The long-awaited rematch between featherweight standouts Marloes Coenen (19-5) and Romy Ruyssen (5-1) headlines the first ever Invicta Fighting Championships card on April 28 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS.
"The time has come for a platform dedicated exclusively to building the growing women's division in our great sport," said Invicta Fighting Championships Vice President Knapp, who has held positions with the UFC, the IFL and, most recently Strikeforce, where she served as head of fighter relations and a core member of the promotion's matchmaking team. "Invicta is committed to increasing the depth of the women's field and building female superstars by providing women athletes with the opportunity to compete and hone their skills on a consistent basis throughout the year."
Here's some picks and predictions for three of the top bouts on the card:
Marloes Coenen (19-5) vs Romy Ruyssen (5-1)
With all the attention that Ronda Rousey receives for her ability to secure victories via armbar submissions, it's a bit surprising that Ruyssen doesn't get the same recognition for her ground skills.
Ruyssen has tallied five wins in the cage, including four victories via armbar and one by way of submission due to a guillotine choke. Perhaps she doesn't get the credit she deserves because she hasn't faced against any of the top ten featherweights in the world, but her clash against Coenen in 2008 was a highly competitive and entertaining battle that could have easily ended in her favor.
Ruyssen more than held her own against the former Strikeforce champ, nearly securing armbars on several occasions in the first round and working for side control in the second frame before Coenen caught her in a rear-naked choke.
Expect more of the same fireworks this time around. "Marloes is a great fighter, but she doesn't quite have the ground game that I have. I am going to take her down and finish her," Ruyssen said in an interview with Sherdog.
Coenen says she feels much better fighting at 145 pounds, rather than her previous stint in the bantamweight ranks of 135-pounders. "It's a big difference in my energy now," Coenen said in an InvictaFC interview. "I really feel so much stronger now."
The Pick: Marloes Coenen by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)
Kaitlin Young (7-5) vs Leslie Smith (3-2)
I'm excited about Kaitlin Young's resurgence. The 26-year-old looked like she was on the fast track to become the face of women's MMA after she knocked out Miesha Tate in 2007 with one of the most devastating head kicks ever seen in the sport, but losing five of six between 2008 and early-2011 left many to wonder if she would ever find her way back to elite form.
Since then, back-to-back highlight-reel knockout wins over Anna Barone and Lizbeth Carreiro put Young back in the spotlight, and a victory over the up-and-coming Smith may be enough to propel her back into the rankings of the top five bantamweights in the world.
I would love to see Young go toe-to-toe again someday against Miesha Tate, and InvictaFC co-founder Shannon Knapp (@shanknapp) seems to agree. On March 10, I tweeted to her that I would love to see a rematch someday between Young and Tate. She responded "@EricHolden @MarloesCoenen @InvictaFights me too!"
I believe Young's fierce striking and superb standup game will be too much for Smith at this point in her career.
The Pick: Kaitlin Young by First-Round TKO
Jessica Penne (8-1) vs Lisa Ellis-Ward (14-7)
Ward is coming off back-to-back losses, but she's stepped into the cage against some of the best women's fighters in the world, including twice against Megumi Fujii.
Ward's experience against legitimate top ten pound-for-pound fighters, combined with her elite submission game, makes her a dangerous opponent for anyone standing in her path.
The Pick: Lisa Ellis-Ward by Submission (Armbar)
Eric Holden is a lifelong fan of the sport of mixed martial arts. His favorite fighters are Miesha Tate, Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.
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Here's some picks and predictions for three of the top bouts on the card:
Marloes Coenen (19-5) vs Romy Ruyssen (5-1)
With all the attention that Ronda Rousey receives for her ability to secure victories via armbar submissions, it's a bit surprising that Ruyssen doesn't get the same recognition for her ground skills.
Ruyssen has tallied five wins in the cage, including four victories via armbar and one by way of submission due to a guillotine choke. Perhaps she doesn't get the credit she deserves because she hasn't faced against any of the top ten featherweights in the world, but her clash against Coenen in 2008 was a highly competitive and entertaining battle that could have easily ended in her favor.
Ruyssen more than held her own against the former Strikeforce champ, nearly securing armbars on several occasions in the first round and working for side control in the second frame before Coenen caught her in a rear-naked choke.
Expect more of the same fireworks this time around. "Marloes is a great fighter, but she doesn't quite have the ground game that I have. I am going to take her down and finish her," Ruyssen said in an interview with Sherdog.
Coenen says she feels much better fighting at 145 pounds, rather than her previous stint in the bantamweight ranks of 135-pounders. "It's a big difference in my energy now," Coenen said in an InvictaFC interview. "I really feel so much stronger now."
The Pick: Marloes Coenen by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)
Kaitlin Young (7-5) vs Leslie Smith (3-2)
I'm excited about Kaitlin Young's resurgence. The 26-year-old looked like she was on the fast track to become the face of women's MMA after she knocked out Miesha Tate in 2007 with one of the most devastating head kicks ever seen in the sport, but losing five of six between 2008 and early-2011 left many to wonder if she would ever find her way back to elite form.
Since then, back-to-back highlight-reel knockout wins over Anna Barone and Lizbeth Carreiro put Young back in the spotlight, and a victory over the up-and-coming Smith may be enough to propel her back into the rankings of the top five bantamweights in the world.
I would love to see Young go toe-to-toe again someday against Miesha Tate, and InvictaFC co-founder Shannon Knapp (@shanknapp) seems to agree. On March 10, I tweeted to her that I would love to see a rematch someday between Young and Tate. She responded "@EricHolden @MarloesCoenen @InvictaFights me too!"
I believe Young's fierce striking and superb standup game will be too much for Smith at this point in her career.
The Pick: Kaitlin Young by First-Round TKO
Jessica Penne (8-1) vs Lisa Ellis-Ward (14-7)
Ward is coming off back-to-back losses, but she's stepped into the cage against some of the best women's fighters in the world, including twice against Megumi Fujii.
Ward's experience against legitimate top ten pound-for-pound fighters, combined with her elite submission game, makes her a dangerous opponent for anyone standing in her path.
The Pick: Lisa Ellis-Ward by Submission (Armbar)
Eric Holden is a lifelong fan of the sport of mixed martial arts. His favorite fighters are Miesha Tate, Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.
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