Invicta Fighting Championships returns to the Scottish Rites Center in Kansas City, Missouri this Friday live on UFC FightPass for Invicta FC 26. This card features a number of talented fighters including an undefeated up and coming title challenger, a top prospect making a huge step up in competition, and one of the Pacific Northwest’s toughest talents. The athletes on the card at Invicta FC 26 are some of the most experienced and proven talents in WMMA outside of the UFC. There will certainly be a watchful eye on this card as the UFC continues to scout talent from the young fight promotion. Let’s take a closer look as some of these matchups and breakdown what to watch for at Invicta FC 26.
Full fight card listed below. As always, card is subject to change.
- Jennifer Maia (14-4-1) vs Agnieszka Niedźwiedź (10-0)
- Kaline Medeiros (8-5) vs Mackenzie Dern(4-0)
- Janaisa Morandin (9-1) vs Kinberly Novaes (9-3)
- Vanessa Porto (18-8) vs Milana Dudieva (11-6)
- Amy Montenegro (8-2) vs Virna Jandiroba (11-0)
- Amber Brown (6-4) vs Tessa Simpson (5-2)
- Christine Ferea (1-1) vs Karina Rodríguez (5-2)
- Kay Hansen (0-0) vs Emilee Prince (0-0)
Amy Montenegro vs Virna Jandiroba
This fight features one of the Pacific Northwest’s top female mixed martial artists, Amy Montenegro. Montenegro fights out of Issaquah, Washington and splits time training at Gracie Barra Bellevue and Gracie Barra Portland. With a very strong top game and excellent submission skills, Montenegro has been able to impose her will on most fighters she has faced. She often uses heavy forward pressure to get the fight to the mat and has the ability to not only out grapple her opponents but also overwhelm them with strikes on the ground. However, in this matchup, Montenegro will be facing a highly skilled BJJ black belt and will likely look to keep the fight standing. With her last four fights ending in decisions, don’t be surprised if the Washingtonian is looking hard for a finish. She will be going up against Virna Jandiroba, an undefeated Brazilian prospect with who has finished nine of her eleven wins in the cage. Jandiroba is a bit of a question mark as most of her fights have taken place in smaller shows in Brazil; this fight will be her first outside of her home country. Should travel not play a factor, it would seem that Jandiroba should have the edge on the mat. Look for her to try and take Montenegro down early and often.
Kaline Medeiros vs Mackenzie Dern
This fight is about one thing and one thing only: seeing how BJJ prodigy Mackenzie Dern does against a more experienced pro. Dern is the daughter of BJJ legend Wellington “Megaton” Dias and is a multiple time world Jiu Jitsu champion. To start her MMA career, she has faced mostly inexperienced talent who were generally considered favorable matchups for the BJJ star. Her pervious opponents only had a combined fifteen fights between them whereas Medeiros has thirteen on her own. Medeiros brings a decent standup game to the fight but lacks true knockout power, which is good for Dern should she choose to try and work on her standup. The major question in this fight is what game plan does Medeiros try to employ? Traditionally, Medeiros looks to shoot for big aggressive takedowns and let off powerful ground-and-pound. This tactic seems like one she might avoid against someone with the BJJ chops of Dern. In the end, this fight will likely be measured on how successful Medeiros is at stopping Dern from taking her down. If she can’t hold off Dern’s takedowns, this will be a quick night for Kaline Medeiros.
Jennifer Maia vs Agnieszka Niedźwiedź
In the night’s main event, the champion, Jennifer Maia, looks for her sixth win in a row and second successful title defense as she takes on Poland’s Agnieszka “Kuma” Niedźwiedź. Maia is a Muay Thai fighter who trains with the world famous Chute Boxe Academy. Known for their relentless attacking style, Chute Boxe has again churned out another scrappy fighter only this time with better striking accuracy than most from their camp. Maia started her fighting career as a boxer, which has given her the restraint many Chute Boxe fighters before her have lacked. Maia is no slouch on the ground, with five of her 14 wins coming by way of submission. With a well-rounded game, it is clear why she is standing firmly atop the Flyweight division. If Maia wants to keep the belt around her waist, she will have to be ready to stop the takedowns of the powerful polish wrestler Agnieszka Niedźwiedź. Perfect as a professional, Niedźwiedź has been able to impose her will on every fighter she has faced. Her entry setups are tremendous and she has power to finish the takedown when she gets inside. This is the classic striker versus grappler matchup and should be a good one. With this being Niedźwiedź’s first five round fight, look for Maia to try and get her opponent into deep water. Should Niedźwiedź tire in the latter rounds, Maia could be adding another KO victory to her belt.
