After losing the first round, Emily Ducote struggled for the final 10 minutes to claim a victory in the Invicta FC 40 main event.
The promotion returned to action for its first event since the COVID-19 pandemic in Ktook the world by storm and was delivered with a night of competitive fighting, crowned by a headliner between Ductoe and UFC veteran Juliana Lima in Kansas. City, Kan.
Both ladies were happy to stand up and hit for the first five minutes. Lima used her length and her Muay Thai experience to score with hard shots throughout the round. Ducote showed her toughness and durability, throwing hard kicks at her opponent. In the end, because the Kansas Athletic Commission implemented open scoring, Lima was able to take the first round 10-9 on all three scorecards.
The second round was more of the same, as it took place mainly on the feet. Lima started turning up the volume from the start and landed big punches. Ducote once again absorbed the shots and tried to shoot with strong shots of his own. After a brief rivet battle, Lima forced the split and scored with a beautiful uppercut. Ducote had a good combination before taking a perfectly timed takedown. The former Bellator veteran would fully mount and deliver a series of hard elbows to open a cut under Lima’s right eye.
Ducote braced himself for the final round after matching things up on the scorecards as he paced back and forth in the corner. Both ladies started the round by throwing heavy leather. After exchanging kicks in the legs, Ducote tied Lima and forced her to the fence. Lima was able to stand up and got a good combination. Lima continued to use her length, while Ducote advanced aggressively, changing her posture and mixing things up with her punches.
As the round continued, Ducote began scoring more frequently and landed a takedown. In the last 30 seconds, foot exchanges continued until the final bell.
In the co-main event, atomic weights Alesha Zappitella and Lindsey VanZandt hit the pace fans were expecting. Zappitella was able to use her high-level wrestling game to keep her opponent on the mat for much of the first round.
VanZandt stole some momentum in the second round, landing a few hard bumps on his feet. Zappitella was still able to score takedowns despite being hit on the feet. After the second round, the judges’ scorecards were everywhere: one with two rounds for Zappitella, one with a 19-18 lead for the Michigan native, while the third had it even at 19-19. .
The first half of the third round took place on the feet, although Zappitella was working for takedowns that were thwarted by his opponent. Midway through the round, Zappitella was able to successfully bring the fight to the canvas and take lateral control. VanZandt was able to get back to his feet with about 90 seconds to go and was heavily kicked in the body as well as a beautiful knee. VanZandt went to jump by one knee and Zappitella could turn it into a takedown. The final seconds ended with an aggressive blast on the feet.
In the end, Zappitella walked away with his second straight split decision victory.
Stockton’s Chelsea Chandler had an impressive first-round finish in the third fight of the night. Nick Diaz-trained featherweight dropped Liv Tyler with a brutal right hand before securing a shot through the bare rear choke just over a minute from the fight in the only fight of the night not to target the judges .
After a short delay before the opening fight due to generator issues, Genia Goodin earned a unanimous decision victory over Shelby Koren, followed by Trisha Cicero of the American Top Team and scored a split decision victory over Laura Gallardo.
Check out the Invicta FC 40 results below:
Emily Ducote def. Juliana Lima by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Alesha Zappitella def. Lindsey VanZandt by split decision (28-29, 29-27, 30-27)
Chelsea Chandler def. Liv Parker by submission (bare rear choke) at 1:05, R1
Trisha Cicero def. Laura Gallardo by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Genia Goodin def. Shelby Koren by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
