One of the most underrated champions in MMA fights again this weekend, and she’ll look to make it eight wins in a row when she does so. If you don’t know who I am referring to, I don’t blame you, as both Invicta and the UFC, which broadcasts the women’s MMA promotion’s events, have done a poor job promoting Saturday night’s Invicta FC 9 event. But if are a fan of women’s MMA, then you for sure know who I am talking about.
I am of course referring to Barb Honchak, the Invicta FC flyweight champion and one of the most underrated champions in the sport. Honchak, a 35-year-old American fighting out of the Miletich Fighting Systems camp, takes on Takayo Hashi in the main event of Invicta FC 9, and Honchak’s flyweight championship will be on the line when the two meet in the cage.
Honchak, who is 9-2 in her MMA career, won the inaugural flyweight belt last year with a decision win over Vanessa Porto at Invicta FC 5 and has defended it once since, a Fight of the Night decision win over current UFC fighter Leslie Smith at Invicta FC 7. With the promotion holding only one event since then, Honchak hasn’t had the opportunity to fight since last December, but I expect her to look better than ever this weekend as I think she will have improved quite a bit during her time off.
All told, Honchak has won seven fights in a row, including four straight wins in Invicta FC. Her list of victims includes current UFC fighters Leslie Smith, Nina Ansaroff, Felice Herrig and Aisling Daly, plus former UFC fighter Roxanne Modafferi. Her only career losses came to current UFC women’s bantamweight #1 contender Cat Zingano and current TUF participant Angela Magana. Other than those losses, which both came in 2010, Honchak has been unstoppable.
With an aggressive wrestling attack, a solid ground game, and great cardio, Honchak is a handful for anyone at 125 lbs in the world. Obviously the women’s flyweight division isn’t the deepest women’s weight class out there (which is why it’s not a part of the UFC — at least not just yet), but Honchak is a giant among her peers and deserves credit as a very solid world champion fighter.
Unfortunately for Honchak, Invicta has done a poor job of promoting her, and not enough fans or media have recognized her talents. But those who have paid attention to her know she’s a great fighter and, even at 35 years of age, seems to be getting better every time we see her in the cage. Consider that in her last fight she won nearly every round against Smith, who recently knocked out Jessamyn Duke in the UFC. Honchak is a good, talented fighter, and deserves more credit than she’s getting.
Invicta has built its ninth event, which airs on UFC Fight Pass, all around Honchak, and hopefully with the added bonus of fighting on a UFC platform — and therefore presumably having more eyes on her – she will get the attention she deserves.
Because she could become the Ronda Rousey of women’s 125 lbs, meaning the reason the UFC brings her weight class into the fold. We’ll see about that just yet, but for now let’s enjoy her performances and see what she does when she takes on a tough veteran in Hashi this weekend, in what should be a decent main event on Fight Pass.
• Barb Honchak vs. Takayo Hashi
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
**********
Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi takes place on November 1, 2014 at RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa.
Click the stars to rate how good you think Invicta FC 9 will be.
