Invicta FC has announced it’s next event, and it features a vacant atomweight title fight in the main event.
Following Jinh Yu Frey’s missing weight earlier this year in her title defense against Ashley Cummins, the Invicta FC 105lb belt would only be on the line for Cummins. But as luck would have it, Frey would defeat Cummins that night via a controversial decision. Leaving the belt vacant for the foreseeable future. However, the promotion is set to remedy that, as Ashley Cummins is getting a second crack at the strap. She will take on “Half Pint” Alesha Zappitella this September, in the Invicta FC 42 main event.
The promotion announced the news Monday via press release. As well as several more fights planned for the event.
Cummins (7-5) is only 2-2 in her last four fights, however, both of those losses are to the former champion Frey. The St. Louis based fighter is finally looking to claim the atomweight title, after having been one of the top contenders in the division since it’s inception. Zappitella (7-2, 1NC) on the other hand is coming off of back to back victories inside the Invicta cage, and last fought at Invicta FC 40, earning a hard-fought victory over Lindsey VanZandt via split-decision.
The co-main event of the card is a battle of bantamweight contenders, as Lisa Verzosa takes on Raquel Canuto (Raquel Pa’aluhi). Verzosa and Canuto are both coming off of title fight losses, as Verzosa is looking to rebound off a loss to Julija Stoliarenko in a fight of the year contender earlier this year. Canuto, on the other hand, is fighting for the first time since 2017, where she lost to Yana Kunitskaya in an attempt to claim the vacant bantamweight title following Tonya Evinger’s departure to the UFC.
Invicta FC 42 will air live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. CT. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it will take place behind closed doors without fans and media. All fighters and corners will be tested for COVID-19 prior to the event. The full card is listed below.
Atomweight Title Fight: Ashley Cummins vs. Alesha Zappitella
Bantamweight: Lisa Verzosa vs. Raquel Canuto
Strawweight: Jéssica Delboni vs. Herica Tiburcio
Flyweight: Victoria Leonardo vs. Liz Tracy
Bantamweight: Auttumn Norton vs. Brittney Cloudy
Flyweight: Jennifer Chieng vs. Flore Hani
