The parent company of Impact Wrestling has acquired an MMA brand as Anthem Sports are the new owners of the all-female Invicta Fighting Championships.
ESPN's Ariel Helwani broke the news Thursday morning. Terms were not disclosed.
Invicta will air on Anthem-owned AXS TV in the U.S. starting in May, moving from UFC Fight Pass where they had been since 2014. In Canada, they will air on the Anthem-owned Fight Network. The first show is scheduled for a Friday, May 21st, but it's unknown whether that will be their regular night going forward and how many events they are planning on holding per year.
The company was founded in 2012 by former UFC and Strikeforce executive Shannon Knapp who will now be part of Anthem's board. Former UFC executives Jaime Pollack and Ant Evans are also both part of the Anthem family.
Invicta alumni include double UFC champion Amanda Nunes; Bellator featherweight champion Cris "Cyborg" Justino; former UFC strawweight champions Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza, former Strikeforce bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen and more.
In addition to Invicta, Impact and Fight Network, Anthem owns HDNet Movies, the Pursuit Channel and GameTV/Game+.
