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INVICTA FC 18 PREVIEW & PREDICTIONS

By David Tees on 7/26/2016 2:06 PM

Kicking off a huge weekend of MMA action, with four big events in all, will be another loaded card from the Invicta Fighting Championships. The event will be headlined by a huge strawweight division fight as Alexa Grasso takes on Jodie Esquibel. Also, Irene Aldana takes on Taila Santos and a pair of UFC veterans will be stepping into the cage as well.

Main Event

Invicta FC Strawweight Division Fight

Alexa Grasso (7-0-0) vs. Jodie Esquibel (5-1-0)

Grasso has already won three bouts under the Invicta FC banner, most notably defeating Mizuki Inoue at Invicta FC 11. Esquibel has won three of four fights under the Invicta FC banner and she will be returning to action after a year-plus layoff. Grasso is known for her finishing abilities, with three of her victories coming in less than a minute of cage time. The lone loss in the career of Esquibel came to UFC veteran Alex Chambers, that loss happened at Invicta FC V. Esquibel is a threat, even with the long layoff, but Grasso’s striking will make the difference here via a close decision.

Co-Main Event

Invicta FC Bantamweight Division Fight

Irene Aldana (6-2-0) vs. Taila Santos (13-0-0)

Aldana has already won three of four fights in Invicta FC, with two of those wins coming over UFC veterans Jessamyn Duke and Peggy Morgan. Santos will be making her Invicta FC debut in this fight, with ten of her thirteen wins being first round finishes. Aldana has previously challenged for the Invicta FC Bantamweight Title, losing to current champion Tonya Evinger at Invicta FC 13. Santos is a longtime veteran of the Aspera FC promotion, earning a total of seven wins in the promotion. This fight is going to be a slugfest for as long as it lasts, but it will be Santos catching Aldana in the second round for a TKO finish.

Invicta FC Bantamweight Division Fight

Agnieszka “Kuma” Niedzwiedz (7-0-0) vs. Claudia Rey (6-0-0)

Niedzwiedz will be making her Invicta FC debut in this fight, but she is a two fight veteran of the Cage Warriors promotion. Rey will also be making her Invicta FC debut in this fight and five of her six wins were first round finishes. This fight is another potential slugfest from bell to bell, but it will be Niedzwiedz getting a razor thin decision win.

Invicta FC Bantamweight Division Fight

Cindy “Battlecat” Dandois (6-2-0) vs. Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke (3-4-0-1NC)

Dandois will be looking to build on the momentum of her first win in Invicta FC, which came over Megan Anderson at Invicta FC 14. Duke is a UFC veteran who enters the fight riding a four fight losing streak and she has not earned a win in nearly three years. Duke is a fighter who has seemingly lost whatever confidence she initially entered the sport with, Dandois grounds and submits Duke in the first.

Invicta FC Featherweight Division Fight

Megan Anderson (6-2-0) vs. Peggy “The Daywalker” Morgan (4-3-0)

Anderson will enter the fight while riding a two fight winning streak and this will be her third fight of the year. Morgan is a UFC veteran who will be returning to Invicta FC after being away for nearly a year, she did win one of three in her previous Invicta FC run. Anderson has learned to use her range and her knee strikes to decimate opponents, Morgan falls victim to this as Anderson finishes her with strikes in the first round.

Invicta FC Atomweight Division Fight

Tessa “The Typhoon” Simpson (4-1-0) vs. Simona Soukupova (5-3-1)

Simpson will be making her Invicta FC debut in this fight and she has only competed one time in the last three years. Soukupova will be competing in Invicta FC for the first time in over three years, her last promotional appearance was a win over Cassie Roddish at Invicta FC V. Simpson will be looking to take the fight to the ground, but Soukupova will use her striking to nullify that and get the decision win.

Invicta FC Strawweight Division Fight

Mizuki Inoue (11-4-0) vs. Manjit Kolekar (9-0-0)

Inoue has won two of four fights under the Invicta FC banner, most notably defeating UFC veteran Bec Rawlings at Invicta FC VI. Kolekar will be making her Invicta FC debut in this fight and she is a longtime veteran of the Super Fight League. Inoue has the best ground game in the strawweight division right now, she grounds Kolekar on route to a decision win.

Invicta FC Bantamweight Division Fight

Jessica “Bakan” Hoy (1-0-0) vs. Aspen Ladd (3-0-0)

Hoy made her professional MMA debut a little over a year ago at Combat Games MMA 11, defeating Jessica Eve Richer by TKO. Ladd has spent her entire professional MMA career in Invicta FC and none of her fights have gone to the judge’s scorecards. Ladd is the bantamweight version of Paige VanZant, in that she just keeps coming forward, Ladd finishes Hoy with strikes in the first.

Invicta FC Flyweight Division Fight

Sijara “Sarj” Eubanks (1-1-0) vs. AmberLynn “ALO” Orr (0-0-0)

Eubanks is currently undefeated in Invicta FC competition, having defeated Gina Begley by TKO at Invicta FC 12. Orr will be making her professional MMA debut in this fight, but she did earn eleven victories as an amateur. Eubanks does have the pro MMA experience edge in this fight, but Orr was a hugely successful MMA fighter and she finishes Eubanks in the first to start of her pro career.

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