Muscle Sport Magazine

Invicta Fighting Championships: Nicdali Calanoc-Rivera Replaces Kikuyo Ishikawa In July 28 Prelim Bout Vs. Angelica Chavez

Battle-tested veteran Nicdali Calanoc-Rivera (7-6) of Tulsa, Okla. will replace Kikuyo Ishikawa in an atomweight (105 pounds) preliminary card matchup against Angelica Chavez (4-1) at the Invicta Fighting Championships 2: Baszler vs. McMann all-women’s professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. on Sat., July 28.

Ishikawa withdrew from the bout due to an undisclosed reason.

“I think it’s a great matchup. Styles make fights and our two styles match up well for an exciting fight,” said the 27-year-old Calanoc-Rivera, who is trained by her husband, retired MMA fighter and kickboxer, Travis “The Dark Knight” Calanoc.

“He’s been with me since day one,” said Calanoc-Rivera of her husband, a former U.S. Marine, whom she said laughed after she had initially approached him about becoming an MMA fighter. After all, she had no previous experience in contact sports.

Determined to prove she could handle a drastic career change, Calanoc-Rivera put herself through her husband’s boot camp training, doing everything from six-mile runs in 100 degree weather to sparring with Calanoc and getting KO’d.

“I stood up after the KO and he asked me again if I really wanted to fight and I told him ‘Yes,” said Calanoc-Rivera, who trained for two years before making her debut in MMA competition. “I’ve always been attracted to pushing my body to its limits. I like seeing the results.”

To strengthen the quality of her training camp for fights, Calanoc-Rivera often brings in superstar Miesha Tate, a seasoned wrestler who has helped Calanoc-Rivera add ground fighting skills to her kickboxing base in order to become a more complete MMA fighter.

Calanoc-Rivera’s start will be her second for Invicta FC. She competed at the promotion’s historic, inaugural event on April 28, losing by submission (kimura) in the second round (3:47) of a matchup with Amy Davis.

The 25-year-old Chavez also comes from a household immersed in the martial arts world. Her father, Melcor, is a Grandmaster of Kajukembo Karate, a Hawaiian style of combat that combines traditional Japanese Karate, Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, Chinese Kenpo and western boxing. The hybrid discipline has been dubbed “The art from the streets, for the streets.”

“Having my father as my head coach and cornerman is an awesome experience,” said Chavez, who holds a fifth degree black belt in Kajukembo. “I grew up watching him train champions, so the dojo was my playground. It was only a matter of time before I started competing.”

Chavez made a splash debut in the cage on Feb. 20, 2009, submitting Stephanie Palmer with a keylock in the second round (1:37) of their matchup in Albuquerque. Over the course of the next two years, Chavez reeled off three more consecutive victories, all by way of first round submission.

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On Aug. 13, 2011, Chavez suffered the first defeat of her career, losing a split decision to Diana Rael. Her start on July 28 will be Chavez’s first since the loss and, like Calanoc-Rivera, she is hungry to get back into the win column.

“Nicdali always brings it to a fight, so it’s going to be a tough and exciting battle for me,” said Chavez. “I’ll be well-prepared and ready to fight at my best.”

Tickets for Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann, priced from $25, are available for purchase at Memorial Hall box office (913) 549-4853), online at Ticketmaster.com and InvictaFC.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000.

In the bantamweight (135 pounds) main event, 2004 Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist and undefeated MMA star Sara McMann (5-0) of Gaffney, SC. and battle-tested submission wizard Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler (14-6) of Sioux Falls, SD.

In the co-main event, Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (18-9) of Tokyo, Japan will square off with Japanese Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Cesar Gracie-protégé Alexis Davis (11-5) of Colborne, Ontario Canada at bantamweight.

In other main card action, U.S. Marine and rising bantamweight star Liz “Girl-rilla” Carmouche (6-2) of San Diego, Calif. will square off with St. Louis Park, Minnesota’s Kaitlin Young (7-5-1), who earned “Fight of the Night” honors at the inaugural Invicta event on April 28.

JEWELS champion Akaya Hamasaki (7-0) of Yamaguchi, Japan will head to Kansas City, Kan. to square off with fellow undefeated star Jasminka “Impressive” Cive (5-0) of Graz, Styria Austria in a flyweight (115 pounds) matchup

Hard-hitting KO artist Amanda Nunes (6-2) of Salvador, Bahia Brazil will make her Invicta debut against sensational finisher Milana Dudieva (8-1) of Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia Russia in a bantamweight battle.

Kelly Kobold (18-3-1) of St. Paul, Minn. will face off with streaking submission expert Vanessa Porto (14-4) of Sao Paulo, Brazil at bantamweight.

American prospects Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak (5-2) of East Moline, Ill. and undefeated Bethany Marshall (4-0) of Newport News, Va. will meet in a super flyweight (125 pounds) matchup.

Julia “The Jewel” Budd (2-2) of Port Moody, British Columbia Canada will face Elina Nilsson (2-2) of Gothenburg, Sweden at featherweight (145 pounds).

In the opening main card bout, Jiu-Jitsu champion and former high school wrestling star Carla Esparza (6-2) of Redondo Beach, Calif. will square off with Sarah “White Tiger” Schneider (6-5) of Kansas City, Mo. in a flyweight tilt.

The Invicta event will kick off with a five-bout preliminary card. In a bantamweight matchup between two undefeated future stars, Sarah Moras (2-0) of Kelowna, British Columbia Canada will face Raquel Pennington (1-0) of Colorado Springs, Colo.

After compiling a 5-2 record under amateur status, 25-year-old Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke (0-0) will make her much-anticipated professional debut against unbeaten 30-year-old Suzie Montero (1-0) of Pompano Beach, Fla. at bantamweight.

One-half of the 26-year-old twin MMA fighter duo, Jocelyn “Lights Out” Lybarger (0-0) of Phoenix, Ariz. will make debut under professional status opposite Cheryl Chan (0-0) of Surrey, British Columbia Canada at super flyweight.

Jessica Philippus (0-0) of Marshall, Mo. will battle Liz McCarthy (0-0) of Tigard, Ore. at atomweight.

All bouts have been approved by the Kansas State Athletic Commission.

UPDATE

Submission specialist Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio (5-2) of San Jose, Calif. will replace injured Kelly Kobold in a bantamweight (135 pound) matchup against streaking superstar Vanessa Porto (14-4) of Sao Paulo, Brazil on the main card at the Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann all-women’s professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. on Sat., July 28.

Kobold was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a shoulder injury sustained during a routine training session.

“Vanessa’s really tough, really strong, really aggressive and good on the ground, but I’m all of those things too,” said D’Alelio, analyzing the matchup with Porto. “This is a great fight and I think it’s going to be a serious battle. If I win, it will put me in top contender status.”

Both the 31-year-old D’Alelio and the 28-year-old Porto have shown their ability to dominate opponents on the ground. Porto holds a black belt in the submission grappling discipline of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while D’Aelio holds a lower rank of blue belt. D’Alelio doesn’t feel Porto’s greater skill and experience level in one fighting art will be a deciding factor in the fight, though.

“Things like that don’t matter when there are punches involved,” D’Alelio said.

D’Alelio made an impressive appearance at the inaugural Invicta FC event on April 28, dominating and eventually stopping Vanessa Mariscal with a barrage of punches that prompted Mariscal to verbally submit. The win snapped D’Alelio’s two-fight losing streak

Porto will enter the Invicta FC cage looking for her fifth consecutive victory. In her last effort on March 10, she scored a 41 second KO on Luana Teixeira with a single punch in a matchup in Brazil.

Porto, who hasn’t been pushed past the second round by any of her last four opponents and finished three of them inside the first stanza, doesn’t look at D’Alelio as any different from her previous adversaries.

“It’s just one more opponent. I’m here to fight and do not choose whom I fight,” said Porto. “I will fight anybody in the world at 135 pounds.”

Porto earned her black belt under her husband and first trainer Pedro Iglesias, who will serve as one of her cornermen against D’Alelio on July 28. She began training with Iglesias in 2004.

Tickets for Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann, priced from $25, are available for purchase at Memorial Hall box office (913) 549-4853), online at Ticketmaster.com and InvictaFC.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000.

In the bantamweight (135 pounds) main event, 2004 Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist and undefeated MMA star Sara McMann (5-0) of Gaffney, SC. and battle-tested submission wizard Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler (14-6) of Sioux Falls, SD.

In the co-main event, Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (18-9) of Tokyo, Japan will square off with Japanese Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Cesar Gracie-protégé Alexis Davis (11-5) of Colborne, Ontario Canada at bantamweight.

In other main card action, U.S. Marine and rising bantamweight star Liz “Girl-rilla” Carmouche (6-2) of San Diego, Calif. will square off with St. Louis Park, Minnesota’s Kaitlin Young (7-5-1), who earned “Fight of the Night” honors at the inaugural Invicta event on April 28.

JEWELS champion Akaya Hamasaki (7-0) of Yamaguchi, Japan will head to Kansas City, Kan. to square off with fellow undefeated star Jasminka “Impressive” Cive (5-0) of Graz, Styria Austria in a flyweight (115 pounds) matchup

Hard-hitting KO artist Amanda Nunes (6-2) of Salvador, Bahia Brazil will make her Invicta debut against sensational finisher Milana Dudieva (8-1) of Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia Russia in a bantamweight battle.

American prospects Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak (5-2) of East Moline, Ill. and undefeated Bethany Marshall (4-0) of Newport News, Va. will meet in a super flyweight (125 pounds) matchup.

Julia “The Jewel” Budd (2-2) of Port Moody, British Columbia Canada will face Elina Nilsson (2-2) of Gothenburg, Sweden at featherweight (145 pounds).

In the opening main card bout, Jiu-Jitsu champion and former high school wrestling star Carla Esparza (6-2) of Redondo Beach, Calif. will square off with Sarah “White Tiger” Schneider (6-5) of Kansas City, Mo. in a flyweight tilt.

The Invicta FC event will kick off with a five-bout preliminary card. In a bantamweight matchup between two undefeated future stars, Sarah Moras (2-0) of Kelowna, British Columbia Canada will face Raquel Pennington (1-0) of Colorado Springs, Colo.

After compiling a 5-2 record under amateur status, 25-year-old Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke (0-0) will make her much-anticipated professional debut against unbeaten 30-year-old Suzie Montero (1-0) of Pompano Beach, Fla. at bantamweight.

One-half of the 26-year-old twin MMA fighter duo, Jocelyn “Lights Out” Lybarger (0-0) of Phoenix, Ariz. will make debut under professional status opposite Cheryl Chan (0-0) of Surrey, British Columbia Canada at super flyweight.

In one of two atomweight (105 pounds) matchups, Nicdali Calanoc-Rivera (7-6) of Tulsa, Okla. will take on Angelica Chavez (4-1) of Albuquerque, N.M. In the other, Jessica Philippus (0-0) of Marshall, Mo. will battle Liz McCarthy (0-0) of Tigard, Ore.

All bouts have been approved by the Kansas State Athletic Commission.

About Invicta Fighting Championships:

Invicta Fighting Championships is a world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp and sports aficionado Janet Martin, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible matchups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport.

About JEWELS:

Founded in 2008 as the successor of Smack Girl.(An event promotion company called Marvelous Japan, Inc purchased all of the rights of Smack Girl, formed partnership with DEEP, then re-started as JEWELS) The headquarters is located in Tokyo, Japan. JEWELS is the only all women’s MMA promotion in Japan now and since its foundation on 2008 JEWELS has successfully promoted 19 professional MMA shows, and also, several grappling and amateur events as well.

Contact:

Mike Afromowitz (917) 566-8754, mikea@yourwitzend.com

Photos Courtesy of Mike Afrmomowitz/Invicta Fighting Championships

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