According to a Jan. 19 report from MMA Junkie, the UFC made a surprise announcement revealing that light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and Gegard Mousasi (33-3-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will headline an Apr. 6 event at Stockholm's Ericsson Globe Arena.
Apr. 6 also happens to the date that Invicta FC officials targeted for their next event.
Invicta FC 5 is set to take place on Apr. 6 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif., on the same night that Fuel TV will air the Gustafsson vs Mousasi card.
It will be the first time that Invicta FC will be holding an event on the same night as the UFC, so Invicta FC 5 will serve as a nice indicator of how many UFC fans are also supporters of women's MMA.
Invicta FC cards typically draw 200,000 views or more from their online streams, but they haven't yet been forced to square off against the top MMA promotion in the world.
Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp doesn't seem concerned by the head-to-head matchup.
"Yep, I knew the announcement was coming," Knapp said of the Apr. 6 UFC card in Sweden. "There is room for all of us."
Invicta FC 5 was originally slated for Apr. 13, but promotion officials changed the date because they hoped to avoid a conflict of interest with the UFC.
The UFC has "The Ultimate Fighter Finale: Team Jones vs Team Sonnen" penciled in for Apr. 13, so Invicta FC clearly did not want to go head-to-head against that show.
Invicta FC 5 official fight announcements include Vanessa Porto (15-5) vs Barb Honchak (7-2) for the inaugural Invicta FC flyweight title, and an atomweight title bout between Jessica Penne (10-1) and Michelle Waterson (10-3).
Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp said Invicta FC fans can also expect to see the return of Invicta vets Bec Hyatt (4-2), Rose Namajunas (1-0) and Veronica Rothenhausler (1-0), as well as the promotional debut of ex-Strikeforce champ Sarah Kaufman (15-2).
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