Invicta Fighting Championships returned home to Kansas City on Friday night for Invicta FC 12: Kankaapaa vs. Souza. The headlining bout featured strawweight champ Katja Kankaanpää putting her belt on the against Livia Renata Souza at the Municipal Auditorium.
After three rounds of fighting, it looked as if Kankaanpää’s first defense of her belt would be a successful one.
Souza had a strong opening frame, taking Kankaanpää’s back, locking on a body triangle and attacking with rear-naked choke attempts for the latter part of the round.
In the second and third rounds, however, the champion turned the tide.