This Friday, Invicta returns for another event filled with interesting matchups from top to bottom. The fight card is headlined by 22-year-old Mexican strawweight standout Alexa Grasso taking on Invicta veteran Jodie Esquibel in a bout that could very well determine the next challenger for former UFC fighter Angela Hill. Grasso has shown a lot of promise and continues to be undefeated as a professional at 7-0, with three wins under the Invicta banner including victories over former Judoka Alida Gray and Japanese talent Mizuki Inoue.
Esquibel returns to Invicta for the first time since late 2014 and is currently 3-1 in the organization with her lone loss at the hands of now UFC strawweight Astro Girl Alex Chambers. She holds wins over Liz McCarthy, Jinh Yu Frey and Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc.
This card will also feature former UFC fighter Jessamyn Duke, returning once again to the organization to take on Belgian grappler Cindy Dandois. Duke had been on a three-fight losing skid and was granted the opportunity to return to Invicta by UFC management, only to face Mexican featherweight phenom Irene Aldana and lose by TKO. Dandois has victories over former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen, former Invicta featherweight challenger Daria Ibragimova and former UFC fighter Sheila Gaff, as well as rising Invicta featherweight prospect Megan Anderson, and has been working fairly recently with former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate.
Speaking of Anderson, she returns to action as well after a very dominant and exciting win over Amanda Bell to take on former Ultimate Fighter contestant and UFC fighter Peggy Morgan. Morgan is coming off a win at CES 30 against Jessy Miele in August of last year, bringing her professional record to 4-3. Her last Invicta appearance was a losing effort against Latoya Walker, which ended in a unanimous decision.
Team Lloyd Irvin standout Sijara Eubanks also returns to action against amateur veteran (and Horn Lake, TN police officer) Amberlynn Orr in Orr’s professional debut, as well as rising prospect Aspen Ladd taking on 1-0 Jessica Hoy. Mizuki Inoue brings her striking game and athleticism to take on regional veteran Lynn Alvarez, who returns to action for the first time since January of 2014.
Finally, the card will have brutal striker Christine Stanley taking on Polish Cage Warriors fighter Agnieszka Niedzwiedz, who has a 7-0 record, while Texan Tessa Simpson (who does stuff like this) fights Czech fighter Simona Soukupova, who last fought for Invicta in 2013.
Invicta FC 18 takes place live from the Kansas City Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, MO this Friday, July 29th. All eight bouts will be broadcast online via UFC Fight Pass starting at 8:00pm.
You can check out the weigh-ins for the event below:
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