It’s the holiday season, and with the new year quickly approaching, Combat Press is taking a look back at the best of 2014. Throughout the week, Combat Press will announce its award winners in 16 different categories, covering everything from the action in the cage to the biggest stories surrounding the sport.
Editor’s Note: The UFC was excluded from nomination in this category. This award is intended to recognize other promotions striving to achieve the same level of notoriety.
Promotion of the Year – Invicta Fighting Championships
Many can argue that 2014 was the year of the woman. And, thus, 2014 was also the year for Invicta. Although the promotion did not have its first show of the year until September, it didn’t mean the Kansas City-based organization was absent from the news.
While the UFC purchased 11 strawweight fighters from Invicta last December, it wasn’t until The Ultimate Fighter 20: A Champion Will be Crowned began airing in 2014 that the hard work of Invicta President Shannon Knapp and her team began to shine through. When former Invicta titleholder Carla Esparza captured the UFC’s 115-pound belt, it validated everything that Invicta has built to date.
The other big news for Invicta in 2014 was that the UFC and Invicta came to an agreement for UFC Fight Pass to become the official streaming provider for Invicta events. Following numerous issues streaming events in the past, the deal finally gave Invicta the stable platform it needed to continue its growth.
And that was just the action outside of the Invicta cage.
Despite only three fight cards this year, Invicta was able to produce some of its best shows yet. We saw the rise and fall of a star in former atomweight champion Michelle Waterson, and the promotion crowned multiple new champions.
Finland’s Katja Kankaanpää captured the 115-pound title that was left behind when the aforementioned Esparza left for the Octagon. Kankaanpää scored a stunning fifth-round finish of Stephanie Eggink at Invicta FC 8.
Waterson’s year started well, as she headlined Invicta FC 8 and earned a dominant TKO win over Yasuko Tamada. However, when Waterson put her 105-pound title on the line again at Invicta FC 10 in December, Brazilian Herica Tiburcio scored one of the biggest upsets of the year in a thrilling, back-and-forth battle.
With six to eight events planned for 2015 and a stable broadcast partner, Invicta Fighting Championships is poised for even bigger and better things in the near future.
Other Finalists: Resurrection Fighting Alliance, ONE Fighting Championship, Titan Fighting Championship
Make sure you check out the rest of the Combat Press 2014 MMA Award winners.