It’s time for an Invicta FC 38 Preview. Here’s what to expect in Kansas City.
Invicta FC 38 will go down Friday night in Kansas City. The card is headlined by a pair of title fights that should be very interesting. In the feature bout, Vanessa Porto will defend her Flyweight title against challenger Karina Rodriquez. We previewed Invicta FC 37 and that was a great event as well.
Vanessa Porto vs. Karina Rodriguez
Vanessa Porto is currently the Invicta FC flyweight champion. She won the title back at Invicta FC 34 after the fight was stopped in the fourth round following an illegal eye-poke that forced an early end to festivities. They went to the cards and Vanessa Porto won a clear decision over Pearl Gonzalez.
Porto brings to the cage a wealth of experience and enters this fight having won three in a row, two via stoppage. She possesses a well-rounded game and has victories over respected fighters like Milana Dudieva, Zoila Frausto, Tara LaRosa, and Jennifer Maia among others.
Karina Rodriquez has a giant opportunity here to leave Kansas City the champion of the world. She earned her way into this fight by winning five of her last six, including her last two consecutive fights in an elimination tournament. At Invicta FC 35 she bested DeAnna Bennett and that moved her into this title fight.
Heading into this fight Vanessa Porto is the favorite, and rightfully so. She’s the more technical and experienced fighter. That being said, Rodriguez is craft and she brings a lot of skills to the cage. In the end, expect this fight to go all five rounds, and in the end, Vanessa Porto should hold onto her belt via unanimous decision.
Kanako Murata vs. Emily Ducote
This fight is for the vacant strawweight championship, a title left vacated after Brianna Van Buren handed the belt she won in the Phoenix series tournament back to Shannon Knapp for an opportunity to compete in the UFC.
Kanako Murata (10-1) enters this fight having won six consecutive fights. She won her debut in Invicta FC over Liana Pirosin via Rear Naked Choke. Before that, she won three straight fights for Invicta. She’s a very talented wrestler and brings a strong grappling game to the cage.
Emily Ducote came over to Invicta FC after a run in Bellator that saw her compete against Ilima-Lei Macfarlane for the flyweight title. It was the first of three consecutive losses in Bellator before being released. She made her promotional debut with Invicta FC in great fashion earning a first-round stoppage victory over Janaisa Morandin.
This should be a good fight, but expect Kanako Murata to bring too much wrestling to the table for Ducate. In the end, Murata will likely leave as the new strawweight champion following a stoppage.
The Rest of the Card
Mallory Martin vs. Cynthia Arceo – Mallory Martin should win here. She’s a Contender Series veteran and a talented fighter. Areco is also a talented KOTC veteran. It should be a fun fight, perhaps FOTN material.
Shanna Young vs. Maiju Suotama – Shanning Young probably comes out victorious here, although neither of these fighters have looked great in their Phoenix series tournament fights.
Lisa Verzosa vs. Kerri Kenneson – Lisa Verzosa has a ton of potential and comes into this fight undefeated in her career.
Shaianna Rincón vs. Auttumn Norton – This could be fun, but Rincon likely pulls this off, as she has a lot of stoppage victories in her young career and has more experience than Norton.
Serena DeJesus vs. Taneisha Tennant – There is not much information available on either of these fighters, as they are each making their second professional MMA appearance and their Invicta FC debuts.
