Invicta FC 58: Ducote vs. Ostroverkhova went down last night, live from the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The main event saw the return of former Invicta strawweight champion Emily Ducote. After a two year stint in the UFC she came back to her old stomping grounds to fight Yulia Ostroverkhova.
The co-main event saw another return with Victoria Leonardo coming back to the Invicta cage. She, too, had been plying her trade in the UFC Octagon for the past couple of years. She fought Amanda Torres, formerly of Cage Warriors and LFA.
The event also saw PFL and UFC veteran Shanna Young fight for Invicta for the first time since 2019. She took on Combate vet Pamela Boveda.
Check out what went down at Invicta FC 58 with our full event recap below.
Emily Ducote and Victoria Leonardo impress in Invicta returns
Emily Ducote didn’t have it all her own way in her return to the Invicta cage. She lost the first round to Yulia Ostroverkhova after having trouble with the Russian striker’s reach and range fighting. Despite landing some nice combos and counters, Ducote was touched up with some long looping strikes both in the first round and early in the second.
After eating a big shot in the second Ducote turned the tables on Ostroverkhova, landing a reactive takedown and quickly passing to half guard. On the ground she dropped some punishing elbows on Ostroverkhova on route to gaining full mount. From there she was able to step over Ostroverkhova’s arm and lock in the armbar. Ostroverkhova was a little too tough for her own good, forcing Ducote to really crank before she would tap.
The finish sets Ducote up for a quick title challenge in a division she was once champ. Ducote won the vacant Invicta strawweight belt in 2022, defeating Danielle Taylor by brutal KO. She then defended the title against Alesha Zappitella before vacating the belt to sign with the UFC.
In the UFC she beat Jessica Penne and Ashley Yoder, but lost to Angela Hill, Lupita Godinez and Vanessa Demopoulus before eventually being cut.
Victoria Leonardo faced a tough test in her Invicta return, too. Her and Amanda Torres put on a gritty two rounds of fighting before she could claim victory in the third. Across the first two rounds Leonardo and Torres were more or less even on the judges’ scorecards, with both landing decent shots on the other in what was mostly a stand-up battle.
In the third round Leonardo took Torres down against the fence. Torres stood up, though. And when Leonardo tried to drag her back down, Torres landed on top. Leonardo went for a leg lock right away and used it to take top position. From that top position she softened Torres up with punches and then snapped on the winning armbar.
This was a welcome return to the win column for Leonardo. After a mostly successful run in Invicta she joined the UFC in 2021. She found things tough in the Octagon, being finished by Manon Fiorot, Melissa Gato, Natalia Silva and, most recently, Cong Wang.
‘Shanimal’ scores blistering 20 second TKO, Magdalena Czaban gets submission in debut
Shanna Young made a successful return to Invicta this night, too. She attacked Pamela Boveda from the jump, hitting her with a body kick and then trapping her against the fence with a combo. From there she kept striking, turning Boveda into a punching bag before the referee could call the standing TKO at the 23 second mark.
Magdalena Czaban had a successful Invicta debut this night. The multi-time IMMAF tournament winner proved too much for Jessica Hope Holmes. In the second round she took Holmes down quickly and spent a lot of time on top. When Holmes got free she hit her with some big shots and then caught her in a guillotine when Holmes went for a takedown.
Zurina Turrey, Sayury Canon and Zoe Nowicki get decision wins
Zurina Turrey won in her Invicta debut on the main card. She took a pretty dominant decision over Joy Pendell. Sayury Canon earned her second Invicta victory with a tough display opposite Abril Anguiano. Those two had a fun brawl, which Canon won by split decision. Zoe Nowicki remained perfect in her young career, getting a decision over Barbara Grabowska (who was fighting in her pro debut).
Flyweight: Victoria Leonardo def. Amanda Torres by submission (armbar). Round 3, 1:56
Bantamweight: Shanna Young def. Pamela Boveda by TKO (knees and punches). Round 1, 0:23
Featherweight: Zurina Turrey def. Joy Pendell by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Strawweight: Sayury Canon def. Abril Anguiano by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28).
Flyweight: Zoe Nowicki def. Barbara Grabowska by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Atomweight: Magdalena Czaban def. Jessica Hope Holmes by submission (guillotine choke). Round 2, 2:42
Invicta FC 58 Full Video Replay
Below is the entire Invicta FC 58 main card, provided by Invicta’s official YouTube channel, for viewers outside of the U.S.
And below are the Invicta FC 58 prelims, which are available to all viewers.
What’s Next for Invicta?
Invicta’s next show, Invicta FC 59, is scheduled for Dec. 13 in Atlanta, GA. The main event is Talita Bernado defending her Invicta FC bantamweight title against former UFC title challenger Jennifer Maia.