A pair of title fights are going to be headlining the Invicta Fighting Championship 38 card as Vanessa Porto puts the gold on the line against Karina Rodriguez, while the vacant Invicta FC Strawweight Title is going to get a new owner as Kanako Murata faces Emily Ducote.
Invicta FC issued the following press release on the event:
Invicta FC 38 Features Two Title Fights on Nov. 1
October 9, 2019/by Rob Tatum
Kansas City, Mo. – The fight card for Invicta FC 38 will feature a pair of title bouts.
Flyweight champion Vanessa Porto (21-8) will make the first defense of her 125-pound title against contender tournament winner Karina Rodríguez (8-3). The Brazilian Porto captured gold at Invicta FC 34, defeating UFC veteran Pearl Gonzalez by decision. Mexico’s Rodriguez earned her shot at gold with a hard-fought decision victory over UFC alum DeAnna Bennett in the Invicta FC 36 main event.
The co-main event also features gold on the line as Japan’s Kanako Murata (10-1) battles veteran Emily Ducote (8-5) for the vacant strawweight championship. Murata, a decorated wrestler, submitted Liana Pirosin in her promotional debut at Invicta FC 35. Oklahoma’s Ducote has faced some of the toughest flyweights in the world and now seeks a title at 115 pounds after stopping former title challenger Janaisa Morandin at Invicta FC 36.
Joining the two title fights will be a strawweight clash between Contender Series veteran Mallory Martin (5-2) and Texas newcomer Cynthia “Sin” Arceo (5-1-1), a flyweight rematch between recent Phoenix Series 2 quarterfinalists Shanna Young (6-2) and Maiju Suotama (8-4), a bantamweight bout featuring undefeated Lisa “Battle Angel” Verzosa (4-0) — formerly Spangler — and “Scary” Kerri Kenneson (3-1), the return of California’s Shaianna “Yaya” Rincón (2-0) against a soon-to-be-named bantamweight opponent, and the debut of Las Vegas bantamweight Serena de Jesus (1-0), who takes on fellow newcomer Taneisha “Triple Threat” Tennant (1-0) of New York.
Invicta FC 38 takes place Friday, Nov. 1, from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The event will stream live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 7 p.m. CT. Tickets for the event can be purchased now through Eventbrite.
The current Invicta FC 38 fight card can be found below:
Flyweight Title: Vanessa Porto vs. Karina Rodríguez
Strawweight Title: Kanako Murata vs. Emily Ducote
Strawweight: Mallory Martin vs. Cynthia Arceo
Flyweight: Shanna Young vs. Maiju Suotama
Bantamweight: Lisa Verzosa vs. Kerri Kenneson
Bantamweight: Shaianna Rincón vs. TBA
Bantamweight: Serena de Jesus vs. Taneisha Tennant
About Invicta FC:
Invicta Fighting Championships (invictafc.com) is a world championship, all-pro mixed martial arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible match-ups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport. Follow Invicta on Twitter (@InvictaFights), Facebook (Facebook.com/InvictaFights), and Instagram (@InvictaFC) for all the latest information.
