Obligatory.            PicProps: Patrick Walters, CP OG

Invicta FC put on its fifth event last night, closing out a very successful first year for the promotion.  A thirteen-fight card at Kansas City’s Ameristar Casino highlighted Invicta’s swelling roster of talented fighters and solidified the promotions reputation for delivering entertaining MMA bouts.  The show featured debuts of three champs from Strikeforce and Bellator, plus a pair of Invicta championship matchups.  And it fucking rocked.

The card started with a pair of quick submissions, including CagePotato’s own Rose Namajunas, who set the internet on fire with a twelve second flying armbar victory.  According to initial reports, that is the 5th fastest victory in MMA history, and fastest in the women’s division.  Namajunas was understandably jubilant in her win, saying later that she would like all of her fights to be of the blink-and-you-missed-it variety.  She also pointed out that she was still a prospect just starting out at 2-0, and that title talks could wait until she gained more experience.

Video streaming by Ustream

Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson kicks off today at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, featuring a horde of female talent including Jessica Penne, Michelle Waterson, Vanessa Porto, Cris Cyborg, Sarah Kaufman, Zoila Frausto Gurgel, Kaitlin Young, Julia Budd, Bec Hyatt, and last but not least, WMMA staredown queen Rose Namajunas. Rose will be kicking off the prelims rocking CagePotato’s familiar Devil’s Horns logo, so don’t be late — purchase your Internet pay-per-view ticket in the streaming player above and throw down your thoughts in the comments section throughout the night.

And one more thing: Our own Doug “ReX13″ Richardson has been allowed into the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City as a member of the media (LOL!), and he’ll be posting additional updates during the show on our twitter page, @cagepotatomma. Don’t miss it.

2004 Olympic wrestling silver medalist Sara McMann won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Shayna Baszler after three rounds at last night’s all-women Invicta FC 2 event. Baszler rocked McMann with a left hook late in the fight but McMann had evidently gotten far enough ahead on the judges’ scorecards to get the win. Check out the full fight video above.

Scores were 29-28 (twice) and 30-27 for McMann. “That was by far the toughest and most skilled fighter I have ever fought,” McMann said post-fight of Baszler.

With the win, McMann improves her MMA record to 6-0. Baszler dipped to 14-7.

Full results via MMAFighting, as well as video of Liz Carmouche‘s submission win over Kaitlin Young, are after the jump.

In the latest installment of MMA: Inside the Cage, Casey and Cyrus discuss Hector Lombard’s UFC signing, the new beef between MFC and Bellator, and the ongoing Nick Diaz vs. NSAC saga, before presenting the week’s best batch of knockouts and an exclusive interview with the ever-charming Bas Rutten. Part 2 of the show is after the jump, which features an analysis of Invicta’s debut show plus the must-see slugfest between Kaitlin Young and Leslie Smith.

Check it out and support our good friends at MMA:ITC, who have managed to put together a consistently entertaining half-hour MMA show that isn’t based on a bunch of jerkoffs yelling at each other. If you dig it, follow ‘em on Facebook and Twitter.

(Leslie Smith vs Kaitlin Young, via IronForgesIron.com)

Invicta FC 1 wasn’t the first promotion to feature an all-female fight card, nor did they invent the MMA livestream, but last night they paired the two beautifully for a groundbreaking show that will undoubtedly do wonders for WMMA. The online broadcast is said to have peaked at 100k viewers, some four-times their initial projection.

Overall the show had a professional, polished appearance. The familiar voice of Mauro Renallo carried the commentary team with the sort of obvious, gender-based puns that we would never personally sink t…oh, right. The recently unemployed “King Mo” kept it 100 on the mic, but casual doesn’t always equal comfortable or competent, and Jon Anik can breath a little easier this morning. Alongside Lawal, Julie Kedzie called the fight from a fighter’s perspective, and with a little more experience she could transition well into that roll.

While one of Invicta’s stated goals is to develop clearly defined weight classes, the fighters will have to do their part when it’s time to step on the scales. With four fighters missing weight for the inaugural event, some of them badly, there’s still much work to be done.

As for the fights, it was an overall entertaining card. Videos and a recap are after the jump.

No way I’m not using this picture again.

What up, Potato Nation, it’s your boy ReX13 here at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City, ready to watch some ladies fight. I realize some of you have dirty-ass opinions about women’s MMA, and to you assholes I say this: I think there’s an NBA game on or something. Is the NFL draft still on? How’d my Carolina Panthers do? Actually, don’t answer that, just exit stage left. For the rest of you, let’s party: we got a badass card to watch.

Since the whole thing is streaming for free right here, I’m going to forego an actual play-by-play and just drop observations as the night goes on. I’m also ready to grab snapshots and video of the things you can’t see, so expect butt shots of Natasha Wicks. I’m all for girl power, but I also know what my Nation likes.

One more note: they are trying to disable the media with a light show and deafening dubstep. Pray for me.

Come on in, the show starts at 8pm ET. Until then, feel free to tweet your best #BadPickUpLinesAtInvictaFC at me, because I’m immature.

 I don’t know how you have a staredown with a French accent, but I’m pretty sure Romy Ruyssen (right) is doing it.

So let’s get this out of the way:  I live in Kansas.

No, I don’t know what the hell a jayhawk is.  I’m not actually from here.

Anyways, Invicta Fighting Championships is going down just a short drive away in Kansas City, so I was quick to accept when I was offered a chance to be a member of the fight media for the inaugural Invicta FC card.

There were a few hiccups at the weigh-ins:  for some reason, they did not set up a raised platform for me to set up upon. As a result my pictures and video were of decidedly low quality. (As a recompense, please enjoy a few pictures courtesy of Invicta’s own photographer, Esther Lin.)

(Props: YouTube.com/allelbows)

Invicta Fighting Championships‘ all-female debut event is going down Saturday night in Kansas City, KS, and our own Doug “Rex13″ Richardson will be in attendance, trying his hardest to get kneed in the balls. Check out this video package from Esther Lin/allelbows and get to know the talent that will be competing. It’s awesome to see Kaitlin Young back in action, and every Marloes Coenen fight is required viewing for fans of women’s MMA. The show will also feature Jessica Pene, Liz Carmouche, Lisa Ellis-Ward, and Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc, best known as one-half of the greatest MMA face-off of all time. A live stream of the event will be aired on InvictaFC.com starting tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Be there.

Yeah, it’s an old fight, but thanks to MMA Fight Girls, I just saw it for the first time — here’s Kaitlin Young’s Cro Cop-esque head-kick KO of Miesha Tate during an eight-woman HOOKnSHOOT tournament last November. The fight starts at the 1:45 mark, and is over 30 seconds later. (Young won her first fight that night in 22 seconds, and the tournament final in 53 seconds.) Kaitlin is slated to fight Sarah Kaufman at EliteXC’s next event in Reno on November 8th.

(Skip to the 5:45 mark for the goods.)

CagePotato.com was just shouted out on G4′s Attack of the Show during a discussion about Seth Petruzelli’s TKO of Kimbo Slice and EliteXC’s bribery of Seth Petruzelli. Co-host Kevin Pereira described us as “one of [his], like, favorite MMA blogs.” Cool!

Bonus awesomeness after the jump…

(Kaitlin Young was swept under the rug after her fight with Gina Carano.)

“[T]he doctor actually cleared me to fight the third round but the commission said no. I wanted to continue, my corner wanted to continue. The cut likely would have opened in the third but it was under the eye. If I had to guess, I would say that they didn’t want the visual of a woman with a bloody face on CBS. They also chose not to do a post fight interview with me or to include me in the post fight news conference and after party. I think the reason for that was my beat up appearance after the fight because I was not seriously injured and was completely coherent. I am very disappointed about that but cant help but wonder how people would have responded to that, as stupid as it is.” — Kaitlin Young, on her loss to Gina Carano and resulting media snub.

“Brett is gonna have to learn that it’s about the money…I don’t think [a fight between Brett Rogers and Kimbo Slice] is a fight that I would do. I might do Brett Rogers against [Antonio] Silva…but that’s what makes me a promoter. I appreciate all you guys, but you don’t run me. I’m just saying, I don’t read blogs, I don’t read anything…I run a professional sports franchise. My job is to put asses in seats, build stars, build superstars, not let someone guide me who fights who.” — Gary Shaw, getting a little hot under the collar during an interview with MMARated.

“I’m confident I’ll fight again. I’m also OK with the idea that it may not happen. I may get a bad (court) ruling and I can’t really see myself at this point going back and fighting two more times for the UFC if that’s what the state says I have to do. So there’s the potential I could be done fighting and I’m OK with that too.” — Randy Couture, on his disputed contract status with the UFC.

“Ortiz says he’s ’65 percent’ sure that he’ll begin his own MMA organization. ‘When I was in the UFC, they talked so much about how I wanted to get out of it and how I wanted to stop fighting,’ Ortiz said. ‘It was a bunch of baloney. I still see 3-4 more years of competition left (in me) and I want to build. I want to make a (rival) company neck and neck with the UFC. I think it’s going to be about taking care of the fighters and that’s what I’m going to do.’” — Tito Ortiz in an interview with the Boston Herald.

(Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson)

(Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young)

(Joey Villasenor vs. Phil Baroni)

Smith/Lawler is here and Rogers/Murphy is here. James Thompson, Phil Baroni, and Gina Carano react to their matches after the jump.

(“I’m not a little girl by any means.”)

The hordes of screaming Gina “Crush” Carano fans who tune into the premiere of CBS’s “Saturday Night Fights” this weekend to see EliteXC’s poster girl kick some ass might be in for a seriously rude awakening. Carano’s opponent for the co-featured bout is Kaitlin Young, a 21-year-old Minnesota Martial Arts Academy product who famously knocked out three women in a one-night HOOKnSHOOT tournament last November; the combined fight time was just one minute and 45 seconds. We gave Kaitlin a call last night to ask her about rolling with dudes, the advantages she’ll have in her fight against Carano, and her shitty ’91 Honda Accord.

***

CAGEPOTATO: We recently posted the video of your “Caveman Training” at Athletic Performance Incorporated. Be honest — they took they engine out of that pickup truck you were pulling, right?
KAITLIN YOUNG: No, everything was as-is, just as it came from the factory. Honestly, it’s not as hard as it looks. The wheelbarrow is the real killer.

When did you know you wanted to be a competitive fighter?
It’s really all I ever wanted to do. I did Olympic-style Tae Kwon Do starting when I was 14, and I’ve enjoyed the fighting arts ever since then.

Are there enough women at Minnesota Martial Arts Academy to spar and roll with, or do you usually have to train with the guys?
There are a couple of other girls, but it’s mostly guys that I’m training with at this point. Greg Nelson and Tom Schmitz help me a lot. My boyfriend Ryan Murray is a big heavyweight pro Thai boxer, so he helps me with striking and pads, and some of the wrestlers from the University of Minnesota have been working with me too.

What else do you do when you’re not training for a fight?
This semester I was a full-time student at the University of Minnesota, studying kinesiology — exercise science, which kinda fits in — and I also do a bit of strength and conditioning coaching on the side at API.

You took your first pro loss in February, against Sara Schneider at a BodogFight event. What do you think went wrong?
She did a good job executing her game plan, so I don’t want to take anything away from her, but I think I made the mistake of following a good grappler to the ground when I’m a striker. I was winning pretty decisively on the feet, and I tried to pound her out and got caught in an armbar.

How do you think you’ll apply that lesson to Gina Carano? She comes from a Muay Thai background, but she’s at least serviceable on the ground.

The Irish Hand Grenade says he has impeccable timing, and can knock you out with one punch. He’s also expecting a better Mike Swick at UFC 85 than the one who grabbed a narrow decision against Josh Burkman at UFC Fight Night 12. For Swick’s sake, we hope he’s right

Kaitlin Young pulls around a pickup truck (among other hardcore shit) at API Training Center, in preparation for her fight against Gina Carano on May 31st. Not sure what’s up with the Enya music at the beginning, but my back is killing me just watching this.

In a conference call held yesterday with Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young, EliteXC boss Gary Shaw announced that he intends to create the league’s first women’s title, with the winner of the Carano/Young scrap on May 31st likely fighting for the 140-pound belt sometime this fall; other titles in different weight divisions will follow once EliteXC builds up its roster of female fighters. Shaw also mentioned his goal of putting an all-women’s MMA card on CBS or Showtime next year. And just when we were about to hail Shaw as a champion of gender equality, he hits us with this:

Question: The IFL is very interested in the notion of having unified champions, wherever it’s possible or practical. Would that be something you would want to get involved with?
Shaw: I’m all for it…If they want to do women’s, we’ll fight for a women’s IFL belt…Women like jewelry. The more belts the better for them. They like accessories. So why not fight for an IFL belt or a DREAM belt?

Shaw also gave credit to Kaitlin Young as a dangerous and exciting striker, despite the fact that she’s probably a very bad driver. But it wasn’t all assholishness during the conference call. Shaw gave reporters some straight talk about EliteXC’s financial status and their ability to compete with the UFC:

Good news, Potato Nation: MMA/American Gladiators star Gina Carano will be taking a break from making us cry. EliteXC announced today that Carano has been booked for their May 31st CBS debut, and will face Kaitlin Young, a 4-1 fighter hailing from the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. Most notably, Young won an eight-woman HooknShoot tournament last November, knocking out three opponents in the same night, all within the first minute of the first round. [Ed. note: Holy fucking shit! Mo chuisle!] So basically, Gina’s gonna want to protect her face.

Also officially announced today is a bout between undefeated brawler Brett Rogers — who most recently knocked out James Thompson at “Street Certified”— and fellow heavyweight John Murphy. Meaning that the tentative main card, at this point, looks like this:

Kimbo vs. TBA (heavyweights)
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith (for middleweight championship belt)
Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young (weight limit TBA?)
Phil Baroni vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua (middleweights)
Brett Rogers vs. John Murphy (heavyweights)

Ooh, feel our goosebumps! The booking of Carano was clutch, as it adds a second mainstream-ish star to the network broadcast. We don’t know how much green Gary Shaw had to promise in order to lure the semi-estranged Carano back into the fold, but if it helps put EliteXC over with a skeptical CBS audience, it’ll be worth it. The only question is, has Crush been getting in enough MMA training between pugel-stick jousts and zip-line rides?

Speaking of which…