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Budd featured on Invicta FC card

Sunshine Coast's Julia Budd is hoping to keep her momentum going as she takes to the MMA ring this Friday night, April 5, at Invicta FC 5 in Kansas City.

Sunshine Coast's Julia Budd is hoping to keep her momentum going as she takes to the MMA ring this Friday night, April 5, at Invicta FC 5 in Kansas City.

Budd (4-2), will square off against Molle Estes (1-1) of Kansas City in a featherweight (145 pound) contest.

Budd had a fantastic 2012, winning both her featherweight fights with Invicta, and she was named the female featherweight fighter of the year at the WMMA Awards presented by the Women's MMA Press Association.

On July 28, 2012, Budd stopped Elina Nilsson at Invicta FC 2 and on Oct. 6, she finished Danielle West at Invicta FC 3.

She said she has been training hard preparing for the April 5 fight. When she spoke with Coast Reporter two weeks ago, Budd was still waiting to see who her opponent would be as Invicta made several changes to the fight card due to injuries.

"I've been training three times a day for months now. Whoever I fight, it doesn't matter, I'll be prepared for no matter what," Budd said. "My goal is to keep winning, keep moving up the rankings in my division and get a shot at a title fight. I never like to look past any fight, but my goal is a title."

Invicta Fighting Champ-ionships is a world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp and sports aficionado Janet Martin, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women's MMA by promoting the best possible matchups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport.

Budd said she is thrilled to be a part of the Invicta promotion.

"It's been awesome. The best female fighters in the world are in this promotion and I'm so happy to be here," she said. "After Strikeforce [her former promotion] a number of us went to Invicta. To be a part of this, all female fight cards, against the best in the world, is just fantastic."

It's already been a huge year for female MMA as the first female fight in UFC was held at UFC 157 on Feb. 23 when women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey defeated Liz Camouche.

Budd said that was a watershed moment for female MMA fighters.

"It was a huge moment and great to see women fighting for the UFC," said Budd. "The UFC said they would never have female fighters, but that all changed. I think it will open up the doors and soon there will be more female divisions. It is certainly something for all female fighters to aspire to and female MMA will just grow stronger and more popular because of that."