(PRESS RELEASE) -- KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 4, 2013) – All 13 bouts, including the world atomweight (105 pounds) title fight between defending champion Jessica Penne (10-1) of Huntington Beach, Calif. and challenger Michelle Waterson (10-3) of Albuquerque, N.M. were made official today for the Invicta Fighting Championships women’s Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) world championship doubleheader event tomorrow, Saturday, April 5 at Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, live on Invicta FC.com.
Co-main event opponents Barb Honchak (7-2) of Bettendorf, Iowa and Vanessa Porto (15-2) of Sao Paulo, Brazil weighed in at 124.6 pounds and 124.8 pounds, respectively, for their matchup that will be contested as the first Invicta FC world flyweight (125 pounds) championship bout in history.
Pound-for-pound great Cris Cyborg (10-1) of Curitiba, Brazil weighed in at 144.8 pounds for her Invicta FC featherweight (145 pounds) debut against Fiona Muxlow (6-2) of Townsville, Queensland Australia. Muxlow tipped the scales at 143.8 pounds.
Tickets for Invicta FC 5, priced from $25, are on sale online at TicketFly.com.
The live stream of the event, which will begin at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST, is available for purchase, in its entirety, on InvictaFC.com for a credit card charge of $9.95. Veteran MMA voice Mauro Ranallo, superstar “King Mo” Lawal and women’s sensation Julie Kedzie will call the action cageside.
In other action on the eight-bout main card, bantamweight (135 pounds) superstar Sarah Kaufman (15-2) of Victoria, BC Canada will go to war with Invicta FC 3 and Invicta FC 4 winner Leslie Smith (5-2-1) of Pleasant Hill, Calif.
Flyweight superstar Zoila Frausto Gurgel (12-2) of Cincinnati, Ohio will also make her Invicta FC debut in another featured bout against submission expert Jennifer Maia (6-2) of Curitiba, Parana Brazil.
Undefeated KO artist Lauren Taylor (5-0) of Anchorage, Alaska will battle hard-hitting Kaitlin Young (7-7-1) of St. Louis Park, Minn. at bantamweight.
“Rowdy” Bec Hyatt (4-2) of Brisbane, Australia will look to return to the win column against undefeated sensation and Invicta FC newcomer Jasminka Cive (5-0) of Graz, Austria in a strawweight (115 pounds) meeting.
Hard-hitting kickboxing stylist Julia Budd (4-2) of Port Moody, BC Canada will square off with upstart Mollie Estes (1-1) of Kansas City in a featherweight contest.
Doors at Star Pavilion at Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City open for Invicta FC 5 open at 5 p.m. CST and the first preliminary bout begins at 6 p.m.
About Invicta Fighting Championships: Invicta Fighting Championships (www.invictafc.com) is a world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp and sports aficionado Janet Martin, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible matchups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport.
About Ameristar Kansas City Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City is owned and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ-GS: ASCA), and is a premier property characterized by a state-of-the-art casino floor and outstanding dining, lodging and entertainment options. The property features the largest casino and the most games in the Kansas City area, as well as one of the largest poker rooms in the Midwest. Ameristar offers nine diverse dining venues -- The Horizon Buffet, The Falcon Bakery, Pearl’s Oyster Bar, Great Plains Cattle Co., Amerisports Brew Pub, Casino Deli, Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque, Burger King and Sbarro The Italian Eatery, as well as the Star Club, a private players’ lounge. Entertainment amenities include the Star Pavilion, featuring national headliners; Depot #9, with popular regional and local acts; the Regal Cinema’s Kansas City 18 Theater; Hi-Vi video arcade; and Kids Quest, a supervised child-care facility. The property also includes a 184-room hotel. The property was awarded “Favorite Casino” for the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association’s 2012 Visitor Choice Awards. Best Casino in 2012 Ingram’s Magazine “Best of Business Awards;” in the 2003, 2005, 2007 – 2009, 2011 Kansas City Magazine’s “Best of Kansas City” readers’ poll and 2011 Best Casino in Home in the Northland Magazine’s readers’ poll. Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City also was awarded Best Steakhouse, Best Buffet, Best Live Poker and Best Tournaments in the 2012 Casino Player Magazine’s “Best of Gaming” awards.