Fight Facts: Invicta Phoenix Rising Series 2

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF INVICTA FIGHTS: 342
TOTAL NUMBER OF INVICTA EVENTS: 38

Invicta Fighting Championships on Friday went straight into the Danger Zone with its second one-night tournament, this time at flyweight. Invicta Phoenix Rising Series 2 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, featured the tournament champion earning the most submissions in company history, the new winningest Invicta fighter and the widest age difference the organization has seen to date.

THIS IS WHAT I CALL A TARGET-RICH ENVIRONMENT: Five fights ended by submission at this event, tying Invicta 2 for the third-most submissions in one night in organizational history. Only Invicta 3 and Invicta 5 saw more, with six each.

I WANT SOME BUTTS!: The final five bouts all ended by submission, tying the Invicta 2 record for the most consecutive submissions on a single show.

YOU’RE SLOWING DOWN, YOU’RE SLOWING DOWN!: Although they were all one-round fights, the first six matches of the night went to decision, tying Invicta 23 in 2017 for the most consecutive decisions.

IT’S TIME TO BUZZ THE TOWER: By winning three times at the event, including twice by tapout, Miranda Maverick became the Invicta Phoenix Series 2 flyweight tournament winner. Unlike the promotion’s inaugural tournament in which Brianna Van Buren won the vacant strawweight strap, the champion at the top of the 125-pound division is Vanessa Porto, so Maverick’s victories could earn her the next shot at that belt.

YOU CAN BE MY WINGMAN ANYTIME: After earning three wins, Maverick moved into a second-place tie with Tonya Evinger for the most victories inside the Invicta cage with seven.

GREAT MAV, REAL SLICK: After tapping DeAnna Bennett and Shanna Young, Maverick owns the most submission victories in promotional history with five.

JUST A WALK IN THE PARK: When she scored the win in the flyweight tournament final by neck crank, Maverick became the first fighter in company history to submit an opponent with that move.

I DON’T LIKE YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE DANGEROUS: Maverick and Bennett first faced off against one another at Invicta 34 in February as part of another Invicta flyweight tournament. In doing so, they became one of the few pairs in major MMA history to ever face each other in two separate tournaments in the same year. Oleg Taktarov on two occasions met Dan Severn and Dave Beneteau in two different Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments in 1995.

I FEEL THE NEED …: Bennett’s three appearances on the Invicta stage gave her the appearances with the promotion with 13. Only one other fighter -- Porto -- even has 10.

… THE NEED FOR SPEED!: Although Bennett fell short of the finish line, by earning two victories at this event, she moved into first place with the most wins (eight) under the Invicta banner.

NO POINTS FOR SECOND PLACE: Because of her loss in the final, Bennett also suffered her fifth defeat in the Invicta cage, tying her with Amber Brown and Kaitlin Young for the most all-time.

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE: In a non-tournament bout, Josee Storts finished Helen Lucero with a triangle armbar, earning the first victory in Invicta history using that maneuver.

I FLEW WITH YOUR OLD MAN: A full 20 years the 41-year-old Lucero’s junior, Storts, 21, recorded the victory in the first round. This was the largest age discrepancy in promotional history, with the previous record being 19 years when a 28-year-old Michelle Waterson finished elder stateswoman Yasuko Tamada (47) at Invicta 8 in 2014.

YOUR EGO IS WRITING CHECKS YOUR BODY CAN’T CASH: With Storts picking up the win over Lucero, all five Invicta fighters who were more than 15 years younger than their opponents have won, four of them by stoppage.

SHE’S LOST THAT LOVING FEELING: In the second alternate bout, Kay Hansen ejected Carolina Jimenez from the ranks of the unbeaten with a unanimous decision. Jimenez had won each of her first six bout, including five by stoppage.

NEGATIVE, GHOST RIDER, THE PATTERN IS FULL: Unlike the previous Invicta tournament in which several fighters came in heavy, only one fighter misfired on the scales: Chantel Coates, who came in three pounds over the flyweight limit. In her alternate bout, she took a split decision from Flore Hani, but due to missing weight she was ineligible to serve as a potential replacement.

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN: Coming into Invicta Phoenix Rising Series 2, Bennett (18 fights) and Alexa Conners (eight fights) had never been submitted, Daiana Torquato had never been finished (13 fights) and Victoria Leonardo had never lost on the scorecards (seven fights).

IF YOU THINK, YOU’RE DEAD: After making her walk to the cage with AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” playing, Leonardo dropped a decision to Maverick. As a walkout song inside the Octagon, it carries the lowest winning percentage of any song used more than 20 times.

I WON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT YOU MAKING YOUR LIVING AS A SINGER: Torquato walked out to “Sweet Child o’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses and went on to capture a split verdict over Milana Dudieva. In 15 recorded UFC uses, fighters have a paltry record of 3-12 when using the song.

Sherdog contributing editor Jay Pettry is an attorney and a statistician. Writing about MMA since he started studying the “Eminem Curse” in 2012 and working for Vice Sports and Combat Docket along the way, he put together many fight result and entrance music databases to better study the sport. You can find him on twitter at @jaypettry.