“Rowdy” Bec Hyatt (left) displayed a stone-face glare on stage beside her opponent Jasminka Cive (right) at today’s Invicta Fighting Championships weigh-in, one day before the two bitter rivals face off at the women’s MMA world championship doubleheader event at Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Mo., live on InvictaFC.com.
Julia Budd (left) and Mollie Estes (right) will face each other in a featherweight contest on the main card.
Prolific striker Kaitlin Young (left) will make her fourth start in the Invicta FC cage against undefeated rising star Lauren Taylor (right) in a bantamweight battle.
Superstar Zoila Frausto Gurgel (left) will make her much-anticipated Invicta FC debut against Jennifer Maia (right) in a flyweight tilt.
Former world champion Sarah Kaufman (left) weighed in at 135.5 pounds while her Invicta FC 5 bantamweight opponent Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith (right) clocked in at 134.9 pounds.
Pound-for-pound sensation Cris Cyborg (left) makes her return to the cage and her Invicta FC debut against Fiona Muxlow (right) in a featherweight battle.
Vanessa Porto (left) will square off with Barb Honchak (right) in the co-main event and first-ever Invicta FC world flyweight title fight.
Reigning Invicta FC World Atomweight Champion Jessica Penne (left) will put her title on the line in the Invicta FC 5 main event against fellow superstar Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson (right).
The Invicta FC Phoenix Girls (from left to right) Shannon Irhke, Gianna Puppo and Natasha Wicks debuted their new outfits at today’s weigh-ins.
All 13 bouts, including the world atomweight (105 pounds) title fight between defending champion Jessica Penne (10-1) of Huntington Beach, Calif. and challenger Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson (10-3) of Albuquerque, N.M. were made official today for the Invicta Fighting Championships women’s Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) world championship doubleheader event tomorrow, Saturday, April 5 at Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, live on Invicta FC.com..
Penne weighed in at 104.9 pounds and Waterson registered a weight of 104.7 pounds.
Co-main event opponents Barb Honchak (7-2) of Bettendorf, Iowa and Vanessa Porto (15-2) of Sao Paulo, Brazil weighed in at 124.6 pounds and 124.8 pounds, respectively, for their matchup that will be contested as the first Invicta FC world flyweight (125 pounds) championship bout in history.
Pound-for-pound great Cris Cyborg (10-1) of Curitiba, Brazil weighed in at 144.8 pounds for her Invicta FC featherweight (145 pounds) debut against Fiona Muxlow (6-2) of Townsville, Queensland Australia. Muxlow tipped the scales at 143.8 pounds.
Tickets for Invicta FC 5, priced from $25, are on sale online at TicketFly.com.
The live stream of the event, which will begin at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST, is available for purchase, in its entirety, on InvictaFC.com for a credit card charge of $9.95. Veteran MMA voice Mauro Ranallo, superstar “King Mo” Lawal and women’s sensation Julie Kedzie will call the action cageside.
In other action on the eight-bout main card, bantamweight (135 pounds) superstar Sarah Kaufman (15-2) of Victoria, BC Canada will go to war with Invicta FC 3 and Invicta FC 4 winner Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith (5-2-1) of Pleasant Hill, Calif.
Flyweight superstar Zoila Frausto Gurgel (12-2) of Cincinnati, Ohio will also make her Invicta FC debut in another featured bout against submission expert Jennifer Maia (6-2) of Curitiba, Parana Brazil.
Undefeated KO artist Lauren Taylor (5-0) of Anchorage, Alaska will battle hard-hitting Kaitlin Young (7-7-1) of St. Louis Park, Minn. at bantamweight.
“Rowdy” Bec Hyatt (4-2) of Brisbane, Australia will look to return to the win column against undefeated sensation and Invicta FC newcomer Jasminka Cive (5-0) of Graz, Austria in a strawweight (115 pounds) meeting.
Hard-hitting kickboxing stylist Julia “The Jewel” Budd (4-2) of Port Moody, BC Canada will square off with upstart Mollie Estes (1-1) of Kansas City in a featherweight contest.
Doors at Star Pavilion at Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City open for Invicta FC 5 open at 5 p.m. CST and the first preliminary bout begins at 6 p.m.
Photo Credit: Esther Lin / Invicta Fighting Championships
