Janaisa Morandin vs. Montserrat Ruiz Headlines Invicta FC 41
It’s full steam ahead for Invicta Fighting Championships.
The world’s premier combat sports organization for women will hold its second event of the summer on Thursday, July 30. Invicta FC 41 will take place in Kansas City and just like the promotion’s 40th installment on July 2, it will be overseen by the Kansas Athletic Commission and utilize open scoring. The event will air live and exclusively on UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. CT.
In the night’s main event, former strawweight title challenger Janaisa “Evil Princess” Morandin (10-3) of Brazil will battle Mexico’s Montserrat “Conejo” Ruiz (8-1). The 25-year-old Morandin will be making her fifth appearance in the Invicta cage and hopes that her experience of facing former titleholders Virna Jandiroba and Livia Renata Souza will carry her to victory. Ruiz returns to action after suffering her first career defeat to UFC veteran Danielle Taylor at Invicta FC 33. Prior to the setback, she had won eight straight with four finishes.
The co-main event will feature flyweight contenders as 21-year-old phenom Erin “Cold Blooded” Blanchfield (5-1) tangles with wrestling stalwart Stephanie “Hold Fast” Geltmacher (4-1). New York’s Blanchfield enters the match-up riding the momentum of a second-round, head-kick knockout of Victoria Leonardo at Invicta FC 39. Like her opponent, Oklahoma’s Geltmacher was also last in action against Leonardo, but came up short on the scorecards after a “Fight of the Year” contender at Invicta FC 36.
Joining the headlining bouts will be a featherweight bout between former title challenger “The Striking Viking” Kaitlin Young (10-10-1) and the returning Latoya “Black Mamba” Walker (5-1), who last fought at Invicta FC 17 in 2016. Also on the card, Texas strawweights collide as Cynthia “Sin” Arceo (5-2-1) meets Itzel Esquivel (4-2), undefeated flyweights square off when Florida’s Caitlin “Ginger” Sammons (2-0) faces Colorado’s “Grizzly” Claire Guthrie (1-0), and flyweight newcomers Natalya “The Beast” Speece (0-0) and Alexa Culp (0-0) both make their professional debuts.
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Invicta FC 41 will take place behind closed doors — sans fans and media. As with any Invicta event, the safety of its fighters, their corners, its staff and commission officials is of the utmost priority. All participants will be tested prior to the event.
The full fight card can be found below:
Strawweight: Janaisa Morandin vs. Montserrat Ruiz
Flyweight: Erin Blanchfield vs. Stephanie Geltmacher
Featherweight: Kaitlin Young vs. Latoya Walker
Strawweight: Cynthia Arceo vs. Itzel Esquivel
Flyweight: Caitlin Sammons vs. Claire Guthrie
Flyweight: Natalya Speece vs. Alexa Culp
