Tonight, Invicta FC 42 takes place in Kansas City, KS. The organization is back with a night full of MMA action. Let’s take a moment for a quick Invicta FC 42 preview. In the main event, Ashley Cummins will take on the talented Alesha Zappitella for the atomweight championship.
In the co-main event, Lisa Verzosa will face Racquel Canuto in a battle of established bantamweights. Lisa Verzosa is seen as a potential future champion, but in Canuto she will face a fighter with grit, experience, and determination. It should be a heck of a contest.
Invicta FC 42 Preview
Ashley Cummins vs. Alesha Zappetella
Ashley Cummins is 2-1 in her last three outings and is coming off of a title fight loss to Jihn Yu Frey in her last fight. She dropped a close unanimous decision and Frey has moved on to the UFC, vacating her title. Cummins will be looking to bring home the belt this out as she meets Alesha Zappetella.
Alesha Zappetella is 2-2 in her last four but has a current two-fight winning streak. The four-foot eleven-inch dynamo is an excellent grappler who will be looking to control the action on the canvas tonight.
This is a very good fight potentially between two fighters who are better than their records would have you believe. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if Zappetella was able to control the grappling and clinch game and win a unanimous decision here.
Lisa Verzosa vs. Racquel Canuto
Lisa Verzosa has an impressive 5-1 record as a professional but enters this fight coming off of a loss in her last outing to Julija Stoliarenko at Invicta FC Pheonix Series 3. Verzosa fights out of the state of Washington and is a well-rounded fighter with a ton of upside.
Racquel Canuto is an experienced fighter and elite grappler. She has been competing in submission grappling events recently and trains under grappling maven Robert Drysdale. She will undoubtedly be looking to grapple and seek a submission victory.
I think this is a compelling fight but at the end of the day, Racquel Canuto’s grappling gives her the edge. It would not be surprising to see Canuto take the fight to the canvas and finish it with a choke.
Jessica Delboni vs. Herica Tiburcio
Jessica Delboni makes her return to Invicta after competing in her last bout for the Shooto organization. She suffered a defeat in that fight, losing to Julia Polastri via TKO. She was 1-1 in her previous stint with Invicta.
Herica Tiburcio is 11-4 as a professional and has won two consecutive fights in Invicta. She actually holds a victory in Invicta over Michelle Waterson. She has really good submissions and this fight is likely to take place primarily on the canvas where Tiburcio holds the advantage.
This should be a good fight with lots of exchanges and good grappling. I’m leaning towards Herica Tiburcio to pick up the win.
Invicta FC 42 Preview – Prelims
Victoria Leonardo vs. Liz Tacy
Both of these fighters are in need of a win here. Neither fighter has been on a tear but this should be a fun fight. Victoria Leonardo is coming off of a headkick TKO loss to Erin Blanchfeild so it will be interesting to see how she recovers and if she’s gun shy at all. I am going with Liz Tracy here.
Jennifer Chieng vs. Helen Peralta
Helen Peralta is a stand-up fighter, as evidenced by the fact she’s currently the Bare Knuckle FC strawweight champion. She’s very durable and will stand in the pocket and trade. Her fight at BKFC 7 against Christine Ferea was an absolute classic.
Jennifer Chieng is making her Invicta FC debut tonight after scoring a first-round knockout victory in her professional debut against Jessica Ruiz in Bellator. You don’t see a lot of first-round KOs in women’s MMA so Chieng has power. This could result in a tremendous stand-up battle.
I know more about Peralta than I do Chieng and for that reason, I’m going with Peralta via TKO.
You can follow along with the results tonight right here.
