“Half Pint” will defend the Invicta Fighting Championships atomweight title for the first time when she faces Jessica Correa Delboni in the Invicta 44 co-main event on Friday at the Police Athletic League in Kansas City, Kansas. Zappitella enters the cage on a three-fight winning streak. She last fought at Invicta 42 in September, when she captured the vacant 105-pound championship with a shoulder choke submission of Ashley Cummins. Meanwhile, Delboni has recorded three wins across her last four outings. She also has not competed since Invicta 42, where she took a three-round unanimous decision from former atomweight titleholder Herica Tiburcio.
As Zappitella and Delboni make final preparations ahead of their championship showdown, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
26: Years of age for Zappitella, who was born in Conneaut, Ohio, on Feb. 28, 1995. The Top 5 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 list at the time were Madonna’s “Take a Bow,” TLC’s “Creep,” Boyz II Men’s “On Bended Knee,” Soul For Real’s “Candy Rain” and Brandy’s “Baby.”
2: Submission victories on the Zappitella resume, accounting for 25% of her career total (eight). Her methods of choice: one shoulder choke and one arm-triangle choke. Zappitella owns six other victories by decision.
642: Days since Zappitella last suffered a defeat. She wound up on the wrong side of a split decision against Kanna Asakura at Rizin 18 on Aug. 18, 2019. Zappitella has responded to the setback with three consecutive wins.
3: Countries in which Zappitella has competed as a mixed martial artist. She has gone 7-1 in the United States, 1-0 in China and 0-1 in Japan.
27: Years of age for Delboni, who was born on Sept. 7, 1993 in Vila Velha, Brazil—nearly 5,400 miles from Invicta Fighting Championships headquarters.
8: Delboni victories by decision, accounting for 80% of her career total (10). She owns two other victories by knockout or technical knockout, having punched out Pamela Rosa and Bruna Emanuele Brasil in back-to-back appearances in 2017.
7: Straight wins to start Delboni’s career. Her time as an undefeated fighter came to an end at Invicta 32, where she lost a three-round unanimous decision to Ashley Cummins on Nov. 16, 2018.
.552: Cumulative winning percentage between the 10 women Delboni has beaten. They own a combined record of 64-51-1 and four of them—Rosa, Bianca Sattelmayer, Cristiane Lima Silva and Juliana Costa—currently sit below .500.