INVICTA FC thrust women’s MMA back onto centre stage in its first card since February, with Emily Ducote taking out the main event in a tight decision win over UFC veteran, Juliana Lima. Held in Kansas City, Kansas and streamed via UFC Fight Pass, the event showcased open scoring in a revolutionary move for the sport, with fighters and fans alike able to view the progressive scorecards after each round.

Elsewhere on the five-fight card, ‘Half Pint’ Alesha Zappitella took home a narrow decision victory of her own in the co-main event slot, while Stockton native Chelsea Chandler pulled off the night’s only finish with a quick submission at 145-pounds.

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MAIN EVENT

Emily Ducote def. Juliana Lima | Decision (unanimous) 29-28, 29-28, 29-28

Strawweight action headlined an entertaining handful of women’s MMA matchups, with Ducote rallying late to earn a unanimous decision victory over Lima. It proved an impressive return to the winners list for Ducote, who improves to 9-6 after an unsuccessful title shot in her last bout. For Lima, the result served as her second loss in a row, and fourth in her last five bouts.

The 38-year-old Brazilian looked menacing from the off though, using her power advantage and length in the striking exchanges to land the bigger shots. She looked strong with nice frames from the clinch to get off big knees to Ducote’s body, while stuffing a late takedown attempt to unanimously take out Round 1.

While it seemed Lima had a point to prove, her aggression began to fade as Ducote started to find a home for her own strikes, landing in bunches. It was a slight surprise the American did not attempt to get more in the face of Lima or change levels a touch more, but she allayed such concerns with a nicely timed shot to end Round 2, landing a few brutal elbows from top position.

The fight was all square and up for grabs heading into Round 3, setting up a nice spectacle thanks to the live scoring feature. Both women sported a mouse under their eyes as the fight wore on, with Lima continuing to crack in with strikes but seeming to tire. Ducote’s late aggression and bettering of the grappling exchanges got her the nod, capping a hard night’s work.

CO-MAIN EVENT

Alesha Zappitella def. Lindsey VanZandt | Decision (split) 28-29, 29-27, 30-27

We may well be witnessing the rise of Invicta’s newest atomweight star, as Zappitella put herself within reach of title contention in a back-and-forth grudge match against Lindsey VanZandt. The 4’11” ‘Half Pint’ got the nod after 15 minutes, credit to her smothering chain wrestling and busy work from top position.

The diminutive grappler executed her gameplan to a t, and seemed to have done some shrewd homework as she continually caught VanZandt’s kicks to move into takedowns. VanZandt was billed as the more rounded fighter with dangerous finishing capabilities on the feet or mat, but was controlled well by Zappitella in most areas of the fight.

It was on the ground where the fight was won for Zappitella though, as she refused to rest from top position and constantly looked to pass from side control, into guard, and to the back in a high-paced showcase of her transitional range. VanZandt looked to have had the slight striking advantage, landing a swift spinning kick up top and some heavy blows in the brief moments the fight was up-standing.

A late flurry of knees and some better defensive grappling from VanZandt were not enough to turn around the early deficit though, as she went down according to two of the three judges on an incredibly varied scorecard. Zappitella’s aggression was impressive, and she is really making a name for herself in the promotion.

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In the remaining fights, Chandler made a mean name for herself in moving to a 3-1 record as she handed tough 38-year-old veteran Liv Parker her first professional loss. The Stockton native has the attitude and style one has come to expect from the region, and showed as much as she loaded up nasty left hand shots to the body of Parker, before sending one straight down the pipe to drop her opponent. It took little time for Chandler to get the job done on the mat, leaning on her grappling credentials to flatten Parker out and sink in a tight rear-naked choke at 1:05 of Round 1.

Chandler’s triumph would prove the sole submission and finish of the night, and was set up by a couple more entertaining decisions to open the show. The American Top Team trained Trisha Cicero thwarted Laura Gallardo‘s pressure wrestling to take out a split decision win, her third in a row as she moves to a positive 4-3 record. Both women were on their promotional debuts.

Speaking of debuts, Genia Goodin moved to 2-0 as a professional as she edged Shelby Koren in the latter’s maiden professional bout. The strawweight matchup was Invicta’s 100th bout at 115-pounds, a landmark achievement for the promotion. For the most part, the two fighters participated in a high-paced grappling match, with some terrific submission attempts and transitional grappling on display.

The next Invicta FC event is set to take place on July 30 headlined by a strawweight battle between Janaisa Morandin and Montserrat Ruiz.

RESULTS:

Chelsea Chandler def. Liv Parker | Submission (rear-naked choke) 1:05 Rd 1

Trisha Cicero def. Laura Gallardo | Decision (split) 29-28, 28-29, 29-28

Genia Goodin def. Shelby Koren | Decision (unanimous) 30-27, 29-28, 29-28