INVICTA FC 46 Main Event Preview: Rodriguez vs. Torquato II

Flyweight Championship At Stake in INVICTA FC 46 Main Event Wednesday Night

INVICTA FC 46 (Wednesday, 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on the INVICTA FC YouTube channel) will feature a six-fight card, highlighted by a battle for supremacy at 125 lbs. in the INVICTA FC 46 main event.

Incumbent champion Karina Rodriguez (9-4 MMA, 5-2 INVICTA FC) will defend her flyweight strap for the first time as she takes on challenger Daiana Torquato (10-4 MMA, 0-1 INVICTA FC) in a rematch for the 125-lb. strap this Wednesday night.

As with all championship fights in MMA, the INVICTA FC 46 main event will be a maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round.

A Late Change Brings Torquato in For INVICTA FC 46 Main Event Rematch

Initially, the adversary for Karina Rodriguez was to have been Ketlen Souza (11-3 MMA, INVICTA FC debut) but on Saturday, just four days prior to the INVICTA FC 46 main event, the pairing changed.

Due to undisclosed reasons, Souza withdrew from Wednesday night’s card, and Daiana Torquato, who was originally booked to fight during the INVICTA FC 46 co-main event against Milana Dudieva (12-8 MMA, 1-3 INVICTA FC) was rebooked to fight here to set up the rematch.

Verdict MMA Teams with INVICTA FC For Wednesday’s Card

A universal storyline for all six INVICTA FC 46 fights on Wednesday evening, not just the INVICTA FC 46 main event, is the promotion’s new partnership, as INVICTA FC has teamed up with Verdict MMA to permit you, the viewer, to actively score the fights as they happen.

In revealing the news, INVICTA FC President and CEO Shannon Knapp said the following:

“I’m excited for INVICTA FC to work with Verdict MMA. It’s a great opportunity for our fans to engage in scoring alongside our open scoring with the Kansas Athletic Commission.“

INVICTA FC 46 Main Event Fighter Comparison

Turning the attention back to the INVICTA FC 46 main event, champion Karina Rodriguez stands taller at 5-foot-7, compared to the 5-foot-5 frame of Daiana Torquato.

Additionally, Karina Rodriguez owns a 1.3-inch reach advantage (67 inches even to 65.7 inches) over Daiana Torquato heading into the INVICTA FC 46 main event on Wednesday night.

The Last Meeting

Previously, Karina Rodriguez and Daiana Torquato fought last May in the INVICTA on AXS TV main event for the then-vacant INVICTA FC Flyweight Championship in a fight won via unanimous decision by Torquato after five rounds of action.

In so doing, Rodriguez scored the Fight of the Night award that evening.

After her victory, the champ was interviewed by Megan Anderson on the AXS TV broadcast.

“This is an amazing moment,” Rodriguez began. “I am very emotional right now, because I want this belt so much, for me, for my teammates, for my coaches, for Mexico because we were waiting to bring the first INVICTA belt to our country, so I’m very happy, and I’m very thankful for this title fight.”

Karina Rodriguez Primed to Make First Defense of Flyweight Championship in INVICTA FC 46 Main Event

Champion Karina Rodriguez enters the INVICTA FC 46 main event on Wednesday night sporting a 3-2 record in her last five MMA appearances, including a unanimous decision victory against current Bellator MMA fighter DeAnna Bennett in 2019 during INVICTA FC 35.

A key storyline for the Rodriguez camp heading into the INVICTA FC 46 main event this Wednesday night is going to be how well their fighter has been able to adjust given the change of opponent on four days’ notice.

If Rodriguez struggles out of the gate in the INVICTA FC 46 main event, she’ll be in serious trouble.

Daiana Torquato Steps in on Four Days’ Notice for INVICTA FC 46 Main Event

In the other corner, Daiana Torquato has gone 4-1 in her last five professional MMA bouts ahead of the INVICTA FC 46 main event, including a split decision victory against UFC alum Sarah Frota in October of 2020 during Respect MMA 1’s headlining bout.

Torquato’s key, aside from having to deal with an opponent change on a few days’ notice for the INVICTA FC 46 main event on Wednesday night, is shaking off any and all ring rust she might have.

She hasn’t competed in an MMA fight in roughly nine and a half months prior to Wednesday night, so if Torquato gets out to a slow start in this fight, it could be a long 25 minutes of action.

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

Stylistically, the INVICTA FC 46 main event on Wednesday seems to favor Daiana Torquato, who owns black belts in Muay-Thai and kickboxing and a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Comparatively, Karina Rodriguez owns a blue belt in in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and also has a balanced background, having previously honed her skills in jiu-jitsu and boxing.

Look For Rodriguez to Land Knockdowns to Set Up a Knockout

One aspect of Karina Rodriguez’s fight game that stands out on film is her ability to score a knockdown to get the momentum in her column in a hurry, as seen during her first INVICTA FC fight versus Barbara Acioly almost five years ago.

Inside the first minute of the three-round fight’s opening stanza, Karina Rodriguez scored with a vicious right-handed punch to knock Acioly down.

From there, she immediately went to work, landing ground and pound shots and grappled with her in order to gain top position, landing more ground and pound shots to try and soften her up for a possible submission attempt, moving to a back clinch and scoring another takedown to try and keep her guessing.

Rodriguez quickly switched from back mount to top mount and landed a final burst of ground and pound shots on Acioly– forcing the referee to intervene.

If Karina Rodriguez is able to knock Daiana Torquato down as little as once with a right-handed punch, it could be the opening she needs to score a victory in the INVICTA FC 46 main event.

Look For Daiana Torquato to Wear Karina Rodriguez Down

In the other corner, Daiana Torquato could try to take the momentum away from Karina Rodriguez in the INVICTA FC 46 main event by slowing and wearing her down, as she did against Arielle Souza in 2017.

During the second round of a scheduled three, Souza attempted to shoot for a takedown before it was quickly reversed by Torquato, who then landed a flurry of body kicks inside the clinch– with Souza attempting to stall the action before the clinch was broken by the referee.

Torquato just went right back to the clinch and landed more kicks to Souza’s body before knocking her down and landing a kick to her while she was downed.

From the restart of the fight, Torquato just continued teeing away at Souza throughout the rest of the second round, and although Souza covered up to block punches, she took way too much abuse in the period, forcing the fight doctor to call off the bout for her safety.

If Daiana Torquato is able to slow down Karina Rodriguez, the INVICTA FC 46 main event will be a wrap.

Final Thoughts

Wednesday night MMA is truly a rarity, so you might as well check out INVICTA FC 46.

It’s the only game in town, after all– plus, this looks like an appealing fight in the INVICTA FC 46 main event.

Prediction: Daiana Torquato by Unanimous Decision.

---

Follow me on Twitter at @DrewZuhosky to see my latest work. Follow us on social media at @OTHeroicsMMA to stay tuned in with our content! Please visit our web page to keep up with everything MMA!

Featured image credit to Invicta FC