Former
UFC flyweight title challenger Jennifer
Maia will move up to 135 pounds for a showdown against Mayra
Cantuaria at
Invicta FC 56 on Aug. 9.
The all-women’s promotion announced the headlining bout on Tuesday.
Invicta FC 56 takes place at the Stockyards Event Center in Denver
and will also see former strawweight title holder Valesca
Machado face Yulia
Ostroverkhova in the co-main event. The Invicta FC 56 main card
will air on CBS Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT, while
prelims stream on the Invicta Facebook page and YouTube channel at
8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT.
Five other bouts were confirmed for the card: Riley
Martinez vs. Kelly
Jennifer Ottoni at featherweight; Kate Bacik
vs.
Paula Cristina dos Santos Silva at flyweight; Flor
Hernandez vs. Ana
Palacios at atomweight; Ailed
Zubieta vs. Giulliany
Perea at atomweight and Ali
Pellegrini vs. Marissa
Ellis at featherweight.
A former Invicta flyweight queen, Maia returns to the organization
following a 6-6 stint in the UFC. The Brazilian’s tenure with the
Las Vegas-based promotion included a unanimous decision loss to
Valentina
Shevchenko in a flyweight title bout at UFC 255 in November
2020. The 35-year-old Chute Boxe representative last competed at
UFC Fight Night 230 in October 2023, when she dropped a unanimous
verdict against Viviane
Araujo.
Canturia, meanwhile, made her promotional debut in March 2023,
snapping a two-fight skid with a second-round submission of
Calie
Cutler at Invicta FC 52. Canturia’s record notably includes two
bouts — a loss and a draw — against Amanda
Lemos under the Jungle Fight banner in 2016.Flor Hernandez vs
Ana Palacios