Invicta FC announces Phoenix Rising tournament matchups, Kay Hansen return, and more

Invicta FC has officially upped the stakes. Tuesday morning, the promotion announced the winner of their highly anticipated “Phoenix Rising” event will be crowned Invicta FC Strawweight Champion.

On Friday, May 3, eight of Invicta’s top 115-pounders will collide in a one-night, eight woman tournament. The quarterfinal matchups are as follows (per a press release):

– Former Invicta title challenge Mizuki Inoue (13-5) will collide with gritty wrestler Sharon Jacobson (5-4)
– Brazilian Janiasa Morandin (10-2) faces the United States’ Brianna Van Buren (5-2)
– UFC veterans collide as Danielle Taylor (10-4) faces off against Juliana Lima (9-5)
– UFC veteran Kailin Curran (4-6) meets Iceland’s Sunna Davidsdottir (3-0)

The winner will be crowned the new queen of the Invicta strawweight division, as champion Virna Jandiroba has vacated her strap in pursuit of adding UFC gold to her resume.

Also featured on the card, 19-year-old top prospect Kay Hansen (4-2) will look to continue her winning ways when she faces off against the Czech Republic’s Magdalena Sormova (7-1).

Hansen is coming off of a submission of the year and comeback of the year outing in her last fight. Likely down on the judges’ scorecards through two rounds, Hansen submitted Sharon Jacobson in highlight reel fashion at Invicta FC 33.

Her opponent, Sormova, is a tough test, only having dropped one fight in her eight-fight professional tenure. The clash with Hansen will be Sormova’s first bout under the Invicta FC banner.

Additional matchups for Invicta Phoenix Rising include two tournament reserve bouts. Amber Brown (7-5) meets Manjit Kolekar (11-2) and Alyssa Krahn (5-2) faces Itzel Esquivel (4-2).

The fight-punching festivities will be called by former UFC and Bellator MMA commentator Jimmy Smith, and current UFC reporter Laura Sanko. Taryn Tempel will conduct the in-cage post-fight interviews.

Friday, May 3, Invicta FC: Phoenix Rising 1 takes place at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, with the action kicking off on UFC Fight Pass starting at 8pm ET.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 4/16/2019.