Inagural Phoenix Rising Series to crown new Invicta FC strawweight champion

Invicta Fighting Championships today announced that the winner of the promotion’s inaugural Phoenix Rising Series tournament – taking place on Friday, May 3 – will also be crowned Invicta FC strawweight champion.

Invicta’s most recent strawweight champion Virna Jandiroba vacated her title prior to signing with the UFC. Now, the strawweight division’s top contenders will battle during a one-night tournament to earn their place as champion.

The promotion also revealed the tournament’s quarterfinal round match-ups, pairing the announced participants by random draw.

• Former Invicta FC strawweight title challenger MIZUKI (13-5) meets two-time US Open national championship wrestler Sharon “The Dream Catcher” Jacobson(5-4)
• The field’s other former strawweight title challenger, Janaisa “Evil Princess” Morandin (10-2), takes on 25-year-old prospect Brianna “The Bull” Van Buren(5-2)
• UFC veterans lock horns as Danielle “Dynamite” Taylor (10-4) clashes with Juliana “Ju Thai” Lima (9-5)
• Hawaii’s Kailin Curran (4-6) makes her Invicta debut opposite undefeated Icelander Sunna “Tsunami” Davidsdottir (3-0)

Quarterfinal bouts are one five-minute round, with the round’s fastest finisher having an opportunity to pick their semifinal round opponent from the three other advancing competitors.

Two tournament reserve bouts have also been announced, contested under the same single round format as the quarterfinal bouts, but categorized as exhibition fights.

• Having competed at atomweight for most of her career, Amber “The Bully” Brown (7-5) seeks to break into the strawweight tournament, facing the equally motivated Manjit Kolekar (11-2) of India
• Promotional newcomers Alyssa “Pumpkin Spice” Krahn (5-2) and Itzel Esquivel (4-2) square off in the second reserve bout

A traditional, non-tournament bout between 19-year-old Kay Hansen (4-2) and the Czech Republic’s Magdalena Sormova (7-1), making her Invicta debut, has been added to the fight card.

The complete fight card, including current bout order, for Invicta’s first Phoenix Rising Series event can be found below:

Strawweight Tournament Final: TBD vs. TBD
Strawweight Bout: Kay Hansen vs. Magdalena Sormova
Strawweight Tournament Semifinal: TBD vs. TBD
Strawweight Tournament Semifinal: TBD vs. TBD
Strawweight Tournament Reserve: Amber Brown vs. Manjit Kolekar
Strawweight Tournament Quarterfinal: MIZUKI vs. Sharon Jacobson
Strawweight Tournament Quarterfinal: Janaisa Morandin vs. Brianna Van Buren
Strawweight Tournament Quarterfinal: Danielle Taylor vs. Juliana Lima
Strawweight Tournament Quarterfinal: Kailin Curran vs. Sunna Davidsdottir
Strawweight Tournament Reserve: Alyssa Krahn vs. Itzel Esquivel

Invicta recently announced the Phoenix Rising Series broadcast duo of play-by-play announcer Laura Sanko and color analyst Jimmy Smith. Today, the promotion announced the addition of Taryn Tempel, joining the team as a correspondent and post-fight interviewer.

The Phoenix Rising Series debuts at Kansas City’s Memorial Hall on Friday, May 3, streaming live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

Tickets are on sale now and available for purchase at eventbrite.com.