Invicta FC will return to Denver, Colorado next month for Invicta FC 50 — where a strawweight tournament will see the promotion crown a new strawweight champion.
Promotion officials announced the news in a press release issued Wednesday. The tournament will feature semifinal and final round action with four participants. Both the semis and finals will play out across three rounds of five minutes each, meaning a potential of six rounds or less for the winner.
The specter of two professional fights in a single night is a rarity in modern North American MMA. Invicta’s previous Phoenix Series tournaments consisted of two single-round exhibition bouts, with a three-round final.
The four names attached to the tournament proper are: Valesca Machado (10-3), Gloria de Paula (6-5), Ediana Silva (12-2) Karolina Wojcik (9-2).
A pair of tournament reserve bouts have also been scheduled: Sharon Jacobson vs. Melissa Oddessa and Fatima Kline vs. Danni McCormack.
As for the four primary participants, Brazil’s de Paula will be making her Invicta FC debut, after posing a 1-3 record in the UFC. The Contender Series alum’s lone octagon win came against Diana Belbita earlier this year; her losses came to Cheyanne Vlismas, Jinh Yu Frey, and Maria Oliveira.
Machado, who lost on the Contender Series against current UFC fighter Piera Rodriguez last year, won her promotional debut under the Invicta banner last time out. That unanimous decision win over Liz Tracy put the Brazilian on a two-fight win streak.
A third Brazilian, Silva, will be making her promotional debut; she most recently competed for LFA. The lone none-Brazilian fighter among the four semifinalists is Poland’s Karolina Wojcik, who won on Dana White’s Contender Series in August but did not pick up a UFC contract.
The Invicta FC 50 co-main event, meanwhile, will feature bantamweight action as Katharina Lehner (7-3) faces UFC vet Talita Bernardo (8-4). That fight sees The Ultimate Fighter 28’s Lehner looking to pull out of a three-fight skid, as well as returning from a two-year absence.
Invicta FC 50 takes place at ReelWorks Denver on November 16, 2022 in Denver, CO. The card currently breaks down as follows:
Strawweight Title Tournament Final: TBD vs. TBD
Bantamweight: Katharina Lehner vs. Talita Bernardo
Bantamweight: Claire Guthrie vs. Marilia Morais
Strawweight Title Tournament Semifinal: TBD vs. TBD
Strawweight Title Tournament Semifinal: TBD vs. TBD
Strawweight Title Tournament Reserve: Sharon Jacobson vs. Melissa Oddessa
Strawweight Title Tournament Reserve: Fatima Kline vs. Danni McCormack
Strawweight Title Tournament Participants
Valesca Machado
Gloria de Paula
Ediana Silva
Karolina Wójcik
