Invicta FC 7 Date: December 7, 2013 Arena: American Casino Hotel City: Kansas City, M.O. The Invicta FC 7 main card will be live at InvictaFC.com starting at 8 p.m. ET. It is a pay-per-view event that will be available to order at $14.95. You can bet on these and all fights at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my plays for some of the main card fights: Flyweight title bout: Barb Honchak (+180) vs Leslie Smith (-260) Fight Prediction: Both women are tough and aggressive. Smith starts strong right off the bat, while Honchak sometimes takes a moment to get going. I feel Smith is going to put the pressure on Honchak, and overwhelm her with strikes en route to a TKO, or a convincing unanimous decision victory. Gabe’s Pick: Leslie Smith by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) Gabe’s Recommended Plays: Leslie Smith (-260) parlayed with Miriam Nakamoto (-230) at -102 5u to win 4.93u, and Leslie Smith (-260) parlayed with Sarah D’Alelio (-245) at -106 1.25u to win 1.18u Bantamweight title bout: Lauren Murphy (+170) vs Miriam Nakamoto (-230) Fight Prediction: Murphy is going to look to take this fight to the mat, where she holds an advantage in the grappling department. She is well-versed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, so should the fight hit the mat, she may be able to lock something up, or use her superior grappling to win rounds. That said, Nakamoto has good takedown defense, and she is incredibly dangerous on the feet. If Murphy decides to, or has no choice but to start trading with Nakamoto, I think it’s only going to be a matter of time until she secures her Knockout of the Night bonus. Gabe’s Pick: Miriam Nakamoto by TKO (2:13, round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Miriam Nakamoto (-230) parlayed with Leslie Smith (-260) at -101.36 5u to win 4.93u, and parlayed with Sarah D’Alelio (-245) at +102 1.25u to win 1.27u Flyweight bout: Vanessa Porto (+170) vs Zoila Frausto Gurgel (-230) Fight Prediction: An intriguing match-up between bantamweights turned flyweights. I think Porto is a lot tougher than Gurgel, and definitely more durable. I don’t see any area where Gurgel outclasses Porto, and can’t justify her being the favorite. I think this could be a close fight, but if anyone is going to win convincingly, I would say it’s Porto. I would have said that Porto finishes Gurgel by armbar or rear naked choke, but after seeing how incredible she looked at the weigh-ins yesterday, I’m no longer confident she will gas like in recent fights. If it goes to the judges’ scorecards, I see Porto doing enough to win it unanimously, but if it ends inside the distance, again, I think it will be Porto who gets the stoppage. Gabe’s Pick: Vanessa Porto by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Vanessa Porto (+170) 1.5u to win 2.55u Welterweight bout: Sarah D’Alelio (-245) vs Tonya Evinger (+175) Fight Prediction: This could be a close first round, and Evinger could even win it, but I think rounds two and three will be all D’Alelio, as I think she has the better conditioning between the two. She is also mentally tougher. If she sees any openings, she will take advantage. I think Evinger will get tired, and eventually quit, giving D’Alelio an avenue to an easy submission finish. Gabe’s Pick: Sarah D’Alelio by Submission (rear naked choke, 2:44, round 2) Gabe’s Recommended Play: As stated above, Sarah D’Alelio parlayed with Miriam Nakamoto 1.25u to win 1.27u and Sarah D’Alelio parlayed with Leslie Smith 1.25u to win 1.18u Strawweight bout: Felice Herrig (-115) vs Tecia Torres (-125) Fight Prediction: Torres only has three professional mixed martial arts bouts under her belt, but she is arguably the biggest challenge Herrig has yet to face. Ferrig is skilled on the feet, and works well inside the clinch. Torres is the superior grappler, but I think she will be able to hang with Herrig on the feet, and possibly get the better of her in some exchanges. Ultimately, I think Torres will use her takedowns and top control to win rounds en route to a decision. Torres has a great chin, and great striking defense. I don’t see Herrig being able to finish, or do enough to win two out of three rounds on the judges’ scorecards. Gabe’s Pick: Tecia Torres by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Plays: Tecia Torres (-125) 8.75u to win 7u
