MMA Fighting · Nov 19, 2016
Tonya Evinger: Invicta title loss was due to referee’s ‘poor call’
A bizarre circumstance led to one of women's MMA's most dominant champions being dethroned Friday night.
Yana Kunitskaya upset Tonya Evinger by first-round armbar in the main event of Invicta FC 20 in Kansas City to win the promotion's bantamweight title. Kunitskaya was a massive underdog coming in; Evinger had not lost since 2011.
The sequence of events that led to Evinger tapping out was odd. Kunitskaya locked in an armbar and Evinger stood up in an attempt to pull her arm out. In doing that, Evinger stepped on Kunitskaya's face for leverage. Referee Mike England told her to switch positions, though the maneuver is perfectly legal.