On Friday, March 6, Invicta FC returned to Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS for the third installment of its one-night, eight-woman tournament, Phoenix Series. In addition to the bantamweight Phoenix Series tournament, Lisa Verzosa and Julija Stoliarenko squared off for the vacant Invicta bantamweight championship.
Of note, the event utilized open scoring for the first time in major MMA. In between rounds, corners were notified of the judges’ scores, giving them the option to inform their fighter of the in-fight score.
In the tournament, Taylor Guardado defeated Claire Guthrie and Serena DeJesus to advance to the final where she met Taneisha Tennant. Tennant showed impressive striking skills in the quarter and semifinal rounds, defeating Brittney Victoria and Hope Chase. And in the tournament final, Tennant continued to flash her smooth striking, picking apart Guardado over the course of three rounds. Tennant remains undefeated as a professional.
In the night’s main event, Verzosa and Stoliarenko went to war for five bloody rounds with Stoliarenko earning the split decision on the strength of her near armbar attempts and overall aggression. Stoliarenko sliced up Verzosa with elbows throughout the bout, giving Invicta fans one of the bloodiest fights in the promotion’s history. With the win, Stoliarenko improves to 9-3-1 and is now the Invicta bantamweight champion.
Invicta Phoenix Series 3 official results:
(Bantamweight title fight) Julija Stoliarenko def. Lisa Verzosa via split decision (49-46, 46-48, 49-46)
Taneisha Tennant def. Taylor Guardado via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) (Tournament final)
Kay Hansen def. Liana Pirosin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
(Tournament semifinal) Taneisha Tennant def. Hope Chase via unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9)
(Tournament semifinal) Taylor Guardado def. Serena DeJesus via split decision (10-9, 9-10, 10-9)
(Tournament reserve bout) Mitzi Merry def. Morgan Hickam via unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9)
(Tournament reserve bout) Kelly Clayton def. Florina Moeller via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1 – 4:51
(Tournament quarterfinal) Taneisha Tennant def. Brittney Victoria via unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9)
(Tournament quarterfinal) Hope Chase def. Julia Ottolino via unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9)
(Tournament quarterfinal) Taylor Guardado def. Claire Guthrie via unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9)
(Tournament quarterfinal) Serena DeJesus def. Kerri Kenneson via unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9)
Invicta Phoenix Series 3 highlights:
She's rocked!! #PhoenixSereis3 pic.twitter.com/YOxeEw4OIF
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 7, 2020
The 21 year-old Chase Hope unloading hooks in our third Quarterfinal match! #PhoenixSeries3 pic.twitter.com/rmAo65iTBT
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 7, 2020
