All-female mixed martial arts group poised for week of firsts in Las Vegas
Shannon Knapp and her all-female mixed martial arts organization will have a week of firsts in Las Vegas during UFC’s International Fight Week in July.
Knapp, president of Kansas City, Kan.-based Invicta Fighting Championships, which has a roster of 70 women fighters, received word recently that Invicta is now licensed by the Nevada Athletic Commission to stage fight shows in the Silver State.
So, on July 9, Invicta will stage its maiden Las Vegas event — InvictaFC13.
And the venue — The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas — is also playing host to its first MMA fight show.
“It’s a beautiful venue. They want to try MMA,” said Knapp, who founded InvictaFC in 2012.
Most of InvictaFC events have been held in Kansas City with attendance in the 600-1,200 range.
Knapp said The Chelsea holds about 2,000 for the fight show, which has seven matches. Ticket prices for the fight show at the Cosmopolitan range from $40-$100, plus fees and taxes.
In a statement emailed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Fedor Banuchi, Cosmopolitan vice president of entertainment said, “MMA has proven to be a very popular form of entertainment, and we are thrilled to be a part of this exciting, highly attended weekend of fights.
“With our history of being first to market, it only makes sense for The Cosmopolitan to bring the first major all-female professional MMA card to Las Vegas inside The Chelsea on July 9. This event is currently trending to sell out.”
Knapp, who has a good working relationship with Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship, said UFC brought her together with the Cosmopolitan to make the event happen. InvictaFC, the industry’s major female-only MMA fight organization, has its fight events broadcast on UFC’s Fight Pass website.
The July 9 fights will be headlined by Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, a well-known female MMA fighter who is a 145-pound featherweight. She will fight Faith Van Duin in the main event. In all, the fight event will have three title matches and weight categories ranging from 105-pound atomweights to the 145-pounders in the featherweight division.
Justino is a potential major player for UFC, too, because UFC President Dana White said UFC’s biggest pay-per-view event would be a fight between UFC superstar Ronda Rousey and Justino. But Justino would have to lose 10 pounds to fight Rousey, a 135-pound bantamweight.
Knapp said Rousey’s meteoric rise as an MMA star and mainstream movie celebrity “has brought a huge amount of awareness and helped break down the barriers” for women in MMA
UFC’s annual International Fight Week, which is July 7-12, includes a fan expo, 5K running race and UFC 189 at MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 11.
Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273. Find him on Twitter: @BicycleManSnel
