Leslie Smith vs Kaitlin Young 1 - Invicta FC 1
Women's History Month continues. This time we're in the sport of MMA. It's hard for me to wrap my head around Invicta FC being 13 years old. While the promotion is not the first all women's MMA organization, it has to be one of its longest lasting and influential. Especially in the U.S.
Invicta FC 1 takes place in a weird spot in MMA history. Strikeforce, the biggest venue for women's MMA, had just been bought by the UFC whose president said he was never getting into the women's MMA business. You had all these talents that the organization had built in limbo and a young rising superstar like Ronda Rousey on the roster. One former Strikeforce employee, Shannon Knapp decides to strike out on her own and starts an all-women's promotion - Invicta FC.
The first Invicta FC card in April 2012 features many familiar names - former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen, future UFC title challenger Jessica Penne, Olympic bronze medalist Randi Miller, and 1/2 of the first ever women's fight in the UFC Liz Carmouche. But the fight that would make the night and make Invicta FC into a product with a following would be this fight between Leslie Smith and Kaitlin Young.
