(PRESS RELEASE) -- KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Invicta Fighting Championships has announced the signing of fifteen women’s Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athletes to the Kansas City based promotion. The fifteen new athletes are spread across all five of the current weight classes in the women’s world championship MMA promotion and represent the next chapter in the history of Women’s MMA.
“Invicta has always endeavored to balance delivering the athletes fans know and love, with an eye towards building the next generation of female MMA stars,” said Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp. “It has always been important to give the fans new athletes to cheer for, and to give the athletes themselves a platform to showcase their talent for the entire world to see.”
Continuing another Invicta FC trend, recently signed athletes hail from all corners of the globe, including as far away as New Zealand. “Women’s MMA is truly a global sport, and at Invicta we have scoured the globe in order to bring the best talent to our fans,” said Knapp. “There is talent all around the globe, and our goal at Invicta has been to provide athletes with a worldwide platform to display their talent.”
Newly minted Invicta FC Matchmaker Julie Kedze is excited with the options the new signings represent for Invicta. “This new class provides me with added depth to put together match ups that we believe the fans want to see.” remarked Kedzie.
Invicta currently plans to hold six world class MMA events in 2014, with the first tentatively planned for early April.
The following is a complete list of the most recent signings by Invicta FC, led by Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) veterans Peggy Morgan and Roxanne Modafferi.
Atomweight (105lbs)
Amber Brown- 3-1, United States
Strawweight (115lbs)
Livia Renata Souza- 5-0, Brazil
Karolina Kowalkiewicz - 4-0, Poland
Mellony Geugjes -0-1 MMA, 18-5-2 Kickboxing, 10-0 PRO Boxing, Netherlands
Herica Tiburcio- 7-2, Brazil
Ashley Greenway- Pro Debut, United States
Flyweight (125lbs)
Rachael Ostovich- 0-1, United States
Joanna Jedrzejczyk - 4-0, Poland
Valerie Letourneau – 4-3, Canada
Delaney Owen – Pro Debut, United States
Bantamweight (135lbs)
Peggy Morgan- 2-1, United States
Roxanne Modafferi - 15-11, United States
Cindy Dandois- 5-1, Belgium
Irene Aldana- 3-1, Mexico
Featherweight (145lbs)
Faith Van Duin- 4-0, New Zealand
Invicta FC’s most recent event on December 7th saw Barb Honchak (9-2) make the first defense of her Flyweight World Title (125 Pounds) against Leslie Smith (6-4-1). Invicta FC also crowned it’s very first Bantamweight World Champion (135 pounds), when Lauren Murphy (8-0) defeated Miriam Nakamoto (2-1) by way of TKO (knee injury).
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.