All 14 bouts of Invicta FC 3 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City were made official after the weigh-ins.
The main event is the first-ever Invicta Fighting Championships world title bout between Jessica Penne (9-1) and undefeated Naho ‘Sugi Rock’ Sugiyama (8-0). Jessica Penne (104.5 pounds) enters with a two fight winning streak, most recently defeating Lisa Ellis via TKO at Invicta FC 1 earlier this year.
Naho Sugiyama (103.5 pounds) last fought at Jewels 19 in May, where she defeated Yasuko Tamada via decision.
This fight against Penne will be Sugiyama’s first fight in the United States, so she will no doubt be looking to put on a good performance in this title fight.
In the co-main event, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler (14-7). will face Invicta FC 2 winner Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio (6-2).
Undefeated sensation Cat “Alpha” Zingano (6-0) will be against Invicta FC 2 winner Raquel “Rocky” Pennington (3-1), Colo. at bantamweight.
Another one mostly anticipated match will be the return of the original pioneers of women’s MMA, submission expert Tara LaRosa (21-2), who will lock horns at flyweight with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vanessa Porto (14-5). Following a year off, Tara LaRosa (age 34) returned to MMA with a submission victory over Kelly Warren in March, but she was deluded by her performance: “I came off of not training for a year, year and a half, so when I got back in the gym, I went from 0-to-60 immediately and was doing two-a-days for three weeks and somehow I burnt myself out and I think it showed. It was just really a boring fight, honestly”. Now she is more trained and has a tough opponent named Vanessa Porto: “She’s a seasoned fighter and has seen a lot, pretty much like I have,” said LaRosa of Porto. “There’s not too much that either of us hasn’t seen. We’re both pretty good on the ground, have good stand-up and a good transition game between the two; she has wrestling, I have judo. We’re both well-rounded so it can be exciting anywhere it goes.”
We’ll see tonight if it could be the first step towards the 125-pound championship.
Invicta FC 3 weigh-in results:
MAIN CARD
(104.4) Jessica Penne vs Naho Sugiyama (103.6)
(134.6) Shayna Bazler vs Sarah D’Alelio (135)
(135.4) Kaitlin Young vs Leslie Smith (135)
(125) Aisling Daly vs Barb Honchak (124.2)
(127.6) Tara LaRosa vs Vanessa Porto (125)
(135.2) Cat Zingano vs Raquel Pennington (135.6)
(106) Michelle Waterson vs Lacey Schuckman (106.2)
(146) Julia Budd vs Danielle West (145)
PRELIMINARY CARD
(115.4) Carla Esparza vs Lynn Alvarez (115.2)
(115.8) Ashley Cummins vs Joanne Calderwood (115.2)
(106) Amy Davis vs Stephanie Frausto (104.6)
(135.4) Jessamyn Duke vs Marciea Allen (134.4)
(114.4) Tecia Torres vs Kaiyana Rain (113.4)
(144.4) Katalina Malungahu vs Ediene Gomes (144.4)
Event: Invicta FC 3: Penne vs Sugiyama
Date: 2012-10-06
Where: Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Video: Invicta FC 3 amateur video trailer
