves in the UFC and it certainly didn’t do her any favors in development.
-Vanessa Porto vs. Jennifer Maia (Interim Flyweight Championship)
Round One: Porto worked some leg kicks early as both tested out the range. Porto then dropped Maia with a right hand less than a minute in. Maia recovered, fought out of a ground attack and got to her feet, but she got rocked with that big right hand. The round slowed for a while, Porto getting the better of the exchanges when they happened. Maia finally got in a hard strike, but Porto pressed her back before Maia could capitalize. Porto’s round.
Round Two: Maia landed well in the opening minute and a half, beating Porto to the punch often. Porto finally exploded for a takedown, and eventually worked for an armbar attempt. She lost it, but stayed on Maia to remain on top. Porto’s nose was busted up from the early exchanges as she worked from top position. Maia tried to attack from the bottom and forced Porto to stand. Maia landed an upkick but because Porto had a hand down she instead got a warning about the upkicks. Still an awful rule. After they traded strikes following the reset, Porto got a takedown to mount. She did some damage, then got swept late before the horn. Probably Porto’s round, but that “illegal” kick call was weak.
Round Three: Both connected early and often in the opening minute. They got into the second minute and continued throwing huge strikes, many of which were connecting for them both. They clinched briefly, then broke with both landing strikes. Maia connected on a nice straight kick to the face. Porto, despite landing some significant strikes, seemed to be fading even as she continued throwing. Maia rocked her with a right hand, then countered a takedown attempt to get on top herself. Maia went for a back crucifix out of a spot where Porto was turtled up, but turned it into a scramble. Maia went for a guillotine and tried to work her legs into guard. Porto was bleeding badly, but defended the hold. Maia continued trying to lock the hold on but ran out of time. That one’s a Maia round despite her ending on the bottom.
Round Four: Good offense from both early on, with each fighter delivering on significant strikes through the opening two minutes. Maia looked much fresher, with Porto considerably more labored in her movement. However, Porto scored a takedown midway through the round that changed its complexion. Maia then attacked for an armbar from the bottom and swept! Porto defended extremely well early, but Maia wouldn’t let it go. Real rough stalemate as Porto held on as best she could while Maia continued to work for it. They were then stood up from an armbar attempt. That’s… man that’s just a freaking terrible standup. Maia engaged after the ref had the doctor check on Porto’s cut, and they traded strikes. Maia was getting the better of the exchanges at the cage, and got in a few more in the clinch. Porto scored a takedown in the final second, but that should be Maia’s round to even things up. Really bad stand up from that armbar attempt from the ref.
Round Five: Maia played the aggressor, though Porto got in some offense on the outside. Maia worked well in a clinch, landing several strikes and working in a few knees to go along with her punches. Porto got a brief break due to some loose tape on her glove. As they reset Maia came out firing, then attempted to reverse a takedown attempt. They scrambled from there with Maia getting back to her feet and driving in for a takedown. Porto got in a few strikes. Maia threw a head kick, and as Porto caught it and shot for a takedown, Maia attacked for a guillotine. She didn’t have the best position, and lost the hold. She didn’t let it go entirely, and she reset her hands to attack as Porto threw some punches to the body. Maia tried to improve the hold briefly, then lost it late in the round. Porto did almost nothing from the guard as the round wound down. I’d give that to Maia, but there could be an argument otherwise. Really good fight.
Winner: Maia via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Star Rating: (***+) That was stellar. Really good fight start to finish, the story of the bout and their history together lifted it a bit, and Maia’s reaction in victory was excellent as well. The type of fight you don’t often see on cards of this level, but it was very much welcome.
-Main Event: Ayaka Hamasaki vs. Amber Brown (Atomweight Championship)
Round One: Hamasaki landed a few quick strikes. She stepped back, then exploded with a takedown into half guard. Brown tried to lock her down, attempting to attack from the bottom. Hamasaki threw down some significant strikes, but Brown tossed her legs up to lock on a triangle choke attempt. She landed a series of elbows as she tried to secure the position. Hamasaki defended calmly, and she threw some strikes from the top, but Brown continued to attack with elbows. Hamasaki continued to stay patient, and eventually worked her way free to move into side control. Hamasaki went for a mounted crucifix, but Brown defended. Hamasaki went for an americana, but got swept late. Hamasaki wouldn’t let go of the hold, but Brown transitioned into full guard with seconds remaining. Tough round to score there.
Round Two: Minimal offense from both early. Brown worked to a clinch and got in some strikes before eventually dragging Hamasaki to the ground. Hamasaki turtled up as Brown held control of an arm and threw some punches. Hamasaki tried to attack an arm for a sweep and wound up on top. She tried to set up the straight armbar but lost it. Hamasaki tried to posture up as Brown utilized a high guard. Brown again attacked for the triangle, but Hamasaki stacked up a bit. Brown held onto the attempt and tried to get into a better position. She continued holding the submission through to the horn. Feel like that one has to be Brown’s round.
Round Three: Brown came out aggressively, backed Hamasaki up to the cage, and took her down. Hamasaki again attacked Brown’s right arm and used it for a sweep. She passed to side control and held onto the kimura attempt. Brown defended nicely. Hamasaki transitioned to an armbar attempt. Brown continued to fight it as Hamasaki wouldn’t let it go. She again tried to escape but had nowhere to go, and she finally had to tap. Another crazy fight and a fantastically nasty submission. Her arm was completely hyper-extended, and that replay is hard to watch.
Winner: Hamasaki via submission (armbar) at 2:52 of the third round
Star Rating: (***+) Stellar title fight to follow up on the co-main event. Brown was doing extremely well in the fight, out-working Hamasaki on the ground in the first ten minutes, but Hamasaki showed how dangerous she could be there as well, and that armbar is on the level of Ronda Rousey-Miesha Tate I as far as hard-to-watch armbars are concerned. Didn’t quite turn the corner on the hyper-extension, but it was nasty.
-Thanks for checking out our report tonight, we’ll have results late Saturday on the WSOF event, and we’ll move on to next week where the UFC returns to Brisbane, Australia!
Note for App Users: For fastest refresh rate on our fight result updates throughout the event, we recommend you visit our mobile-friendly browser-based website at http://www.mmatorch.com. Our App unfortunately doesn’t update article changes in real time, but our mobile site does, so there will be delays in live results on our app but not on our mobile site during the event.
Also for App users, swipe right to view next article, swipe left to view previous article.
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