On Friday night at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles the mixed martial arts world was focused on the highly anticipated return of Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (13-1). She faced the Canadian featherweight standout Charmaine Tweet (6-5) and won in her always convincing fashion. Tweet had no issues moving forward and throwing fakes ready to exchange with Justino but soon felt her demoralizing power as she ate a hook that sent her to the canvas. Credit must be given to Tweet for getting back up ready to engage but she soon found herself on the receiving end of more punches that sent her down once again. After it was all said and done it was another astounding finish for Justino in just 46 seconds. All one can say is 'wow'. Just when you start to think that UFC Bantamweight Champion has improved enough to make this an intriguing fight, every time you see Cris in action it’s a stark reminder. For Tweet she will regroup just fine, there isn’t too much you can learn from facing sheer power. But don’t think for a second she is not the favorite to remain at the top of the division once Justino moves on. On Saturday morning Invicta announced that their next event will take place on April 10 but we will see a return of Cyborg in July. Possibly at 135 we are hoping and a fight with Irene Aldana, Tonya Evinger or Miriam Nakamoto for the vacant bantamweight belt would be spectacular.

Two of the best straweights in the world gave the best fight of the night between Alexa Grasso (7-0) and Mizuki Inoue (8-4). We were prepared for a stand up affair showcasing each girl's hands but the feet and ground game of Grasso proved to be the difference. Her pin point accuracy touched the nose of Mizuki early in the first and that allowed her to open up for more of a rounded attack. Many thought Mizuki would hold an advantage on the ground but Grasso was ready and even placed her opponent in more critical situations. Even though it was a hard fought battle she won the first two rounds pretty convincingly and the urgency of Mizuki in the third round may have captured it for her but it was already too late. Grasso won by unanimous decision and shot only showed that she was ready to contend for the strawweight title in Invicta but she has the skills to translate to the UFC in no time. For Mizuki all she can do is grow. We are hoping to see her a tad bit more aggressive in her next fight but we know she will be back and better than ever. She is so young in her career all she can do is go up from here facing the best in the world.

Norma Rueda Center (3-2) and DeAnna Bennett (7-0) also had a close battle as we saw Bennett's unbeaten streak continue. Fighting in her now third weight class Bennett looked good against Center who seemed ready for a brawl. The first round went to Bennett easily but the last two were up in the air. The great footwork of Center proved difficult for Bennett who is one of the more accurate strikers in the promotion. While we think she is more suited for the the flyweight division she shows she can do very well at 115. While imposing in frame her speed could be the only issue from keeping her to becoming a top flyweight.

Grasso’s teammate Irene Aldana (5-1) showed her dominance against Colleen Schneider (6-6) taking the fight on short notice. A quick feeling out process led to a combination then snatching the back of Schneider by Aldana. She is a very dangerous bantamweight and should get a top 3 Invicta 135er soon. We also wouldn’t be surprised to see her in the UFC as the promotion has an upcoming fight again in Mexico City.

The prelims for Invicta FC 11 saw fantastic performances by Jamie Moyle (2-0), Amy Montenegro (6-1) and our new favorite fighter Christine Stanley (4-1). Stanley may be one of the most interesting prospects in the promotion and will do great in the always fun flyweight division. It was an exciting night for the promotion and a great way to kick off a historic weekend for women’s mixed martial arts. Up next for the Invicta FC promotion is a card in April 10th with a location to be determined. Also we will see Cris Cyborg Justino again in July in Las Vegas. The full results for Invicta FC 11 are found below.

Main Card

Cristiane Justino def. Charmaine Tweet via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:46

Alexa Grasso def. Mizuki Inoue via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)

DeAnna Bennett def. Norma Rueda Center via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Irene Aldana def. Colleen Schneider via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:05

Prelims

Jamie Moyle def. J.J. Aldrich via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:20

Amy Montenegro def. Brianna Van Buren via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Christine Stanley def. Laura Salazar via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:59

Aspen Ladd def. Ana Carolina Vidall via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:21