WHEN CONOR McGREGOR challenges defending champion Jose Aldo for the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title in July, he might have some extra Fighting Irish company in Las Vegas.
Undefeated mixed martial artist Catherine Costigan, who hails from Limerick, recently signed with Invicta Fighting Championships and is hoping to make her debut for the promotion at Invicta 13 in Vegas on Friday, 10 July — the night before McGregor takes on Aldo in the main event at UFC 189.
“I’m very positive and hoping that they will put me on the card, because with the amount of Irish that will be there that weekend, it would make perfect business sense,” Costigan told Wired FM.
“There’s a lot of Irish who follow me already, so I’d literally be going out with my own home crowd with me, which would be great. The atmosphere alone is going to be amazing and I think Invicta definitely want in on that.”
Invicta FC is an all-female promotion with strong ties to the UFC, and competing in the US will offer Costigan the biggest opportunity of her career, having enhanced her reputation with three consecutive wins for top European promotion Cage Warriors Fighting Championship.
Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino and Barb Honchak are among Invicta’s current champions, while the likes of Carla Esparza, Joanne Calderwood and Ireland’s Aisling Daly have also competed for the promotion in the past.
Costigan fights in the atomweight (105lbs) division and is keen to begin her push for a shot at reigning champion Herica Tiburcio by getting the Irish off to a winning start in Las Vegas on the second weekend in July.
