Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currently owned by the Canadian-based Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
The company's name comes from the Latin word for "invincible and incomparable", which appears in the feminine form.
History Formation After Zuffa, parent company of the UFC, purchased rival promotion Strikeforce in March 2011, Shannon Knapp received several calls from female fighters concerned about a possible lack of representation for women's MMA. Knapp would meet with Janet Martin and the two acquired the financial resources needed to launch a new MMA promotion.
The promotion held its first event, Invicta FC 1 on April 28, 2012. The event was headlined by a rematch between former Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen and French fighter Romy Ruyssen. The event also marked the MMA debut of 2008 Summer Olympics women's freestyle wrestling medalist Randi Miller.
On June 9, 2012, it was announced that Invicta has formed a strategic partnership with Japanese promotion JEWELS to cross-promote fighters on their respective cards in the United States and Japan. On September 24, Invicta would announce another cross-promotional partnership with the Super Fight League.
Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg, which took place on July 13, 2013, would mark the first event to be aired on cable and satellite pay-per-view, in addition to IPPV through a deal with Integrated Sports Media for live viewing. In 2014, Invicta began exclusively streaming events on UFC Fight Pass, with the company's fight library also made available on the service. Invicta FC 8 would be the first event to stream live on Fight Pass.
On February 24, 2015, Brazilian channel Combate acquired broadcast rights to Invicta live events as well as events from the Invicta library in South America.
Acquisition by Anthem On April 15, 2021, it was announced that Anthem Sports & Entertainment had acquired Invicta. Starting with Invicta FC 44 on May 21, Invicta events are broadcast live on the Anthem-owned networks AXS TV and Fight Network in the United States and Canada, respectively. Invicta's events would also stream live on the promotion's YouTube channel.
On September 21, 2022, Invicta announced that it had made a deal with FOX Sports Mexico for Mexican broadcast rights, starting with Invicta FC 49.
On June 11, 2024, Invicta announced that it had signed a deal with CBS Sports to air all of that year's events on the CBS Sports Network in the United States, starting with Invicta FC 55 on June 28.
Roster
Rules
Invicta's current rules follows the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts that were originally established by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and modified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Events
Past events # Event Date Venue Location Ref67 Invicta FC 62: Lehner vs. Rubin The LEX at Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri. U.S.66 Invicta FC 61: Ferreira vs. Palacios Grand Casino Hotel & Resort Shawnee, Oklahoma. U.S.65 Invicta FC 60: Rubin vs. Cantuária Center Stage Atlanta, Georgia. U.S.64 Invicta FC 59: Bernardo vs. Maia The Eastern Atlanta, Georgia. U.S.63 Invicta FC 58: Ducote vs. Ostroverkhova Memorial Hall Kansas City, Kansas. U.S.62 Invicta FC 57: Ferreira vs. Romero Memorial Hall Kansas City, Kansas. U.S.61 Invicta FC 56: Maia vs. Cantuária Stockyards Event Center Denver, Colorado. U.S.60 Invicta FC 55: Bernardo vs. Rubin Memorial Hall Kansas City, Kansas. U.S.59 Invicta FC 54: McCormack vs. Wojcik Citizens House of Blues Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.58 Invicta FC 53: DeCoursey vs. Dos Santos ReelWorks Denver Denver, Colorado, U.S.57 Invicta FC 52: Machado vs. McCormack 56 Invicta FC 51: Tennant vs. Bernardo 55 Invicta FC 50 54 Invicta FC 49: Delboni vs. DeCoursey Sugar Creek Casino Hinton, Oklahoma, U.S.53 Invicta FC 48: Tennant vs. Rubin ReelWorks Denver Denver, Colorado, U.S.52 Invicta FC 47: Ducote vs. Zappitella Memorial Hall Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.51 Invicta FC 46: Rodríguez vs. Torquato II 50 Invicta FC 45: Zappitella vs. Delboni II Police Athletic League49 Invicta FC 44: A New Era Memorial Hall48 Phoenix Tournament: Atomweight 47 Invicta FC: Rodríguez vs. Torquato Police Athletic League46 Invicta FC 43: King vs. Harrison 45 Invicta FC 42: Cummins vs. Zappitella 44 Invicta FC 41: Morandin vs. Ruiz 43 Invicta FC 40: Ducote vs. Lima 42 Phoenix Series 3 Memorial Hall41 Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II 40 Invicta FC 38: Murata vs. Ducote 39 Invicta FC 37: Gonzalez vs. Sanchez 38 Phoenix Series 2 37 Invicta FC 36: Sorenson vs. Young 36 Invicta FC 35: Bennett vs. Rodriguez II 35 Phoenix Series 1 34 Invicta FC 34: Porto vs. Gonzalez 33 Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II Scottish Rite Temple Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.32 Invicta FC 32: Spencer vs. Sorenson Firelake Arena Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S.31 Invicta FC 31: Jandiroba vs. Morandin Scottish Rite Temple Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.30 Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander 29 Invicta FC 29: Kaufman vs. Lehner 28 Invicta FC 28: Mizuki vs. Jandiroba Union Event Center Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.27 Invicta FC 27: Kaufman vs. Kianzad Scottish Rite Temple Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.26 Invicta FC 26: Maia vs. Niedźwiedź 25 Invicta FC 25: Kunitskaya vs. Pa'aluhi Tachi Palace Lemoore, California, U.S.24 Invicta FC 24: Dudieva vs. Borella Scottish Rite Temple Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.23 Invicta FC 23: Porto vs. Niedźwiedź 22 Invicta FC 22: Evinger vs. Kunitskaya II 21 Invicta FC 21: Anderson vs. Tweet 20 Invicta FC 20: Evinger vs. Kunitskaya 19 Invicta FC 19: Maia vs. Modafferi 18 Invicta FC 18: Grasso vs. Esquibel 17 Invicta FC 17: Evinger vs. Schneider OC Fair & Event Center Costa Mesa, California, U.S.16 Invicta FC 16: Hamasaki vs. Brown Trinidad Pavilion Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.15 Invicta FC 15: Cyborg vs. Ibragimova OC Fair & Event Center Costa Mesa, California, U.S.14 Invicta FC 14: Evinger vs. Kianzad Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.13 Invicta FC 13: Cyborg vs. Van Duin The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.12 Invicta FC 12: Kankaanpää vs. Souza Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. 11 Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet Shrine Expo Hall Los Angeles, California, U.S. 10 Invicta FC 10: Waterson vs. Tiburcio Arena Theater Houston, Texas, U.S. 9 Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi RiverCenter Davenport, Iowa, U.S. 8 Invicta FC 8: Waterson vs. Tamada Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. 7 Invicta FC 7: Honchak vs. Smith Ameristar Casino Kansas City 6 Invicta FC 6: Coenen vs. Cyborg 5 Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson 4 Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt Memorial Hall Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. 3 Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama 2 Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann 1 Invicta FC 1: Coenen vs. Ruyssen
Current champions
Division Upper weight limit Champion Since Title Defenses Top Contender Featherweight Vacant July 13, 2021 Bantamweight Jennifer MaiaDecember 13, 2024 (Invicta FC 59) Flyweight Vacant May 2, 2023 Strawweight Vacant July 16, 2024 Atomweight Elisandra Ferreira September 20, 2024 (Invicta FC 57) 1
Title history
Featherweight Championship 136 to 145 lbs (62 to 66 kg) No.NameEventDateReignDefenses1 Cris Cyborg Invicta FC 6 Jul 13, 2013 1351 days- Megan AndersonInvicta FC 21Jan 14, 2017-Cyborg vacated the title on March 24, 2017 to compete full time with the UFC.2 Megan AndersonMar 24, 201788 daysAnderson vacated the title on June 20, 2017 to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.3 Felicia SpencerInvicta FC 32Nov 16, 2018 129 daysSpencer vacated the title on March 26, 2019 to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship4 Pam SorensonInvicta FC 36Aug 9, 2019 705 daysSorenson vacated the title on July 13, 2021 to sign with Bellator MMA.
Bantamweight Championship 126 to 135 lbs (57 to 61 kg) No.NameEventDateReignDefenses1 Lauren Murphy Invicta FC 7Kansas City, MO, US Dec 7, 2013 208 daysMurphy vacated title on July 3, 2014 to sign with the UFC.2 Tonya Evinger Invicta FC 13 Jul 9, 2015 724 days Evinger had her defeat at Invicta FC 20 annulled on December 1, 2016 after proving that the referee took her out of a favorable position and remained champion.Evinger vacated title on July 3, 2017 to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.3 Yana Kunitskaya Aug 31, 2017 160 daysKunitskaya vacated title on February 7, 2018 to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.4 Sarah Kaufman Invicta FC 29Kansas City, MO, US May 4, 2018 368 daysKaufman vacated title on May 9, 2019 to sign with the Professional Fighters League.5 Julija Stoliarenko Kansas City, KS, USA Mar 6, 2020 147 days Stoliarenko vacated title on July 31, 2020 to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.6 Invicta FC 44 Aug 27, 2021 509 days7 Invicta FC 51 Jan 18, 2023 684 days8 Invicta FC 59 Dec 13, 2024 days(incumbent)
Flyweight Championship 116 to 125 lbs (53 to 56 kg) No.NameEventDateReignDefenses1 Barb Honchak Invicta FC 5 Apr 5, 20131266 days- Jennifer MaiaMar 11, 2016-Honchak was stripped of the title due to inactivity on September 22, 20162 Jennifer MaiaInvicta FC 19Kansas City, MO, USSep 22, 2016652 daysMaia vacated title on July 7, 2018 to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.3 Vanessa Porto Invicta FC 34 Feb 15, 2019 564 daysPorto vacated title on September 2, 2020 to sign with Bellator MMA.4 Karina Rodríguez May 21, 2021 421 daysRodríguez vacated title on July 17, 2022 to sign with Bellator MMA.5 Ketlen Souza Invicta FC 51 Jan 18, 2023 104 daysSouza vacated title on May 2, 2023 to sign with the UFC.
Strawweight Championship 106 to 115 lbs (49 to 52 kg) No.NameEventDateReignDefenses1 Carla Esparza Invicta FC 4 Jan 5, 2013341 daysEsparza vacated title on December 11, 2013 to participate in The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned.2 Katja Kankaanpää Invicta FC 8 Sep 6, 2014 230 days3 Apr 24, 2015 380 days4 Angela Hill Invicta FC 17 May 7, 2016 274 daysHill vacated title on February 4, 2017 to return to the UFC.5 Virna Jandiroba Invicta FC 28 Mar 24, 2018 379 daysJandiroba vacated title on April 7, 2019 to sign with the UFC.6 Brianna Van Buren May 3, 2019 39 daysVan Buren vacated title on June 11, 2019 to sign with the UFC.7 Kanako Murata Invicta FC 38 Nov 1, 2019 305 daysMurata vacated title on September 2, 2020 to sign with the UFC.8 Emily Ducote Invicta FC 44 Aug 27, 2021 279 daysDucote vacated title on June 2, 2022 to sign with the UFC.9 Valesca Machado Invicta FC 50 Nov 16, 2022 118 days10 Danni McCormack Invicta FC 52 Mar 15, 2023 489 daysMcCormack vacated title on July 16, 2024 to compete on the Road to UFC Season 3.
Atomweight Championship 96 to 105 lbs (44 to 48 kg) No.NameEventDateReignDefenses1 Jessica Penne Invicta FC 3 Oct 6, 2012 181 days2 Invicta FC 5 Apr 5, 2013 609 days3 Hérica Tibúrcio Invicta FC 10 Dec 5, 2014 216 days4 Ayaka Hamasaki Invicta FC 13 Jul 9, 2015 737 daysHamasaki vacated title on July 15, 2017 to sign with Rizin Fighting Federation.5 Jinh Yu Frey Invicta FC 30 Jul 21, 2018 564 daysFrey was stripped of the title on February 6, 2020 after failing to make weight against Ashley Cummins at Invicta FC 39.6 Alesha Zappitella Sep 17, 2020 482 days7 Jéssica Delboni Invicta FC 45 Jan 12, 2022 258 days8 Jillian DeCoursey Invicta FC 49 Sep 28, 2022 215 days9 Invicta FC 53 May 3, 2023 167 daysDos Santos vacated title on October 17, 2023 to sign with UFC.10 Invicta FC 57 Sep 20, 2024 days(incumbent)
Records Most wins in title bouts Title wins Champion Division V D NC L 4 Cristiane Justino Featherweight 4 0 0 0 Jennifer Maia Flyweight/Bantamweight 4 0 0 0 3 Barb Honchak Flyweight 3 0 0 0 Ayaka Hamasaki Atomweight 3 0 0 0
Most consecutive title defenses
Defenses Champion Division Period 3 Cristiane Justino Featherweight July 12, 2013 – March 24, 2017
Champions by nationality