Invicta FC 44 marked the promotion’s return to pay-per-view, with a card aptly entitled A New Era.
Taking place Friday night in the all-female organization’s home base of Kansas City, two new champions would be crowned — and the main event delivered one of the best knockouts in Invicta history.
With the vacant strawweight title on the line, former Bellator flyweight and Invicta FC strawweight Emily Ducote had a third chance at gold in a major promotion. Opposite her, ex-UFC fighter Danielle Taylor, who said ahead of the fight that she was ready to bang with Ducote.
It was Ducote, however, who did the banging Friday. The third time was the charm, as Ducote connected with a punch/head kick combo that put Taylor out. Arguably, Taylor was out on her feet after the punch; the head kick simply put her down to the canvas.
In slow motion. 😱 #InvictaFC44@ducote_brunette is a savage! pic.twitter.com/Lcb9oK6WiH
— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) August 28, 2021
The highlight reel finish will be one that gets played for years to come. For Emily Ducote, it marks her second straight win, after a loss to Kanako Murata last year that came in her first Invicta FC title fight.
Also on the Invicta FC 44 card on Friday, Lisa Verzosa went up against Phoenix Series tournament winner Taneisha Tennant. The co-main event fight had the vacant bantamweight belt on the line, and while Verzosa may have been the favorite on paper, Tennant opted to rip that paper to shreds.
From the outset, Tennant appeared to have Verzosa’s number. While the first round had a fair bit of feeling out, as the fight progressed, Tennant found her range, and her timing. At the end of the second, she dropped Verzosa, who was stumbling and essentially saved by the bell. She’d recover and hang in there, but never really come close to catching Tennant, who had a lopsided lead heading into the fifth and final round.
The stoppage Verzosa desperately needed just wasn’t there, with Tennant winning a unanimous decision with scores of 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46.
Official Results:
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
