Invicta FC 39 went down Friday, February 7 at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. A main event title fight between Jinh Yu Frey and Ashley Cummins headlined the card, but it was nearly derailed when Frey missed championship weight on Thursday. Frey, who had won the title in 2018, was forced to give up the belt. The fight was still set to go ahead — but if Frey were to win she would not be champion. Only Cummins had a real shot at gold.
The co-main event went off without a hitch at the scales: Pearl Gonzalez, the former UFC athlete, and Invicta FC title challenger, faced off against Miranda Maverick, a rising talent in the flyweight division.
Check below come fight time (8PM ET) for full results and a recap of all the action from Friday’s card!
Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II Results
Jinh Yu Frey* def. Ashley Cummins via unanimous decision (48-47 3x) – for the Invicta FC atomweight championship
Jinh Yu Frey vs Ashley Cummins was a close fight to score for anyone. The opening round was a clear Cummins round, looking like Frey had just woken up out of bed to fight, she looked slow and Cummins combinations seemed on point. She landed a lot of shots on Frey, who looked like she was very not there mentally in the first round.
The second round was where Frey woke up, getting a knockdown and opening up with her strikes and getting back into the fight, she evened up the fight following the knockdown. She was landing the more powerful shots in the second and made it interesting going into the later rounds.
The later rounds were where everything got hard to judge. The two women would trade punches with not a takedown attempt in sight, for the next 15 minutes. Frey appeared to throwing a lot less than Cummins, but her strikes had more power on them. Cummins was throwing more strikes, her pressure was relentless for the entire 25-minute fight, we would end up going to the judge’s scorecards, where no champion would be crowned.
Frey was named the winner, much to the anger of the Kansas City crowd. Chants of “bullshit” come from the crowd that was sure of Cummins’ victory, regardless, Jinh Yu Frey defeated Ashley Cummins via unanimous decision. Due to missing weight, the title now sits vacant.
Miranda Maverick def. Pearl Gonzalez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Pearl Gonzalez opened up with some pressure and nice kicks, but Miranda Maverick followed up with a big takedown to start the round. She then moved to the back and looked for the finish, but Pearl fought out of it and got to the back herself near the end of the round., Maverick would quickly scramble out and end the round on top.
A good second round for both as Gonzalez and Maverick had success. Gonzalez would get two takedowns in the round, however, Maverick would get up both times. Following the second takedown, Maverick would get a takedown of her own, and finish the round on top landing big elbows and strikes.
A dominant third round for Miranda Maverick to secure her victory. She got the slam takedown early on and landed big ground and pound. Pearl tired out but made her way back to her feet, and would soon get slammed down again. Miranda Maverick just stamped her ticket to a title fight, amazing performance.
Alesha Zappitella def. Kelly D’Angelo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Alesha Zappitella came out like a monster in round one. Throwing big combinations and staying on D’Angelo like glue, she was landing most of the overhands she threw. However, D’Angelo stayed calm, stuffed two takedowns from Zappitella, and tried her best to establish her jab while staying on her bike.
Round two was a tale of two halves. Zappitella opened up with more pressure and a takedown, and D’Angelo responded by slowly working her way back to the feet, and landing some nice combinations to end the round. She was very active on the feet, and pushed the pressure to Zappitella.
Kelly D’Angelo had a great third round in a close fight. She fought off all of Zappitella’s takedowns and had her striking on point. Throwing and landing great combinations, she scratched and clawed her way back into the fight after a rough first round. However, Zappitella still picked up the win.
Erin Blanchfield def. Victoria Leonardo via Knockout (Headkick), 2:06 of Round Three.
Erin Blanchfield opened the fight fighting off a clinch attempt by Leonardo and instead responded with one of the most picture-perfect headkicks you will ever see. Leonardo got dropped and would eat a lot of ground and pound, but she would recover and end the round in the clinch following her fighting back to her feet. What a round.
Erin Blanchfield would land a big headkick to start the round again and rocked Leonardo. Leonardo would recover and fight into the clinch, however Blanchfield would land another huge headkick that would put Leonardo out cold! What a finish for the 20-year-old Erin Blanchfield.
Jillian Decoursey def. Linda Mihalec via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
A grappling delight in the first round, Linda Mihalec shot in for a takedown to start the fight, but DeCoursey quickly reversed position and got the takedown herself. Mihalec would reverse and get to the top following a failed guillotine attempt by DeCoursey. DeCoursey would threaten with a kimura attempt to sweep and end the round on top, however not without delivering some ruthless ground and pound.
A good second round for Jillian Decoursey, Mihalec shot forward to start the round looking for combinations and actually landed a few that backed DeCoursey up against the fence. DeCoursey would respond with a takedown and would spend the duration of the round on top in guard. Mihalec would look for a leg lock, and other submissions, but DeCoursey did a good job on top.
The third round was much like the first two, many fun grappling exchanges. DeCoursey was still the better grappler and it showed as anytime Mihalec did anything of note, DeCoursey was able to sweep or reverse position. A great show of grappling by Jillian DeCoursey.
Monica Franco def. Tina Pettigrew via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
The first round was a wild one, with Pettigrew just barreling forward to shoot for the takedown and get the fight into the clinch, and eating multiple combinations in order to do so. Pettigrew was able to get the back and looked for the armbar but Franco fought out of it. Pettigrew stayed on her, however, and kept the fight in the clinch. Franco escaped and landed a big combination but Pettigrew ate it and got the fight into the clinch once again to end round one.
Round two was a bit of stalemate after an incredible first. Franco came out swinging to start the round and landed more than a few left hands. Pettigrew backed off and was very patient for the majority of the round. She shot for a late takedown, but Franco was able to stuff it. Franco also ended the round by throwing a big spinning back kick, much to the crowd’s delight.
Round three much-mirrored round two, with the fight not having much action. Pettigrew had the clinch for the majority of the round, however, she failed to do much with it. Franco instead landed lots of knees and elbows, and the two ended the fight brawling against the cage. A very fun finish, and a good win for Monica Franco.
*Frey missed weight and relinquished the Invicta FC atomweight title. She was not eligible to reclaim the belt with a win
