The official scorecard from
Rodriguez-Torquato 2
#InvictaFC46 @MMADecisions
pic.twitter.com/s88lBuCLdf— Rob Tatum (@RobTatum303)
March 10, 2022
Karina
Rodriguez is now 2-0 against Daiana
Torquato, but only by the slimmest of margins.
Rodriguez retained her flyweight crown with a split-decision
triumph over Torquato in the Invicta FC 46 headliner on Wednesday
at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. Rodriguez (10-4, 6-2 Invicta)
secured scorecards of 48-47 and 49-46 from the cageside judges,
while a third saw it 48-47 in favor of Torquato (10-5, 0-2
Invicta). Torquato was elevated from the co-main event on less than
a week’s notice after Kelten Souza was forced to withdraw from the
card.
Forward movement and combination punching propelled Rodriguez to
her successful title defense. Torquato made things interesting
through clinch work, the occasional takedown and held her own in
striking exchanges, but Rodriguez’s role as the aggressor —
including some wicked elbows when separating from tie-ups — likely
curried favor with the judges.
Rodriguez defeated Torquato via unanimous decision in their initial
meeting at Invicta on AXS TV last May.
In the co-main event, Denise
Gomes rallied for an improbable technical knockout victory
against three-time UFC veteran Milana
Dudieva in a flyweight affair. The Parana Vale Tudo
representative ended the contest with a swarm of punches on the
ground at the 1:56 mark of Round 3.
Gomes (5-1, 1-0 Invicta), who stepped in on short notice after
Torquato was elevated to the main event, weathered a rough opening
10 minutes. Dudieva landed a takedown and hammered away with
ground-and-pound from back mount in the opening stanza before
dropping her Brazilian foe twice with massive right hands in Round
2. After both knockdowns, Gomes was able to regain her bearings
thanks in part to questionable strategy by Dudieva.
The final frame began with both fighters brawling enthusiastically
before Gomes asserted her will. With Dudieva (12-9, 1-4 Invicta)
fading, Gomes swarmed with body shots against the fence before
dropping her foe with a knee. From there, Gomes followed Dudieva to the ground and teed off
with punches until the bout was halted.
In earlier action: Liz Tracy
(8-4, 3-3 Invicta) defeated Danielle
Taylor (11-8, 1-3 UFC) via unanimous decision (30-26 30-27,
30-27) at strawweight; Kristina
Williams (6-3, 1-0 Invicta) garnered a split-decision triumph
(28-29, 29-28, 29-28) against Flore Hani
(4-3, 0-1 Invicta) at flyweight; and Monique
Adriane (6-2, 1-1 Invicta ) defeated Paulina
Granados (4-6, 0-1 Invicta) via unanimous decision (30-26,
30-26, 30-27 in an atomweight clash.