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| (Image Source: MMA Crossfire/Invicta Fighting Championships) |
The next action-packed fight card from Invicta Fighting Championships has taken shape. The world’s premier organization for women athletes returns on May 3, 2023 for Invicta FC 53: DeCoursey vs. Dos Santos from Reelworks Denver. In the night’s headliner, recently crowned atomweight champion “Lionheart” Jillian DeCoursey (6-3) puts her strap on the line opposite Brazil’s Rayanne dos Santos (13-6). New York’s DeCoursey cemented herself atop the 105-pound division with a pair of dominant first-round finishes. After crushing Lindsey VanZandt in 61 seconds at Invicta FC 47, DeCoursey dethroned Jéssica Delboni at Invicta FC 49 to capture gold. The 27-year-old Dos Santos made a quick impression on the division in January, besting veteran Katie Saull to earn her sixth victory in her last seven bouts and establish herself as the No. 1 contender.
The co-main event will take place in the bantamweight division as former title challenger “Big Bad” Olga Rubin (8-3) collides with Denver native “Grizzly” Claire Guthrie (5-1). Both fighters were victorious at Invicta FC 51 in January with Rubin topping Serena DeJesus and Guthrie besting Auttumn Norton, both via decision. Also on the card, former atomweight queen Jéssica Delboni (12-4) moves up to strawweight against UFC veteran “Dynamite” Danielle Taylor (11-8), São Paulo native Monique Adriane (5-2) welcomes undefeated Mexican atomweight Nicole Geraldo (5-0) to the promotion, flyweight Liana “Li” Pirosin (8-5) takes on striking specialist “The Piece” Elise Pone (2-1), Brazilian Elisandra “Lili” Ferreira (5-2) faces off with Flor “Compean” Hernandez (4-0) of Mexico in an atomweight match-up, undefeated Colorado product Natalie Salcedo (1-0) meets Brazil’s Dayane Cristine (1-0) also at 105 pounds, and Colorado flyweight Ky “Kobra” Bennett (2-2) will take on a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
Invicta FC 53: DeCoursey vs. Dos Santos will be overseen by the Colorado Combative Sports Commission and will feature open scoring. The event will kick off at 8:30 pm ET/7:30 pm CT/6:30 pm MT/5:30 pm PT with the night’s main card beginning at 9:00 pm ET/8:00 pm CT/7:00 pm MT/6:00 pm PT. The main card will air live worldwide on Invicta’s official YouTube Channel and Facebook Page (May 4, 2023, Thursday, 9:00 am PHT/HKT/SGT), AXS TV in the U.S., Fight Network in Canada, Fox Sports in Mexico, Globo’s Combate in Brazil, DirecTV across Latin America, Viaplay and Match TV in Europe and Star Times across Africa. In-person tickets for the event are available and on sale online through Eventbrite.
