Last night, Invicta FC 19 delivered another great night of action. Two titles were on the line, and the main event between flyweight champion Jennifer Maia and WMMA legend Roxanne Modafferi was the Fight of the Night. This was due to be for Maia’s interim title, but it became for the actual title after Invicta stripped Barb Honchak due to inactivity.

As expected, Maia had the advantage on the feet, especially when you saw Modafferi’s jumping kick to start the fight, but Modafferi gave Maia multiple scares on the ground with her grappling. The “Happy Warrior” threatened with armbars in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and also finished the 2nd briefly in full mount, otherwise scoring with ground-and-pound. Maia decisively took the 4th round with sharp, damaging blows to her foe, whether standing or on the mat. Modafferi went for a takedown in the final minute, but Maia countered by stuffing it and winding up on top, landing punches from the crucifix position. The 5th round was another striking-heavy round, which worked in Maia’s favor, as Modafferi’s spinning attacks and flying kicks weren’t effective, while Maia stuck to the fundamentals and outstruck Roxanne. It was a close fight, but Modafferi’s comeback story ends with her just short of capturing Invicta FC gold.

In the co-main event, atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki defended her title with a somewhat controversial cuts stoppage TKO vs. Jinh Yu Frey. The 1st round went to the challenger, as she blasted Hamasaki with brutal ground-and-pound from full mount. Frey had Hamasaki’s back in the closing seconds, but was positioned too high, and the round ended without any serious submission attempt being set up. Action heated up even more in round 2, but fans were left disappointed with the ending. The champion split Frey open with a straight right, followed by a power punch with the same hand. Frey staggered, Hamasaki threw a left hook and unleashed more punches against the fence, but the fight was stopped so the doctor could come in and check Frey’s cut, which was above her left eye. The ringside physician called it off.

Was this cut grounds for stopping the fight? You decide. I mean, you can’t change the outcome, but that doesn’t prevent you from having an opinion.

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Bantamweight prospect Irene Aldana stopped Faith Van Duin late in the 1st round. Van Duin had her moments, especially her right hands on the counter, but Aldana’s power, aggression, and superior striking skills made the difference. She showed the jab and then followed up with the right hand repeatedly, leading to Van Duin falling down with just seconds left in the 1st. The Mexican stood over Van Duin and slammed home more punches to end the fight.

Tiffany Van Soest’s MMA debut did not go as planned. The Muay Thai champion fought fellow debutant Kal Holliday (Kalyn Schwartz), but Schwartz dominated the majority of the fight. She was aggressive with takedowns and control, and nearly had “Time Bomb” choked out in the 1st round. There was a case for a 10-8 for “.50 Kal” until she was dropped by a hard right hand by Van Soest. Holliday closed out the round with yet another takedown, but not before that scare.

Holliday would get the rear-naked choke just before the midway point of the 2nd round, spoiling the debut of the former Lion Fights star and current Glory kickboxer.

Here are the full results:

Jennifer Maia def. Roxanne Modafferi via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46)
Ayaka Hamasaki def. Jinh Yu Frey via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) (R2, 4:38)
Irene Aldana def. Faith Van Duin via first-round TKO (4:57)
Kaline Medeiros def. Manjit Kolekar via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Kal Holliday def. Tiffany Van Soest via submission (rear-naked choke) (R2, 2:08)
Julia Jones def. Stephanie Skinner via submission (armbar) at 2:38 of R1

Amber Leibrock def. Amy Coleman via TKO (knees) at 3:15 of R1

Sunna Ranveig Davidsdottir def. Ashley Greenway via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)