Tag: Victoria Leonardo

UFC on ESPN 20 medical suspensions: Mike Davis, Victoria Leonardo face up to 180 days

Mike Davis and Victoria Leonardo are facing potential six-month suspensions for injuries sustained in their fights.

[autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag] are facing potential six-month medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN 20.

Davis (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who earned the “Fight of the Night” honor in a unanimous decision win over Mason Jones, needs clearance for his left thumb for his hard-fought battle with Jones.

Joining Davis with a potential 180-day term is Leonardo (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who needs clearance for her right forearm after suffering a second-round stoppage loss to Manon Fiorot.

MMA Junkie on Friday obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.

The full list of UFC on ESPN 20 medical suspensions includes:

  • [autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to right eye laceration.
  • [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Warlley Alves[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days due to rib soreness.
  • [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days due to knockout loss.
  • [autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days due to “hard bout.”
  • [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to right cheek laceration.
  • [autotag]Douglas Silva de Andrade[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
  • [autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Tom Breese[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to “hard bout.”
  • [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Gaetano Pirello[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to chin laceration.
  • [autotag]Zarrukh Adashev[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to “hard bout.”
  • [autotag]Dalcha Lungiambula[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Markus Perez[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to scalp laceration.
  • [autotag]Francisco Figueiredo[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to “hard bout.”
  • [autotag]Jerome Rivera[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • Mike Davis: Needs X-ray for left thumb, and clearance by doctor, otherwise suspended 180 days; minimum suspension is 30 days with 21 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days.
  • [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
  • [autotag]Sergey Morozov[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to “hard bout.”
  • Victoria Leonardo: Needs X-ray for right forearm, and clearance by doctor, otherwise suspended 180 days; minimum suspension is 30 days with 21 days no contact.
  • [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).

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Dana White’s Contender Series 36 weigh-in results: Ever seen a 54-pound weight spread between fighters?

Check out the results from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 36 fighter weigh-ins.

LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 36 fighter weigh-ins, where all 10 fighters hit their marks for Tuesday’s card.

Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.

In the featured bout, a pair of Dana White’s Contender Series return to the show, with South African flyweight [autotag]JP Buys[/autotag] (8-2) following up on a 2017 appearance to face [autotag]Jacob Silva[/autotag] (6-3), who suffered a decision loss in his DWCS debut in August.

In terms of weigh-ins, the most interesting matchup takes place at heavyweight, where Diaz brothers protege [autotag]Nick Maximov[/autotag] (5-0), who normally competes at light heavyweight, moves up a division to take on Mexico’s [autotag]Oscar Cota[/autotag] (11-2). The two fighters weighed in on opposite ends of the heavyweight division, with Maximov at 209 pounds and Cota at 263.5, resulting in a rarely seen 54.5 pound weight difference between the two competitors.

The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Las Vegas. The UFC Apex hosts Tuesday’s card, which streams on ESPN+. Due to scheduling conflicts, the ceremony did not feature faceoffs between the fighters.

The full Dana White’s Contender Series 36 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • JP Buys (125.5) vs. Jacob Silva (125)
  • Oscar Cota (263.5) vs. Nick Maximov (209)
  • [autotag]Gloria de Paula[/autotag] (115.5) vs. [autotag]Pauline Macias[/autotag] (115)
  • [autotag]Sherrard Blackledge[/autotag] (155) vs. [autotag]Tucker Lutz[/autotag] (155.5)
  • [autotag]Chelsea Hackett[/autotag] (126) vs. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag] (125)

Invicta FC 40 weigh-in results: Weight-cutting issue forces one fight cancellation

Invicta FC is set to return with its first event in nearly four months since the coronavirus pandemic forced a shutdown.

For the first time in nearly four months, Invicta FC is set to return with its first event since the coronavirus pandemic caused a shutdown, Invicta FC 40, with weigh-ins taking place Wednesday.

In the main event, recent strawweight title challenger [autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Juliana Lima[/autotag]. And in the co-headliner, [autotag]Alesha Zappitella[/autotag] meets [autotag]Lindsey VanZandt[/autotag] in an atomweight fight.

Invicta FC 40, which takes place Thursday in Kansas City, Kan., and streams on UFC Fight Pass, originally was scheduled to include six fights but will proceed with five after [autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag] was unable to make it to the scale because of a medical issue during her weight cut. The promotion announced that Bennett’s opponent, [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag], was paid her show money after weighing in at 125.9 pounds for their flyweight bout.

Invicta FC also stated that athletes and their corners were tested for COVID-19, and all results were negative.

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The complete Invicta FC 40 weigh-in results include:

  • Strawweight: Emily Ducote (115.2) vs. Juliana Lima (115.5)
  • Lindsey VanZandt (105.2) vs. Alesha Zappitella (105.7)
  • Chelsea Chandler (145) vs. Liv Parker (145.7)
  • Trisha Cicero (126) vs. Laura Gallardo (125.1)
  • Genia Goodin (115.9) vs. Shelby Koren (115.9)

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Invicta FC announces first event since COVID-19 outbreak, Juliana Lima vs. Emily Ducote to headline

Invicta FC 40 takes place Thursday, July 2 in Kansas City, Kan.

Invicta FC is back.

The most prominent all-female fight organization in the world will return Thursday, July 2 with Invicta 40 in Kansas City, Kan. at a venue-to-be-named-later. The promotion announced the news in a press release issued Tuesday.

In the main event, ex-UFC fighter [autotag]Juliana Lima[/autotag] returns against ex-Bellator fighter [autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag] in a strawweight matchup. Also on the card, atomweights [autotag]Lindsey VanZandt[/autotag] and [autotag]Alesha Zappitella[/autotag] face off in a co-main event showdown.

Lima (10-6 MMA) has lost three of her most recent four outings. Her lone loss in that stretch came against Danielle Taylor by split decision in May 2019.

Ducote (8-6 MMA) has gone 2-1 since her Bellator departure in late 2018. After winning back-to-back fights over Kathryn Paprocki and Janaisa Morandin, Ducote lost a split decision to Kanako Murata at Invicta FC 38 in November.

VanZandt (7-3 MMA) has gone 1-2 over her most recent three fights. After defeating Shino VanHoose at Invicta FC 37 in October, Vandzandt was defeated by Rena Kubota via third-round corner-stoppage.

Zappitella (6-2 MMA) snapped a two-fight losing skid at Invicta FC 39 in February when she defeated Kelly D’Angelo by unanimous decision.

The event is expected to stream on UFC Fight Pass.

The current Invicta FC 40 lineup includes:

  • Emily Ducote vs. Juliana Lima
  • Lindsey VanZandt vs. Alesha Zappitella
  • [autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chelsea Chandler[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Liv Parker[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Laura Anderson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Claire Guthrie[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Genia Goodin[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shelby Koren[/autotag]

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Invicta FC 39 results: Jinh Yu Frey edges Ashley Cummins, so belt stays vacant

A mishap with her weight meant Jinh Yu Frey no longer had a title to defend Friday night, and that made her win a little anticlimactic.

A mishap with her weight meant [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag] no longer had a title to defend Friday night, and that made her win a little anticlimactic.

When Frey (9-4) was announced the unanimous decision winner over [autotag]Ashley Cummins[/autotag] (7-5) with a trio of 48-47 scores in the five-round main event, many in the crowd booed their disapproval. And it did seem like Cummins may have been just a little quicker than Frey most of the night.

But it was Frey who took the win in the atomweight title fight – even though she no longer had a 105-pound title to defend. Only Cummins could win the belt after Frey missed weight by 0.8 pounds at Thursday’s weigh-in, and she fell short in a rematch from a 2017 fight that Frey also won.

“It feels good to get a win, but it still can’t erase the fact I missed weight,” Frey said afterward. “We’re going to go home and reevaluate things and see if 105 is the place to be, or if it’s time to go up.”

A Cummins win would have given her the atomweight title. But since Frey missed weight and was stripped, the belt becomes vacant – with Frey now at the top of the heap to try to win it back.

Invicta FC 39 took place Friday at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The event streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

When Cummins and Frey first fought, the bout was largely contested on the canvas and Frey walked away with a unanimous decision. But that wasn’t the case this time around.

The fight stayed standing in the first round, and each fighter worked kicks to the body and straight punches. But despite some big swings from each, neither landed anything truly definitive – though Cummins seemed to come on stronger than Frey late in the round.

In the second, Frey ducked under a punch and looked for a takedown. Cummins defended, and Frey was forced to clinch up. She looked for a trip takedown, but Cummins turned things around and broke away. Cummins landed a solid combination two minutes in, but then ate a big left a few seconds later. Cummins landed hard in return, and it forced Frey to tie her up again. Cummins was cut over her right eye from the Frey left hand, but she pushed forward without a care. A Frey punch briefly put Cummins on the canvas, but she quickly bounced back up.

After a close third, with a couple minutes left in the fourth round, Frey put a nice combination together. But Cummins kept pushing forward with jabs, hooks and kick attempts. Frey stayed busy late in the round, but couldn’t put anything definitive on Cummins.

Cummins thought about a takedown a couple minutes into the final round, but it wasn’t there. Instead, the fight stayed where it had been the first 22 minutes, and stayed mostly even. With neither fighter taking an obvious advantage, it went to the judges with a fair amount of uncertainty over which fighter would get the nod.

Miranda Maverick dominates Pearl Gonzalez

[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] stayed after a finish throughout the co-main event. It never came, but Maverick (7-2) settled for a fairly dominant win, and arguably the biggest of her career against former UFC fighter [autotag]Pearl Gonzalez[/autotag] (10-5). Maverick swept the scorecards with a pair of 30-27s and a 30-26.

Thirty seconds in, Gonzalez landed a pair of body kicks. But 30 seconds later, Maverick drove in and took Gonzalez to the canvas. She worked around and passed to side control 30 seconds later and tried to go to work with ground-and-pound while Gonzalez defended. When Gonzalez tried to scramble her way out, Maverick took her back with more than half the round left. Maverick landed a series of punches to try to soften Gonzalez up, then with 90 seconds left worked for a rear-naked choke. But up against the fence, Gonzalez reversed with a minute left and got on top. She was in danger of a triangle choke from Maverick, but cleared it and tried to land big ground-and-pound of her own before Maverick reversed again near the horn.

Just 20 seconds into the second round, Gonzalez took Maverick to the canvas and grinded down the clock there until Maverick eventually got back to her feet. There, she spun Gonzalez around and landed some short knees and then scooped her legs up and delivered her own takedown with a minute left in the frame. With 30 seconds left, Maverick jumped to full mount and landed heavy punches and elbows, but couldn’t get enough done for a stoppage.

The two traded kicks early in the third, and a spinning back fist from Gonzalez landed hard. But her momentum allowed Maverick to clinch her up, then take her down a minute in. From her back, Gonzalez briefly worked for a triangle choke, but couldn’t get close enough while Maverick postured up and landed knees to the body. With two minutes left, Gonzalez got back to her feet, but Maverick immediately went back to a takedown attempt. She got it, then eventually took Gonzalez’s back again.

Invicta FC 39 results:

  • Jinh Yu Frey vs. Ashley Cummins via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
  • Miranda Maverick def. Pearl Gonzalez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
  • [autotag]Alesha Zappitella[/autotag] def. [autotag]Kelly D’Angelo[/autotag] via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  • [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] def. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag] via knockout (head kick, punches) – Round 2, 2:06
  • [autotag]Jillian DeCoursey[/autotag] def. [autotag]Linda Mihalec[/autotag] via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • [autotag]Monica Franco[/autotag] def. [autotag]Tina Pettigrew[/autotag] via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Invicta FC 39 features Jinh Yu Frey-Ashley Cummins 2, Pearl Gonzalez-Miranda Maverick

Seven fights have been announced for the first Invicta FC card of 2020, including two intriguing fights at the top of the bill.

Invicta FC has a date, location, and lineup for its first event of 2020.

Friday, Feb. 7, Invicta FC 39 takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas Ciry, Kan, the promotion announced in a press release Thursday. In addition, the promotion announced seven bookings are set for the event.

In the main event, the atomweight title will be on the line. Champion [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag] (8-4 MMA) will defend her strap against [autotag]Ashley Cummins[/autotag] (7-4 MMA).

Invicta FC 39 marks the second time the two fighters have squared off. At Invicta FC 24 in July 2017, the two women competed in a three-round fight. After the two combatants utilized the full 15 minutes, the judges unanimously declared Frey the victor.

Also featured on the card, former Invicta FC title challenger [autotag]Pearl Gonzalez[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]. Gonzalez (10-4 MMA) has won four out of five outings since being released from the UFC in late 2017. As for Maverick (6-2 MMA), the 22-year-old flyweight defeated three opponents in one night at Phoenix Series 2 in September.

Invicta FC 39 streams live on UFC Fight Pass (8 p.m. ET).

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Check out the current lineup below:

  • Jinh Yu Frey vs. Ashley Cummins
  • Pearl Gonzalez vs. Miranda Maverick
  • [autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Daiana Torquato[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Kelly D’Angelo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alesha Zappitella[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jillian DeCoursey[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Linda Mihalec[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Tina Pettigrew[/autotag] vs. TBA

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