Irish fighters were the stars of the night at Invicta FC 52 in Denver yesterday (March 15) with both Danni McCormack and Shauna Bannon winning against their respective opponents, McCormack with a stunning comeback from a brutal first round and Bannon dominating throughout.
Irish MMA fighter Danni McCormack (7-2-0) gave herself a spectacular birthday gift when she defeated Valesca Machado (12-4-0) to claim the strawweight title at Invicta FC 52. She is the first Irish woman to be an Invicta world champion.
The Roscommon native, now 33, won the title in what was only her second fight with Invicta; she fought previously in Bellator.
Brazilian Machado put up an impressive first defense of her title, and especially in the first round McCormack's odds looked slim, as she was knocked down twice and had her nose broken. But the determined fighter managed to hold on and dominated in later rounds for an ultimate unanimous victory (49-46, 48-47, 48-47).
In a post-fight interview, a bloodied McCormack was obviously elated: "I spent my whole life trying to prove something to myself, that I was good enough, and look at me now! Ireland wake up because you have a new world champion, and she's the first ever Irish world champion and her name is Danni McCormack."
"You know I have a bad habit of getting dropped in the first round, but luckily I'm used to that and I got back to my corner and I so had the bit between my teeth then...put me down in the first round and you ain't gonna win another."
She then emotionally thanked her husband and family for their support and belief in her, dedicating the belt to her mother ahead of Mother's Day this weekend.
McCormack may soon face another Irish challenger for the belt in Shauna Bannon, 29, who extended her unbeaten professional record to 5-0 at the same event in a win over Finnish Minna Grusander by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27.) Thanks in good part to her powerful left kick she showed superiority over her opponent in every round.
In her post-fight interview Bannon called for a shot at the title before thanking her mother and wishing a happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there.
