Taneisha Tennant Edges Olga Rubin, Retains Bantamweight Title at Invicta FC 48

Taneisha Tennant passed her first test as Invicta FC bantamweight queen.

The Budokan Martial Arts Academy defended the 135-pound belt for the first time, taking a closely-contested split-decision triumph against Bellator veteran Olga Rubin in the Invicta FC 48 headliner at Reelworks Denver in Denver, Colo., on Wednesday night. “Triple Threat” received scorecards of 48-47 and 50-45 in her favor, while a third judge saw the fight 48-47 for Rubin.

Tennant (5-1, 4-0 Invicta) relied on consistent forward pressure, occasional bursts of offense and solid takedown defense to carry her to victory. She nearly paid for landing her lone takedown of the fight in Round 4, however, as Rubin (7-3, 0-1 Invicta) spent much of the period threatening with a modified triangle — also known as a buggy choke — from her back. For the most part, Tennant was able to keep the fight upright and she punctuated the later portion of multiple rounds with a series of solid right hands that put her opponent on the defensive. Though Rubin did her best to make it a grinding affair, she was unable to ground Tennant for any significant period of time.

In the co-main event, four-time UFC veteran Talita Bernardo enjoyed a successful Invicta FC debut, submitting fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Yana Gadelha with a rear-naked choke in a bantamweight clash. The 35-year-old Rio de Janeiro native ended the fight at the 1:39 mark of Round 2.

Bernardo (8-4, 1-0 Invicta) landed a takedown early in the first round, but Gadelha (7-5, 0-1 Invicta) defended a subsequent kimura attempt and reversed into top position before threatening with a knee bar. Bernardo went back to the well and grounded Gadelha again in Round 2, quickly transitioning to her opponent’s back. Bernardo then gradually slid the choke under her foe’s neck until Gadelha had no choice but to tap.



In earlier action: Kristina Williams (6-3, 2-0 Invicta) tapped out Liana Ferreira Pirosin with a rear-naked choke 3:16 into the opening round of their flyweight clash; Isis Verbeek (5-1, 1-0 Invicta) took a hard-fought unanimous decision over Melissa Oddessa Parker (3-2, 0-1 Invicta) at strawweight; Amber Leibrock (6-4, 3-1 Invicta) submitted Morgan Frier (4-4, 0-1 Invicta) with a rear-naked choke 3:09 into Round 1 at featherweight and Auttumn Norton (2-1, 2-1 Invicta) defeated Maria Djukic (2-1, 0-1 Invicta) via techincal knockout 1:02 into the second round of their bantamweight bout.