Invicta FC 33 Results: Frey retains title after close fight with Grusander
Get the Full StoryCheck out all the results from Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander 2. Invicta FC 33 is a wrap! The card delivered a closely matched title-fight in the main event and some very impressive performances and a pair of stunning stoppages on the undercard.In the main event Jinh Yu Frey defended her Invicta atomweight title versus Minna Grusander, the woman she beat narrowly to lift the vacant title earlier this year. The fight was as closely contested as the first bout, but Frey was again able to get the nod from the judges.
In the early exchanges of the first round Grusander acted as the aggressor with leg kicks and punches, while Frey looked to counter. It didn t take long for the champion to connect on some of those counters, which had the Fin backing up. The fighters clinched after that, with Grusander pushing Frey up against the fence. When they separated, Frey caught the challenger with a series of hard lefts to the side of the head. But moments later Grusander responded with a big right hand that sat Frey down. Grusander tried to swarm the champion, but Frey was able to survive and she ended the round defending well against Grusander s ground and pound.
Early in the second round Grusander had Frey back up against the fence. This time she landed half a dozen hard knees to Frey s body. When circling away from the fence, though, Frey was able to crack Grusander with an elbow to the side of the head. After that both women slung hooks at eachother in the centre of the cage. Most of the blows were glancing, but Grusander did connect one meaningful punch, which she used to initiate another clinch. In the last 30 seconds of the round Frey was able to land a good leg kick. She followed that up with a brief takedown.
In round three Frey started the action off with a hard left hand that stunned Grusander. The champion followed up with a half-clinch and some Don Frye-esque punches. With that she forced Grusander backwards and then down to the canvas. In full guard Grusander used her long legs to wrap up Frey and create enough room to stand back up. However, after she reached her feet Frey landed a series of strikes. With Frey feeling confident, and looking for a big power punch, Grusander was able to duck under and take Frey down with a double leg.
Frey would eventually sweep Grusander on the ground and get back up. After a scramble, Frey would be put back down on the mat, where Grusander held her for the remainder of the round.
In the first of the championship rounds Frey attempted an early takedown, but Grusander stuffed it and pushed the champ back to the cage, where she landed more hard knees to the body. But Frey was able to get away from those and back Grusander up with a stinging jab. After trading more punches, Frey was to slip a punch and land a takedown. Grusander stood right back up, though. The last moments of the round saw Frey land a hard left hand to Grusander s body and Grusander snap a leg kick against Frey s already reddened knee.
Grusander charged out of her corner for the last round, but she ate a punch to the body right away. Despite both women probably needing this round to win the fight, neither looked willing to throw caution to the wind. With two minutes left, Grusander pinned Frey back up against the fence. There she landed a number of nasty looking foot stomps. With a minute left, Grusander worked for a takedown, but Frey defended the attempt. And with just 25 seconds left both Frey and Grusander were in the center of the cage swinging punches. However, neither was able to land something that would save the judges from a very tough decision.
After the decision was read, there was no sign that the bad blood between Frey and Grusander see: Stinkgate was over. But surely both women will move on to different opponents now.
In the co-main event UFC veteran Danielle Taylor navigated her way past the previously undefeated Montserrat Ruiz to secure a comfortable unanimous decision victory. Taylor was able to control virtually all that fight, hurting one of Ruiz s legs and almost swelling shut one of her eyes. The strawweight then called out Invicta champ Virna Jandiroba, saying she was there to take over the division.
In the strawweight bout before that one there was a bizarre finish. Sharon Jacobson out-wrestled and beat-up Kay Hansen for two rounds and almost five minutes before going for, what can only be described as a double-underhook suplex. The move worked, technically, in sending Hansen over Jacobson s head and crashing towards the canvas. However, it resulted in Jacobson landing in the perfect position for Hansen to snap on an armbar, which elicited a tap seconds before the final bell
The rest of the card saw impressive unanimous decision victories for atomweight Alesha Zappitella who defeated former title challenger Amber Brown , strawweight Brianna Van Buren who dominated a 10 lbs heavier Jamie Moyle , and bantamweight Brittany Victoria who lit up Sarah Kleczka in her Invicta debut .
The first two fights of the night saw two very impressive performances and finishes. One of those came from Anastasia Nikolakakos, who overwhelmed Ashley Medina from the outset of their atomweight match. After out-wrestling Medina and threatening with submissions Nikolakakos was able to get a TKO win, via ground and pound, in the second round.
The first fight of the night produced the fastest KO in Invicta history. That was thanks to flyweight Chantel Coates, who was making her pro debut versus Ashlynn Kleinbeck . The end came after Coates walked down Kleinback and smashed her with two big right hands up against the fence, the last of which knocked her opponent out cold.
Check out the full results below, along with the finish from Hansen. You can find Nikolakakos and Coates finishes by checking out the archived early prelims on Facebook.
WOW!!! Kay Hansen gets the armbar out of nowhere to get the W at the end of the 3rd round! #InvictaFC33 pic.twitter.com bHw0OFQkLS UFC FIGHT PASS UFCFightPass December 16, 2018
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Invicta FC 33: Facebook PrelimsWe are LIVE with #InvictaFC33: Frey vs Grusander II! Catch the Facebook Prelims at 830p ET and the main card exclusively on UFC Fight Pass at 10p ET!Posted by Invicta Fighting Championships on Saturday, December 15, 2018
Atomweight: Jinh Yu Frey def. Minna Grusander via split decision 48-47, 47-48, 48-47 .
Strawweight: Danielle Taylor def. Montserrat Ruiz via unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 .
Strawweight: Kay Hansen def. Sharon Jacobsen via submission armbar , round 3 4:43 .
Atomweight: Alesha Zappitella def. Amber Brown via unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Catchweight: Brianna Van Buren def. Jamie Moyle via unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 .
Bantamweight: Brittney Victoria def. Sarah Kleczka via unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 .
Atomweight: Anastasia Nikolakakos def. Ashley Medina via TKO punches , round 2 3:26 .
Flyweight: Chantel Coates def. Ashlynn Kleinbeck via KO punch , round 1 0:28 .
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