Friday’s Invicta FC 44 card was billed as A New Era, and in a sense, it very much was. The promotion was set to crown two new champions at the event, with vacant strawweight and bantamweight titles both up for grabs.
In the penultimate fight of the evening, Lisa Verzosa threw down with Taneisha Tennant with the 135lb title in the balance. Tennant had won Invicta’s Phoenix Series before taking a fight outside the promotion on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. That fight, a move to featherweight to face boxer Danyelle Wolf, didn’t go her way, serving up the first loss of Tennant’s career.
Friday marked her first fight back, against a surging Verzosa, whose only career loss had come to current UFC fighter Julija Stoliarenko — in a close split decision.
The main event of Invicta FC 44, meanwhile, had the strawweight title on the line. Emily Ducote had challenged for the belt last year, coming up just short against Kanako Murata. The former Bellator MMA flyweight title hopeful, who was defeated by Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in the inaugural title fight in that promotion, had won her lone fight since, against ex-UFC fighter Juliana Lima.
Ducote was no doubt hoping the third time was the charm in terms of claiming gold in a major promotion. Standing in her way was Danielle Taylor, who had won two straight, against Jessica Aguilar and Montserrat Ruiz, since exiting the UFC in 2018.
Invicta FC 44 takes place Friday, August 27 in Kansas City, Kansas. The main card airs live on PPV, following prelims on HD Net in the U.S., and streaming free online elsewhere (embed below). Full results from Friday’s card can be found below! The action gets underway at 8PM ET.
Invicta FC 44: A New Era Results
Main Card
Emily Ducote def. Danielle Taylor by knockout (punch/head kick), Round 1, 2:51 – for the vacant Invicta FC strawweight championship
Taneisha Tennant def. Lisa Verzosa by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) – for the vacant Invicta FC bantamweight championship
Brogan Sanchez def. Emilee King by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:28
Liz Tracy def. Jodie Esquibel by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Serena DeJesus def. Lauren Mueller by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary card
Helen Peralta def. Caitlin Sammons by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marisa Messer-Belenchia def. Katie Saull by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Natalie Salcedo def. Katie Perez by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Kayla Yontef def. Carlene Chandler by TKO, Round 2, 3:13
