A huge year in mixed martial arts is off to a fantastic start that promises to continue on Saturday night with Invicta FC 15 featuring Cris Cyborg seeking her fifth straight win as she takes on Daria Ibragimova in her debut bout with the promotion.
Cyborg continues to reinvent herself with Invicta FC, winning her two featherweight title matches in 2015 with first-round TKOs. The 30-year-old is 14-1 (one no-contest) in her career and has only had to go past the first round once in her last five matches.
Ibragimova is the great unknown heading into Saturday's matchup. She has an impressive 9-1 career record with seven submissions and knows how to finish early with just two of her 10 matches going past the first round.
Schedule
Fight Card
Livia Renata Souza vs. DeAnna Bennett
The co-main event features two undefeated fighters doing battle for the strawweight title. Livia Renata Souza is the champion putting her belt on the line against DeAnna Bennett.
Souza, who is 8-0 with seven career submissions, is still fighting to get credit despite being the Invicta FC strawweight champion. She is currently sitting outside ESPN.com's top 10 women's pound-for-pound rankings.
Her resume hasn't been stacked with elite competition yet, though she told Matt Erickson and Christian Stein of MMAJunkie a jump to UFC is her goal with a win on Saturday:
It’s any fighter’s dream to go to the UFC. I’ll do my part within Invicta. I believe that with this fight, which could be my last one in Invicta, I’ll be able to showcase my skills with a successful title defense. And if (UFC President) Dana White and (CEO) Lorenzo Fertitta believe that I deserve a chance in the UFC, I’ll be ready at any moment.
Bennett is a more methodical and technically proficient fighter than Souza. Of her eight wins, four have come via decision, including three straight. That does bode well for her chances if this becomes a long fight, as Souza's history with long fights isn't that extensive.
The 24-year-old Souza is clearly a star on the rise. She has higher aspirations than just being the Invicta FC champion, which gives her additional motivation necessary to avoid complacency.
Souza also has more ways to win a fight. She has yet to knock an opponent out, but her extensive submission resume proves how strong her ground game is. Bennett hasn't been able to end a fight since September 2014, a span of three bouts.
All of Souza's momentum is building toward a spot in UFC's strawweight division later this year, so expect her to come out of Invicta FC 15 with her ninth straight victory.
Cris Cyborg vs. Daria Ibragimova
The main event is very much a battle of the unstoppable force and the immovable object. Cyborg has been like a tidal wave since returning from her performance-enhancing drug suspension and joining Invicta FC in 2013, needing 91 seconds to win her last two matches.
Ibragimova is a submission artist who lives on the ground, though she does have one knockout to suggest she can trade punches. However, standing with Cyborg is not a wise strategy for anyone to use.
The Russian-born Ibragimova has praised Cyborg's fighting style leading up to the match, telling Rob Tatum of Combat Press this matchup is something she has dreamed about.
"She has long been an idol for me," Ibragimova said. "She completes her fights early, and I love to do everything quickly. ... I wanted to fight Cyborg. This is my long-cherished dream. I wanted it and our team went for it. This is the logical continuation of my sports path."
Cyborg has reached that place—at least in Invicta FC—where Ronda Rousey was prior to her bout with Holly Holm in November. She hasn't lost a fight since her debut in 2005 and is the best knockout artist in the women's division that it's impossible to bet against her at this point.
While neither Cyborg nor Rousey would likely view being compared to each other under any circumstance as a compliment, these are the two biggest female stars in mixed martial arts right now.
Cyborg seems to be building toward a UFC deal, setting up an inevitable match with Rousey at some point. She's not going to let Ibragimova stand in her way on Saturday.
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