While previous Invicta tournaments, their Phoenix Series, had consisted of a mix between exhibition and professional contests due to some fights being just one round, the four-woman strawweight field at Invicta FC 50 were set for two three rounds fights each, with a total of six rounds possible should both go the distance.

Entered into the tournament were a trio of Brazilians in top prospect Valesca Machado, former UFC fighter Gloria de Paula, and 20-year old Ediana Silva. Rounding out the field was Polish newcomer Karolina Wojcik, while former atomweight title challenger Minna Grusander served as a reserve fighter, and Danni McCormack took on Maira Mazar in a reserve bout.

In the evening’s co-feature, Katharina Lehner, who most recently competed for Bellator MMA, looked to snap a three-fight skid against UFC vet Talita Bernardo.

Invicta FC 50 kicks off at 9PM ET on November 16, 2022, with a live stream of all the action available below. Full results from the event, which takes place at ReelWorks Denver in Denver, CO, are also available below.

Invicta FC 50 Results

Valesa Machado def. Karolina Wojcik by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)  – strawweight tournament final, for the vacant Invicta FC strawweight championship

Bantamweight: Talita Bernardo def. Katharina Lehner by submission (kimura), Round 2, 4:26
Bantamweight: Claire Guthrie def. Brigid Chase by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Strawweight Title Tournament Reserve: Danni McCormack def. Maira Mazar by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
Strawweight Title Tournament Semi-Final: Valesca Machado def. Ediana Silva by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Strawweight Title Tournament Semi-Final: Karolina Wójcik def. Gloria de Paula by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Flyweight: Elise Pone def. Melissa Oddessa by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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All fights also made weight for the tournament, which consists of Valesca Machado (10-3) taking on a fellow Brazilian in 20-year-old Ediana Silva (12-2), and UFC veteran Gloria de Paula (6-5) facing Polish newcomer Karolina Wójcik (9-2).

Those four semifinal match-ups will give way to a final later in the night, with former atomweight title challenger Minna Grusander serving as a tournament back-up.

The winner of the tournament will claim gold, with Invicta’s 115lb title being vacated by Emily Ducote earlier this year.

The night’s co-main event features bantamweight action, with Germany’s Katharina Lehner (7-3) meeting UFC alum Talita Bernardo. Lehner, who started her career running up a 7-0 record, has lost three straight, and most recently fought under the Bellator MMA banner.

Bernardo has won both her fights since exiting the UFC, including her promotional debut with Invicta FC earlier this year.

Full weigh-in results for Invicta FC 50, which takes place on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at ReelWorks Denver, can be found below, as can a gallery of highlights.

Invicta FC 50 Weigh-In Results

Strawweight Title Tournament

Valesca Machado (115.6) vs. Ediana Silva (115.2)
Gloria de Paula (115.4) vs. Karolina Wójcik (116)

Bantamweight: Katharina Lehner (136) vs. Talita Bernardo (135.7)
Bantamweight: Claire Guthrie (136) vs. Brigid Chase (133.9)
Strawweight Title Tournament Reserve: Danni McCormack (115.6) vs. Maira Mazar (115.4)
Flyweight: Melissa Oddessa (123.3) vs. Elise Pone (125.7)

Strawweight Title Tournament Reserve Fighter: Minna Grusander (114.6)

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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

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de Paula had returned to the win column earlier this year, securing her first victory inside the octagon with her hand raised over Diana Belbita. Oliviera had last fought in October, in a losing effort against Tabatha Ricci.

Saturday marked just her second fight for the promotion.

Oliveira opened things right up with a jumping knee attempted, then followed that up with a combination. de Paula may have been caught by surprise for a moment, but returned fire soon enough. Everything Oliveira threw came in bunches, however, and she was far more active through the opening minute.

About two minutes in, it was de Paula going on the attack, forcing Oliveira to backpedal. During this sequence, she lost her mouth guard, motioning to the ref who halted the action to retrieve it. Much to the crowd’s displeasure, as they seemed to feel she’d stalled for time.

Olvieira unleashed another jump knee, falling short, as they got back to work. de Paula began mixing in outside leg kicks, but one strayed high, and Oliveira caught it and dumped her opponent. de Paula was right back up, but it was Oliveira on the attack, still firing punches in bunches. de Paula kept her guard high, weathered the storm, then marched forward herself, landing a big right hand. The pair clinched, Oliveira reversed, and looked for a single leg takedown before bailing on the attempt and moving back to center.

Round two saw Oliveira switching stances, but she may have slowed a step. Gloria de Paula was now working her down, looking to cut off the cage. de Paula’s jab split the guard and found its mark. Oliveira continued to throw punches in punches, but it was de Paula connecting just past the midway point of the round with a heavy left, followed by a right.

As the round wore on, the pair continued to circle the octagon, de Paula leading, but showing some blood by the nose. In the final 30 seconds, de Paula changed levels and landed a takedown well out in the open. She finished the round on top.

A cheer from the crowd awaited Oliveira and de Paula as they came out for the third. Oliveira let a combo go early, pressing forward. She then had to block a de Paula head kick attempt. de Paula stepped in with a knee. Oliveira took a moment to taste some blood on her lip— which may have been an attempt to lull de Paula, as Oliveira fired a combination the moment her opponent moved forward.

This time, de Paula would change levels near the midway mark of the round, getting her hands locked. But Oliveira, against the fence, stuffed the attempt, then landed a takedown of her own off a trip. That allowed Oliveira to get on top, in guard, with over two minutes left — but de Paula was active off her back, and Oliveira chose to back off.

Nonstop action between these two 👏 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/Lo3NXxxYxL

— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2022

The final 90 seconds found de Paula marching forward, firing. But Oliveira would tie things up and land a takedown care of a body lock. de Paula had a chance to get on top, but couldn’t; instead, Oliveira settled into her opponent’s guard, but opted to back off again. Another trip takedown for Oliveira followed, but this time, de Paula did land on top, and they dinished the round there.

Official Result: Maria Oliveira def. Gloria de Paula by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

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On Tuesday, promotion officials announced via press release the addition of Joaquin Buckley vs. Albert Duraev, at middleweight, and Maria Oliveira vs. Gloria de Paula at strawweight. The event is set to take place on Saturday, June 18, 2022 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Buckley (14-4) will enter the bout on a two-fight win streak. Most recently, he picked up a split decision win over Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Vegas 48 back in February. Buckley didn’t just add the win alongside an earlier victory against Antonio Arroyo — he turned heads by adding viral self-defense trainer Dale Brown to his corner.

“Newmansa” had been booked against Abusupiyan Magomedov on June 4. There’s no word on whether Magomedov will stay on that card.

Duraev (15-3) won his promotional debut last October, claiming a unanimous decision over Roman Kopylov. The Russian is a 2021 Contender Series winner, who earned his shot in the big show with a submission win over Caio Bittencourt.

Glorida de Paula (6-4) finds herself in an all-Brazilian battle at UFC Austin. de Paula most recently captured a unanimous decision win over Diana Belbita, snapping a two-fight skid and securing her first win in the promotion. de Paula won her way into the UFC as part of Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2020.

Oliveira (12-5) made her promotional debut last year, losing a unanimous decision to Maria Oliveira.

UFC Austin on June 18 currently features the following match-ups:

• Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett
• Julian Marquez vs. Gregory Rodrigues
• Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn
• Roman Dolidze vs. Kyle Daukaus
• Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Natália Silva
• Damir Ismagulov vs. Guram Kutateladze
• Cody Stamann vs. Eddie Wineland
• Court McGee vs. Jeremiah Wells
• Kevin Holland vs. Tim Means
• Joaquin Buckley vs. Albert Duraev
• Gloria de Paula vs. Maria Oliveira

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A winner on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, de Paula had gone 0-2 to start her UFC run, and had her back against the wall as she sought out her first win in the promotion.

The pair met in the middle off the opening bell, trading. Slowly but surely, Belbita’s volume had de Paula backing up. Belbita mixed things up, going to the body, then following up over the top. The Brazilian answered with her jab, but again, volume was the difference early, Belbita seemingly throwing three strikes for every one from de Paula. Which may have been a motivating factor in de Paula clinching, driving Belbita into the fence.

Despite a good long time spent in control, however, de Paula could not get the fight down. Instead, Belbita escaped out, and they went back to center, with de Paula working her jab, and Belbita working over the body more. To close out the round, de Paula chased another takedown in the clinch, but couldn’t land it.

Belbita opened the second round landing a couple of leg kicks, working over the body further, and firing a few combos up top. de Paula answered back with her jab, and had more power behind her shots. She’d drive Belbita back to the fence again, but as was the case in the first, she struggled to get the fight down. Belbita reversed, and they’d turn, back and forth, until Belbita broke away, firing an elbow off the break.

Some trading in the pocket followed; Belbita added a push kick, and came over the top with a couple of right hands. The guard of de Paula was tight, however, and she took Belbita back to the cage again, where the pair traded knees. Lots of knees, in fact. This time, they’d nearly hit the floor, and de Paula would land a solid knee on the way up. The pair traded head kicks in the final minute, with both blocking them.

Diana Belbita showed a great sprawl early in the third round when de Paula shot for an early double leg. They went back to trading on the feet, but an accidental eye poke by Belbita halted the action. Back underway, they picked up the pace — impressive given the entire bout had been fairly brisk. A key takedown was landed by de Paula, but Belbita was right back up to her feet. She’d wind up stuck in the clinch with de Paula however, with the Brazilian earning some control time as they exchanged knees. In the final minute, they’d move back to center, throwing hands (and feet) to the final bell.

In the end, it came down to the grappling and head strikes for de Paula, versus the body work and volume of Belbita — with the Brazilian getting the win on the scorecards.

Official Result: Gloria de Paula def. Diana Belbita by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Ag.Fight was first to report that Diana Belbita will fight Gloria de Paula on February 19 at a yet-to-be-announced UFC event. Both fighters would confirm the booking on social media.

Belbita (14-6) picked up her first UFC win in her last outing as she defeated Hannah Goldy via unanimous decision in her only fight of 2021. “The Warrior Princess” saved her job with the win and picked up a new multi-fight contract because of it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWJCuabrbW5/

Prior to her most recent win, she dropped her first two UFC fights to Liana Jojua and Molly McCann.

De Paula (5-4) will be fighting for her job in February as she looks to pick up her first UFC win. After winning a UFC contract on season four of Dana White’s Contender Series, the Brazilian would lose her first two fights in the promotion much like her upcoming opponent. De Paula lost a unanimous decision to Jinh Yu Frey, and then four months later, she would be knocked out by Cheyanne Vlismas.

The UFC’s February 19, 2022 event does not have an official location, venue, or broadcast plan announced, though the UFC recently applied to host several dates at the Apex in Las Vegas. Additionally, no main event has been announced for the event.

The following fights have been reported for the event:

• Jesse Strader vs. Chad Anheliger
• Austin Lingo vs. Jonathan Pearce
• Chas Skelly vs. Mark Striegl
• Kyle Daukaus vs. Julian Marquez
• Nasrat Haqparast vs. John Makdessi
• Khalid Taha vs. Mario Bautista
• Diana Belbita vs. Gloria de Paula

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Uriah Hall

It was a tough night for Uriah Hall. Whether the criticism of him not being there mentally or not has any merit, he seemed to not be able to get any offense going against Sean Strickland, which is an alarm in its own right. While he has wins over high profile opponents in Weidman and Silva, each of those comes with its own caveat (broken leg and past his prime respectively). Although he may not need to face somebody completely out of the top 15, I do think someone right at that edge is likely the answer. Andre Muniz is unbooked at the moment and could be a very bizarre styles clash for Hall. He beat grappling-heavy Antonio Carlos Junior – can he take out another jiu jitsu ace?

Uriah Hall’s Next Fight: Andre Muniz

Gloria De Paula

The quick knockout loss at UFC Vegas 33 was the second in as many fights for De Paula. In many cases, that’s enough to be shown the door in the UFC. However, I think she’s looked good enough to be afforded another chance. She was having success both against Buys and Jinh Yu Frey on the feet. If she can keep it there long enough, she’s exciting to keep around for another chance at that elusive first win. So let’s pair her with Na Liang, who really likes to grapple. If De Paula can keep it standing, it shows that she’s made gains in the takedown defense and earns her spot in the UFC.

Gloria De Paula Next Fights: Na Liang

Niklas Stolze

Stolze is another fighter who dropped to 0-2 at UFC Vegas 33. It didn’t happen in ideal fashion for the German either, getting KOed early by Jared Gooden. To continue the similarities to De Paula, he’s also a fun striker to watch and would be worth giving another shot in there. Also like De Paula, I’d like to see him fight someone with a grappling base – it would let us see if he can defend the takedown attempts while giving him a place he’d clearly be successful. Jordan Williams checks all those boxes and would be my pick for Stolze.

Niklas Stolze’s Next Fight: Jordan Williams

Collin Anglin

It’s hard to book someone who came in and lost his debut after looking good on Contender Series. He also lost quick and in pretty devastating fashion. For his second try, I say give him someone else trying to rebound in the same way. TJ Laramie won on the Contender Series and looked great doing it. Then he dropped his second fight to Darrick Minner in less than a minute. Let’s get one of those two on the board.

Collin Anglin’s Next Fight: TJ Laramie

Bryan Barberena

A tough loss for “Bam Bam” in his first fight since a brutal injury pulled him from a fight with Daniel Rodriguez. He looked great at times, but ultimately the takedowns of Jason Witt led him to a majority decision loss. I think it’s far from the last chapter for him though. Despite not being on the best run, Barberena is never in a boring fight. I say get him an opponent that lets him showcase how fun he is. At welterweight, that usually means a booking with Niko Price, Michel Pereira, or Mike Perry. Perry has been on a rougher stretch than the other two, so he is my pick for Barberena.

Bryan Barberena’s Next Fight: Mike Perry

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The first round TKO victory for Buys is her first in the UFC and puts the rest of the strawweight division on notice. It also became the fourth-fastest finish in UFC strawweight history.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH pt. 2 #UFCVegas33 pic.twitter.com/iMSZXachM5

— UFC (@ufc) August 1, 2021

At the start of the fight Buys took the center of the cage quickly looking to put pressure on de Paula early, and it worked perfectly as the Brazilian was on her heels from start to finish. After landing some clean strikes Buys managed to get de Paula to the ground. Buys then stood up, and as de Paula made her way to her feet, landed a clean head kick and put her down. All it took was a couple of ground shots to force the referee to save her opponent.

For de Paula it becomes her second consecutive loss in the UFC. She was finished for the first time in her career.

Cheyanne Buys vs. Gloria de Paula was not expected to serve as the UFC Vegas 33 co-main event. Nowhere near it. But when fight after fight was cancelled, the strawweight pair were left in a much more high-profile position.

No fewer than four co-main event bouts were lost prior to Buys vs. de Paula being penciled in: Sam Alvey vs. Roman Kopylov, Chris Daukaus vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov, Niklas Stolze vs. Mounir Lazzez, and Rani Yahya vs. Kyung Ho Kang. Leaving Buys and de Paula hoping to break the curse of the co-main event on Saturday.

Even with the lack of expectation from this fight if not this entire card, Buys made sure to deliver in her second UFC appearance.

Official Result: Cheyanne Buys def. Gloria de Paula by KO (head kick/punches), Round 1, 1:00

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Cheyanne Buys didn’t have the UFC debut that she had hoped for. In fact, according to her, it was one of the worst nights of her life. Back in March, she faced off against Montserrat Ruiz and lost a unanimous decision. Then, earlier that night, her husband, JP Buys, lost his UFC debut as well.

“It was a bad night. It wasn’t my night, and it wasn’t my husband’s night. You know, I went into that fight with a bad injury that happened two weeks before the fight,” Buys said during her media day interview on Thursday. “I never spoke about it after the fight because I didn’t want to blame my injury. I went into that fight knowing my body was still messed up and still wholeheartedly believed in myself.”

For the last few years, Buys has been at Fortis MMA in Texas. However, she revealed that she has moved back home to Las Vegas to train at Xtreme Couture, a gym that saved her career when she was on a three-fight skid when she was an amateur.

“There were multiple and personal reasons why I left, but basically the main reason is, you know, I missed my coaches here. When I talk about coaches, I talk about a team that built me. The first time I came to Xtreme Couture, I was 18-years old; I’m 26 now. I came to them when I was on a three-fight losing streak as an amateur, and those coaches, Ray Sefo, Dennis Davis, Eric Nicksick took me under their wing, and we went on a four-fight winning streak together,” Buys said. “And then, you know, I met my husband, and I, unfortunately, had to go to South Africa to go be with my boyfriend at the time, now husband. When I called them to let them know I was going to venture off to South Africa, to try and see if this would work, Ray Sefo and Eric Nicksick told me, ‘Listen, this is your home here and whenever you’re ready, come back.’ I was always told them I would be back.”

Buys went on to say that she didn’t have a residency in Vegas anymore, and she was stuck in Dallas because of Visa issues. While in Dallas, she joined Fortis MMA and trained there, but she admitted she never wanted to be in Texas.

“I never wanted to go to Texas, if I’m being honest, like I love the team, and because of the team is why I stayed for so long. There is a great group of people there, and I built a friendship. But deep in my heart, I knew I wasn’t home,” Buys said. “My husband was my main coach out in Dallas, and I knew at this level, I couldn’t do that. He was my wrestling coach; he was basically my striking coach because we didn’t have a striking coach there, so we held pads for each other.”

“So, you know, I left a really good group of guys over here at Xtreme, and it’s not anything against Sayif [Saud] at Fortis, but they were the ones who made me, and before I made my UFC walk, I saw Eric Nicksick in the back, and I knew I was on the wrong side.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 33 media day scrum with Cheyanne Buys above. The event takes place this Saturday, July 31, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV.

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