With Invicta FC back in full swing following Friday’s Invicta FC 55, the promotion’s next outing has been officially announced.
Invicta FC 56 is set to take place on August 9, 2024 at the location and venue yet to be announced, with the return of former Invicta flyweight champ and UFC title challenger Jennifer Maia headlining the card. Promotion officials announced the booking on social media, revealing Mayra Cantuária as Maia’s opponent.
The fight will see Maia competing as a bantamweight in a non-title bout; Talita Bernardo defended her 135lb championship on June 28, submitting Olga Rubin. That leaves the Brazilian stars on a possible collision course, should Maia come away from her return fight successful.
Jennifer Maia (21-10-1) has not competed since an October loss against Viviane Araujo which ended her time with the UFC. Prior to that setback, she had won back-to-back fights opposite Maryna Moroz and Casey O’Neill.
In November of 2020, Maia faced then-UFC women’s flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko, losing a unanimous decision in the title fight but giving what many felt was Shevchenko’s toughest test to date as champ, with challengers like Taila Santos and Alexa Grasso building off that.
Prior to her UFC run, Maia competed for Invicta from 2013 to 2017, capturing 125lb gold and defending it prior to making the jump to the big show.
Mayra Cantuária (10-5-1, 1NC) will enter the fight off a win in her Invicta FC debut.
Also announced for the Invicta FC 56 card, Valesca Machado, a.k.a. “Tina Black,” will welcome Russia’s Yulia Ostroverkhova to the promotion in a strawweight scrap. Machado is a Contender Series alum and former Invicta strawweight champ, who captured the 115lb title at Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat earlier this year.
No other fights have been announced for the Invicta FC 56 card at this point in time.
Update, 5:00PM ET – No location has been officially confirmed by Invicta FC for this event, per promotion officials.
