Invicta FC 26 results and video: Jennifer Maia retains flyweight title, Mackenzie Dern wins via submission

Invicta FC 26 delivered the goods last night, with 5 out of 8 fights not needing the judges’ scorecards. In the main event Jennifer Maia defended her Invicta flyweight title against Aga Niedzwiedz via a unanimous decision. However, the fight was a lot closer than the judges’ scores would have you believe.

Each round of the title fight was closely contested, except the second, in which Niedzwiedz rocked Maia with a flurry of punches, and the the fifth; where Maia picked apart a tired looking challenger.

Outside of those pivotal moments, the rest of the fight was a grinding affair with much of the time spent with both women clinched against the fence. Maia and Niedzwiedz would take turns with their backs against the chain-link, but neither took a lot of damage while they were there. Maia edged out Niedzwiedz when it came to time spent controlling those clinches, but Niedzwiedz imposed her will elsewhere in the fight. The young pole got the Brazilian champ on the ground twice, but did little with the position.

The fight could have easily been scored for the challenger, but it was the champion who got the nod with scores of 49-46 from the judges. The win was Maia’s second defense. She defended against Roxanne Modafferi in a similarly grueling battle last September. With the victory, Maia has added legitimacy to her claim as the best female flyweight on the planet; regardless of what recently unfolded in the UFC.

The co-main saw Mackenzie Dern prove her backers right, by submitted the toughest opponent of her young career. It took almost the entire fight, but the BJJ ace managed to submit Kaline Medeiros with an armbar.

Dern bossed the entire contest, surprising Medeiros with dangerous, albeit wild, stand-up. The unrefined strikes were effective in backing up Medeiros and a couple of looping rights seemed to stun the veteran. In the third round Dern was able to drag Medeiros to the ground and get full mount with ease. The Invicta debutante looked content to pound away at Medeiros on route to a likely TKO, but her opponent gave her an armbar opening that was impossible for her to resist.

Though she has a lot to improve upon before she can be considered a UFC calibre strawweight, Dern showed she has what it takes to do very well in Invicta FC.

The rest of Invicta FC 26 was filled with fun fights and slick finishes. Janaisa Morandin impressed by battering Kinberly Novaes on route to a dominant decision victory. Karinna Rodriguez edged out Christine Ferea is a gritty stand-up bout to take a decision. After weathering an early storm from Milana Dudieva, Vanessa Porto came back with punishing body shots to end their fight in the third round.

The other three fights on the card all ended by armbar.

The most impressive of those subs was the one belonging to Invicta newcomer Virna Jandiroba, who made light work of Amy Montenegro. Amber Brown’s armbar win was the quickest, coming in at less than a minute. Her win over Tessa Simpson snapped a three fight losing skid. 18-year old Kay Hansen’s armbar over Emilee Prince came in the first fight of the night.

See the full results below, along with the finishes belonging to Dern, Porto, Jandiroba, Brown, and Hansen.

Flyweight Title: Jennifer Maia def. Aga Niedzwiedz via unanimous (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern def. Kaline Medeiros via submission (armbar), Round 3 (4:45).

Catchweight: Janaisa Morandin def. Kinberly Novaes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Catchweight: Vanessa Porto def. Milana Dudieva via TKO (punches), Round 3 (3:02).

Catchweight: Virna Jandiroba def. Amy Montenegro via submission (armbar), Round 1 (2:50).

Catchweight: Amber Brown def. Tessa Simpson via submission (armbar), Round 1 (0:50).

Flyweight: Karina Rodriguez def. Christine Ferea via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Strawweight: Kay Hansen def. Emilee Prince via submission (armbar), Round 1 (1:23).