January 12 was definitely a
memorable day for fans in Kansas City and Invicta FC. When in Memorial Hall,
Kansas City, Invicta FC kicked off its 2022 with a championship fight and a
great card that was absolutely free for fans.
Atomweight champion Alesha
Zappitella and challenger Jessica Delboni were in the headlines for Invicta FC
45. The pair had previously met last May, in which Zappitella won her first and
only defense of the title.
After which Delboni was not happy
with this decision. He called the match again. But for the title match again,
it was necessary to win three fights in a row. In other words, it was necessary
to prove oneself once again for the match.
Delboni knocked out three
consecutive one-night tournaments at Invicta on AXS TV to win the match again
with the champion, proving that he is the only title contender again. During
the second bout of the tournament, Delboni looked as if he had a chance to
prove and beat Zappitella with a punch throughout the match.
Match description:
Zappitella was taken down in the
first round but was faced by a difficult guard from Delboni. The Brazilian
locked up Zappitella and managed to stop the champion from committing any
significant offense. Instead, Zappitella was forced to fight the setup for a
possible sub. When they reached his feet, Zappitella searched for a guillotine,
but it was nowhere near. They split up and Delboni made some good strikes
against the fence, including a hard leg kick, and then took off. Zappitella seemed
to slow down from these attacks and Delboni managed to catch him and finish the
round strong.
Zappitella came out for the second
time, which appeared to be confined as a result of the kick of the hard legs
she had eaten in the first. She seemed to be focusing on the safety of the lead
leg and as a result, her attempts to strike and take off were not as natural as
you might expect. Delboni easily saved them early in the round. After
completing a takedown, Delboni fell and landed on Zapatella's cheek with hard
elbows. The champion ran away from the strikes and tried to snatch one of his
opponent's legs, but Delboni was too quick for him. Back on his feet, Delboni
continued to punish Zapatela's leg. Delboni repeatedly tagged Zappitella with
punches to the head, even towards the end of the round, leaving the champion
staggering to his feet in a corner.
Beginning of the end. @Hailey_Bre sinks in the rear-naked choke!#InvictaFC45 pic.twitter.com/EmngojSq4u
— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) January 13, 2022
Delboni looked very confident in the
third, when he kicked more legs and let his hands fall down. After taking off
two heavy loads on his thigh, Delboni ripped one off his body. He then followed
up with a combo on Zapatela's head. The champion showed a good poker face
during all this, but it was clear that his movements were seriously affected by
this point. Zapatela sought a respite from Clinch, but Delboni was taken aback.
The challenger grabbed him by the fence and landed on his head and body with
some hard knees. With a bruise on her left leg, Zapatela was not able to
explode in her take-off as she usually does. This made it easier for Delboni to
constantly push them away and punish the shooter as soon as he got out.
The fourth start was similar, the
Delboni looked fresh like daisies and Zapatela slowed down due to damage to her
leg. Zappitella continued to search for take-downs, but he did not have the pop
needed to get Delboni off his feet. Delboni kicked more legs, but he began to
relax a bit in his take-down defense, pulling some dangerous rolls to get out
of Zappitella's clutches. In the final moments of the round, Zappitella put
Delboni on her butt against the cage, but she could not get out and eat some
elbows for her trouble.
Bravo @katiesaull 👌🏼 https://t.co/BH8i3uMEB0
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) January 13, 2022
Before the final round, Zappitella's
corner lit up a fight beneath her and she came out swinging. An overhand caught
Delboni, forcing the Brazilian to back up for the first time since the first
round. Zapatilla then fired for take-off, but Delboni managed to fill most of
it, causing a cage in the middle of the cage. Zappitella tried to grind the
position in his favor, hoping to get Delboni on his back. Delboni tried to keep
Zapatela where she was and hit her with more elbows. Delboni finally managed to
climb on Zapatella's back and quickly sought a suffocation before turning to
arm effort. Zappitella fell freely, forcing Delboni to try his luck with a leg
lock at the end of the day.
With Delboni's stunning victory,
Delboni is now on the verge of winning four fights. Zappitella, on the other
hand, saw his four-fight unbeaten run end with his tenure as Invicta FC
champions.
Here are the latest results of
Invicta FC 45:
·
Jessica Delboni def. Alesha
Zappitella via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) – for
atomweight title
·
Ramona Pascual def. Shamir
Peshewa via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:00
·
Hailey Cowan vs. Monica Franco
via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:17
·
Helen Peralta def. Elise Pone via
unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
·
Katie Saull def. Tamika Jones via
submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:30
·
Sarah Kleczka def. Maria Favela
via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)