Twenty-four year old Lacey “The
Ladie” Schuckman (7-4) of Lakewood, Colo. will replace Jasminka Cive in a
flyweight (115 pounds) matchup with undefeated Ayaka Hamasaki (7-0) of
Yamaguchi, Japan at the Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann women’s
professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at Memorial Hall in Kansas
City on Sat., July 28. Cive was unable to secure the visa necessary for
her to travel from her native Austria, in time for the event.
“I’m actually glad this opportunity came up at the last minute
because I’m prepared for the fight,” said Schuckman, who is trained by
her husband, Randall “The Green Machine” Schuckman, a recent winner of
the Colorado State Golden Gloves Boxing tournament. “I’m always in the
gym training with professional MMA fighters and professional boxers, so
the timing of this fight is perfect. I also think this matchup is a big
step up for me, one that I need take my career to another level.”
Schuckman has earned a name for herself as a mixed martial artist by
competing in three different weight classes – atomweight (105 pounds),
flyweight and super flyweight (125 pounds). She is looking to become the
first female fighter to hold a top 10 ranking in three different weight
classes.
Before making her professional debut in 2009, Schuckman competed as a
Muay Thai fighter. She has also ventured into professional boxing,
notching her first-career win by way of first round TKO over Venus
Gutierrez on Nov. 11, 2011.
In her last MMA start on Dec. 17, 2011, Schuckman tapped out Michelle
Blalock with a guillotine choke in the second round (1:02) of their
matchup in Broomfield, Colo. The win was Schuckman’s fourth by way of
submission.
The 30-year-old Hamasaki, a reigning champion in Japanese women’s MMA
promotion JEWELS, holds a second-degree black belt in Judo. Since her
professional debut in 2009, she has been tearing through the ranks of
competitors in Japan.
“I have no problem about the opponent change,” said Hamasaki. “I am
just bit concern because it’s my first fight abroad. But regardless of
the opponent, I want to give everything I got in this fight and that is
all I care about now.”
On Dec. 17, 2010, Hamasaki emerged the winner of a four-woman,
single-elimination tournament, earning unanimous decisions over Sakura
Nomura and Seo Hee Ham, respectively. Hamasaki is coming off a
first-round submission (kimura) win over Yuka Tsuji at a JEWELS event.
Tickets for Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann, priced from $25, are available for purchase at Memorial Hall box office (913) 549-4853 ), online at Ticketmaster.com and InvictaFC.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000 .
In the bantamweight main event, 2004 Olympic Wrestling Silver
Medalist and undefeated MMA star Sara McMann (5-0) of Gaffney, SC. and
battle-tested submission wizard Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler
(14-6) of Sioux Falls, SD.
In the co-main event, Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (18-9) of
Tokyo, Japan will square off with Japanese Jiu-Jitsu black belt and
Cesar Gracie-protégé Alexis Davis (11-5) of Colborne, Ontario Canada at
bantamweight.
In other main card action, U.S. Marine and rising bantamweight star
Liz “Girl-rilla” Carmouche (6-2) of San Diego, Calif. will square off
with St. Louis Park, Minnesota’s Kaitlin Young (7-5-1), who earned
“Fight of the Night” honors at the inaugural Invicta FC event on April
28.
Submission specialist Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio (5-2) of San Jose,
Calif. will lock up with streaking superstar Vanessa Porto (14-4) of
Sao Paulo, Brazil at bantamweight.
In another bantamweight scrap, power striker Leslie “The Peacemaker”
Smith (3-2-1) of Pleasant Hill, Calif. will battle fellow hard-hitting
KO artist Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes (6-2) of Salvador, Bahia
Brazil
American prospects Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak (5-2) of East
Moline, Ill. and undefeated Bethany Marshall (4-0) of Newport News, Va.
will meet in a super flyweight matchup.
Julia “The Jewel” Budd (2-2) of Port Moody, British Columbia Canada
will face Elina Nilsson (2-2) of Gothenburg, Sweden at featherweight
(145 pounds).
In the opening main card bout, Jiu-Jitsu champion and former high
school wrestling star Carla Esparza (6-2) of Redondo Beach, Calif. will
square off with Sarah “White Tiger” Schneider (6-5) of Kansas City, Mo.
in a flyweight tilt.
The Invicta FC event will kick off with a five-bout preliminary card.
In a bantamweight matchup between two undefeated future stars, Sarah
Moras (2-0) of Kelowna, British Columbia Canada will face Raquel
Pennington (1-1) of Colorado Springs, Colo.
After compiling a 5-2 record under amateur status, 25-year-old
Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke (0-0) will make her much-anticipated
professional debut against unbeaten 30-year-old Suzie Montero (1-0) of
Pompano Beach, Fla. at bantamweight.
One-half of the 26-year-old twin MMA fighter duo, Jocelyn “Lights
Out” Lybarger (0-0) of Phoenix, Ariz. will make debut under professional
status opposite Cheryl Chan (0-0) of Surrey, British Columbia Canada at
super flyweight.
In one of two atomweight (105 pounds) matchups, Nicdali
Calanoc-Rivera (7-6) of Tulsa, Okla. will take on Angelica Chavez (4-1)
of Albuquerque, N.M. In the other, Jessica Philippus (0-0) of Marshall,
Mo. will battle Liz McCarthy (0-0) of Tigard, Ore.
All bouts have been approved by the Kansas State Athletic Commission.