Two dangerous 26-year-old strikers will meet when former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman (15-2) and female knockout artist Kaitlin Young (7-6-1)  face off at Invicta FC 3 on Oct. 6 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan.

Invicta Fighting Championships announced the bout today via press release.

Kaufman is coming off a highly publicized 54-second submission (armbar) loss to current Strikeforce women’s 135-pound champ Ronda Rousey earlier this month. It was Kaufman’s only second loss in her six years fighting as a professional.

Prior to that Kaufman had won three straight bouts, defeating Megumi Yabushita via TKO, and defeating Liz Carmouche and Alexis Davis both via decision.

Due to the relative infrequency of their fight cards, Strikeforce has been good about letting fighters such as Kaufman take bouts in other promotions so they can continue to earn a living.

“Invicta FC has made huge waves for women in MMA over the last five months,” Kaufman said.  “It’s been amazing to watch so many of the top women all fight on the same card, so I’m looking forward to be a part of their next show. Kaitlin is a very strong 135-pounder. She’s got a lot of height and is quite technical in many areas.  I’m excited to get in there against her, especially in the wake of the worst performance of my career.  I’m hungry to get back in there and prove why I’m ranked at the top of my weight class.”

Young has fought on both previous Invicta cards; fighting to a draw in a “fight of the night” performance against Leslie Smith in April and dropping a second round submission to Liz Carmouche in July. Prior to that she had put together back-to-back TKO victories on the regional circuit, defeating Liz Carreiro last October and Anna Barone in January.

Young first earned her reputation as a powerful striker by knocking out three women in one night, including a 30-second head kick KO of Miesha Tate, to win the 2007 Women’s HOOKnSHOOT Grand Prix.

“Sarah is a great fighter who has made a big name for herself in the sport, so I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Young said.

Invicta FC 3 will be headlined by Jessica Penne (9-1) taking on the undefeated Japanese fighter Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama (8-0) for the inaugural Invicta atomweight title. In co-main event action Shayna Baszler (14-7) will face Sarah D’Alelio (6-2).

Invicta FC 3 may very well be the most impressive list of female mixed martial arts fighters ever assembled. In addition to the aforementioned ladies, the card also boasts names like Barb Honchak, Tara LaRosa, Michelle Waterson, Julia Budd, Elaina Maxwell and Carla Esparza, to name just a few.

The card also contains several other veterans and a host of up-and-coming and debuting female fighters ready to make their mark on women’s MMA.

The complete and enormously stacked 14-fight Invicta FC 3 card is as follows:

  • Jessica Penne vs. Naho Sugiyama
  • Shyana Baszler vs. Sarah D’Alelio
  • Sarah Kaufman vs. Kaitlin Young
  • Barb Honchak vs. Asiling Daly
  • Tara LaRosa vs. Vanessa Porto
  • Leslie Smith vs. Cat Zingano
  • Michelle Waterson vs. Lacey Schuckman
  • Julia Budd vs. Elaina Maxwell
  • Carla Esparza vs. Lynn Alvarez
  • Ashley Cummins vs. Joanne Calderwood
  • Amy Davis vs. Stephanie Frausto
  • Jessamyn Duke vs. Marclea Allen
  • Tecia Torres vs. Taylor Stratford
  • Katalina Malungahu vs. Taylor Stratford

Ticket information for Invicta FC 3 can be found at www.invictafc.com. Be sure to follow ProMMAnow.com on Twitter @PROMMA and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prommanow.

Leave a Reply