Your tournament winner
#AndNew Invicta FC Strawweight Champion @TinablackM!
#InvictaFC50 pic.twitter.com/aTDYRZpqao— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights)
November 17, 2022
Valesca
Machado stuck to the game plan, and it paid off in the form of
some championship hardware.
Advertisement
Machado (12-3, 1 NC , 3-0 Invicta) completed her run through the
one-night strawweight tournament with a unanimous decision triumph
over Karolina
Wojcik in the Invicta FC 50 headliner at Reelworks Denver, in
Denver, Colo., on Wednesday night. All three judges scored the
contest for Machado: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. With the victory, the
26-year-old Brazilian claims the promotion’s vacant 115-pound
belt.
After fighting three rounds earlier in the evening, Machado adopted
a measured approach in the tournament final. She controlled the
distance, utilized intelligent movement and landed nearly all the
strikes of consequence, countering effectively when her opponent
moved forward. After struggling to impose her will early, Wojcik
(10-3, 1-1 Invicta) was able to get inside and force several
clinches in the third frame, but she was still unable to put
Machado in serious peril down the stretch.
In one 115-pound semifinal, Machado captured a hard-fought
split-decision triumph against Ediana
Silva. The Brazilian known as “Tina Black” earned scorecards of
30-27 and 29-28 from two judges, while a third saw it 29-28 in
favor of Silva (12-3, 0-1 Invicta).
The taller Machado controlled the distance, countered effectively
and blended in takedowns to dictate the action against her
20-year-old adversary. Silva spent the majority of the bout
stalking her opponent, and while she had a few instances where she
was able to land punching flurries, she largely struggled to get
the fight to her preferred range.
In the other semifinal, Wojcik relied on forward movement and
overall aggression to capture a unanimous decision triumph against
four-time UFC veteran Gloria de
Paula (6-6, 0-1 Invicta). All three cageside judges submitted
29-28 tallies in favor of the Polish fighter.
Wojcik’s best work came in Round 2, when she caught a de Paula
kick, landed a takedown and took her opponent’s back in a scramble.
From there, she threatened with a rear-naked choke and attacked
with punches to the head. De Paula rallied in the final stanza, as
she had Wojcik reeling on a few occasions thanks to a striking
arsenal that included straight punches, head kicks, elbows and
knees. Ultimately, it wouldn’t be enough to get the nod on the
scorecards.
In other action: Talita
Bernardo (9-4, 2-0 Invicta) used a kimura to submit Katharina
Lehner (7-4, 1-3 Invicta) 4:26 into the second round of their
bantamweight clash; Claire
Guthrie (4-1, 3-1 Invicta) defeated Brigid
Chase (3-2, 0-1 Invicta) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28,
29-28) at bantamweight; Danni
McCormack (6-2, 1-0 Invicta) garnered a three-round verdict
(29-28, 29-28 29-28) against Maira Mazar
(8-5, 0-1 Invicta) in a strawweight tournament reserve bout;
Elise
Pone (2-1, 2-1 Invicta) took a unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27) against Melissa
Oddessa Parker (3-3, 0-2 Invicta) at flyweight.