Formation After
Zuffa, parent company of the
UFC, purchased rival promotion
Strikeforce in March 2011, Shannon Knapp received several calls from female fighters concerned about a possible lack of representation for women's MMA. Knapp would meet with Janet Martin and the two acquired the financial resources needed to launch a new MMA promotion. The promotion held its first event,
Invicta FC 1 on April 28, 2012. The event was headlined by a rematch between former
Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen and French fighter Romy Ruyssen. On June 9, 2012, it was announced that Invicta has formed a strategic partnership with Japanese promotion
JEWELS to cross-promote fighters on their respective cards in the
United States and
Japan. In 2014, Invicta began exclusively streaming events on
UFC Fight Pass, with the company's fight library also made available on the service. Invicta FC 8 would be the first event to stream live on Fight Pass. On February 24, 2015, Brazilian channel
Combate acquired broadcast rights to Invicta live events as well as events from the Invicta library in
South America.
Acquisition by Anthem On April 15, 2021, it was announced that
Anthem Sports & Entertainment had acquired Invicta. Starting with
Invicta FC 44 on May 21, Invicta events are broadcast live on the Anthem-owned networks
AXS TV and
Fight Network in the United States and Canada, respectively. Invicta's events would also stream live on the promotion's
YouTube channel. On June 11, 2024, Invicta announced that it had signed a deal with
CBS Sports to air all of that year's events on the
CBS Sports Network in the United States, starting with
Invicta FC 55 on June 28. == Roster ==