Leslie Smith vs. Raquel Pennington Added To Invicta FC 4

Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith will square off with Raquel “Rocky” Pennington in a women’s MMA bantamweight bout at Invicta FC 4 on Saturday, Jan. 5, the company announced on Monday.

The bout will be featured on the event’s main card.

Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp expressed her excitement about the fight, which pits a heavy-handed striker in Smith against a submission specialist in Pennington.

“Leslie and Raquel have both proven to be ferocious and determined competitors in the Invicta FC cage, so we are excited to be able to match them up against each other and create what should be a barnburner of a fight,” Knapp said in the release.

Smith (4-2-1), a product of the Cesar Gracie Academy, last saw action at Invicta FC 3 in October, where she scored a technical knockout over Kaitlin Young in the second round of their match-up. The bout was a rematch from the company’s inaugural event in April that ended in a draw. Three of Smith’s four wins have come by way of TKO.

Pennington (3-2-1) is looking to get back on the winning side of things after falling to Cat Zigano by rear-naked choke at Invicta FC 3. Prior to the loss, however, she was the winner of two consecutive fights, one of which was a first-round finish of Raquel Pa’aluhi by guillotine choke. Pennington has been very active in competition, fighting five times since turning pro nine months ago.

Invicta FC 4 is headlined by the company’s first-ever world strawweight title fight between Claudia Gadelha (9-0) of Brazil and Carla Esparza (8-2) of Southern California.

Here is the full lineup for the card: