KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Weigh-ins for Invicta Fighting Championships’ inaugural event, Invicta FC 1, took place today at Hotel Phillips in Kansas City. The all-female professional mixed martial arts fight card will take place Saturday night at nearby Memorial Hall starting at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) and stream live and free on InvictaFC.com.
Several of the ladies came in over-weight and they paid for it. Featherweight headliner Romy Ruyssen came in at 150.4 pounds on her first attempt, then 149.8 pounds some time later, on her second attempt.
A whopping 25 percent of her purse will go to her opponent, Marloes Coenen, who came in at 146 pounds even. The two ladies fought once before, back in 2008, with Coenen winning via second round submission. This will be Coenen’s first bout since losing her Strikeforce bantamweight title to Miesha Tate last July.
Randi Miller originally came in at 149.8 pounds on her first attempt, then 149 even on her second attempt. She will also lose 25 percent of her purse to her opponent, Mollie Estes, who came in at 145 pounds even for the featherweight match-up.
In bantamweight action, Ashleigh Curry came in at 137.2 pounds on her first attempt, then made weight at 136 pounds on her second attempt. Because she ended up making weight, she will only forfeit 10 percent of her purse to her opponent, Liz Carmouche, who came in at 135.4 pounds.
According to the rules of the Kansas State Athletic Commission, all opponents must weigh within three pounds of one another in order to compete the following day. The only exception to this is the featherweight division, in which opponents must weigh within five pounds of one another.
Because of this, the bout between Sofia Bagherdai and Ashley Cummins almost got scrapped. Bagherdai came in at 120.6 pounds, an extraordinary 4.6 pounds over the 116 pound contracted limit. Thankfully for her, Cummins, who weighed in at 115 pounds on her first attempt, weighed in a second time at 120.6 pounds so the bout could take place. Bagherdai will still forfeit 10 percent of her purse.
The weigh-in results are as follows:
- Meghan Wright (103.5) vs. Cassie Rodish (105.2)
- Sofia Bagherdai (120.6)** vs. Ashley Cummins (121.4)
- Mollie Estes (145) vs. Randi Miller (149)*
- Michele Gutierrez (125) vs. Sarah Maloy (125.4)
- Amy Davis (105.6) vs. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (105.4)
- Sarah Schneider (115.6) vs. Sally Krumdiack (113.6)
- Vanessa Mariscal (136) vs. Sarah D’Alelio (135.2)
- Leslie Smith (135) vs. Kaitlin Young (135.4)
- Ashleigh Curry (136)** vs. Liz Carmouche (134.2)
- Lisa Ellis-Ward (106) vs. Jessica Penne (105.6)
- Romy Ruyssen (149.8)* vs. Marloes Coenen (146)
** – Bagherdai and Curry forfeit 10% of their purse to their opponents.
* – Miller and Ruyssen must forfeit 25% of their purse to their opponents.
If you are one who believes the ladies need to make weight if they are going to be taken seriously, you are not alone. Be sure to check out our recent interview with Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp on Pro MMA Now Radio where she discussed her tough stance on the ladies needing to make weight.
[All photos by Esther Lin for Invicta FC]
[All photos by Esther Lin for Invicta FC]
[…] The fights will be held at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. Fans can watch on InvictaFC.com starting at 8:00 p.m. EST. […]
As a supporter of WMMA, I’m blown away at the number of fighters coming in overweight. *waaaaaay* overweight. If female MMA fighters want to be taken seriously, then for god’s sake do your part in that equation. Mind-numbing.
As I said on IFC’s facebook page, though, I hope the night itself goes off without a hitch, though..
We did an interview with Shannon Knapp on Pro MMA Now Radio last week and she expects the same thing out of the women. This is why she implemented the rule of the girls losing 10% of their purse to their opponent if they miss weight the first try….and 25% on the second try. You are exactly right though.
[…] Amazingly, along with Romy, three other female fighters came in over the weight limit and will forfeit 10 – 25% of their fight purses to their opponents. The Bagherdai vs Cummins fight had to be adjusted from 115 to 120 in order to meet the rules of how far off weight a fighter can be. source […]
[…] Amazingly, along with Romy, three other female fighters came in over the weight limit and will forfeit 10 – 25% of their fight purses to their opponents. The Bagherdai vs Cummins fight had to be adjusted from 115 to 120 in order to meet the rules of how far off weight a fighter can be. source […]