Other thoughts on Invicta FC 23. (Note from Mike: Dazza actually did this all as one piece but I broke it into two because it warranted.)
Shiananna Rincon won a fun opener with Brookside Baynard with both making a good impression in their Invicta debuts which had some wild punches and exchanges. Rincon’s crisper more accurate strikes got the judges nod, but Baynard got some heavy offence in and she played her part in this a passionate and entertaining battle. These fighters brought it all and were a credit to the card and I’m looking forward to more opportunities for them in the shows ahead.
Tiffany Van Soest got her first MMA win over Christine Ferea with a striking clinic and weathered a storm when taken to the ground in the final minutes. Van Soest has a lot of expectations of her due to being one of the top kickboxers in the world and she settled in more in this fight and brings an interesting array of striking style to MMA competition.
Ediane Gomes reacted like she’d won the superbowl when she was awarded the split decision over Pam Sorenson in a fight that while mostly on the ground saw some heavy blows landed from both in the final round. Gomes for all her hard, grizzled warrior style had mellow walkout music that sounded like it was the theme to one of the smaltzy films my mum watched on the Hallmark channel.
Andrea Lee was ferocious in the first round against Liz Tracy, with knees and her trademark athletic submission attempts. Although one reckless takedown seem to have her land on her head and almost do as much damage to herself as her opponent. Andrea seemed more cautious in the next two rounds and this allowed Tracy to box herself back into the fight and take Lee the distance. Andrea got the split decision and all three judges had different scores 30-27, 29-28 and 28-29 and over the three rounds was the better fighter but Tracy won herself some respect after been thought of as a sacrificial lamb by some.
Incidentally is it me or is Lee looking more and more like Ronda Rousey? Lee was accompanied to the cage by her daughter in a cowboy hat which was cute.
Kelly Faszcholz started her post UFC career with a steady points win over Elizabeth Phillips.
Herica Tiburcio gave Modafferi a run for her money as The Happy Warrior as she smiled and laughed at the camera during the ring announcements before her spilt decision win over Tessa Simpson. This was fast paced and energetic like most atomweight fights with Tirburcio doing her best work on top after the takedowns. A lively affair, once again with Tiburcio all smiles after the fight and climbing the cage to scream out a growl for some reason, but the lass is adorable so why not?
In the main event Vanessa Porto won the best walkout music of the night with a fast paced violin interpretation of Welcome to the Jungle by Guns and Roses (no not AC/DC). She could have won the fight too as her work in the standup seemed the stronger, particularly catching Agnieszka Niedzwiedz with vicious leg kicks. However the Pole got the decision due to some spectacular takedowns which were so blinding fast it was if she used a wormhole to get from her to her opponent.
Niedzwiedz did not look happy with her performance, but she has the obvious skills that mean she is going to be a force in the Flyweight division in 2017.
And that’s all from me, take care everyone
Dazza
