PICTURED: MEGAN ANDERSON (SOURCE: DAVE MANDEL / SHERDOG.COM)

Australia’s Megan Anderson secured her second victory of the year punishing her opponent Amanda Bell in the final seconds of the opening round at Invicta FC 17.

The event took place at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa in California, USA and was broadcast live on UFC Fight Pass.

Anderson and Bell had a stiff test in front of one another, not just because there would be a dangerous opponent standing across them in the cage, but more-so in attempting to put on a show equal or better to both of their last outings. They did not disappoint.

As soon as the bell sounded, Anderson landed a stern jab that stunned Bell and from there on out it was an all-out battle. There was no feeling out process, Anderson outdid Bell in the fast start department and forced Bell to be on the defensive seconds into the contest. Anderson unloaded with all eight limbs after the knockdown but got caught in the crossfire in the process.

Anderson showed her stout chin in her last fight with Amber Leibrock and was put to the test once again against a power puncher in Bell. Bell got a hard shot that momentarily had Anderson on the retreat and Bell capitalised with a well-timed takedown. Anderson’s improved ground game showed up as she was able to survive a back mount and a near rear-naked choke attempt. Anderson managed to get in full guard and land some solid elbows.

As Anderson went to stand up Bell was still persistent with the takedown but she showed tremendous balance in getting up and then proceeded to give Bell a lesson in brutal Muay Thai. Anderson threw anything and everything with great precision and relentless aggression. A head kick followed by some punches and a thudding kick to the body sent Bell crumbling to the mat and the contest was called at the end of the first round.

Anderson improves to 6-2 as a professional while Bell lost her second consecutive fight to drop to 3-4.

The event was headlined by Tonya Evinger who managed to keep her Invicta FC bantamweight title by grinding out Colleen Schneider. Schneider was game and much more competitive than most anticipated but the judges saw Evinger’s more powerful strikes and wrestling as the deciding factors in awarding her the unanimous decision.

In the co-main event Angela Hill secured the Invicta strawweight title only seven fights into her young MMA career. The fight with former champion Livia Renata Souza was competitive but Hill owned almost every exchange on the feet and after a few scary submission attempts from the grappling ace in the opening rounds, Hill used great footwork to land solid blows while evading much of the Brazilian’s strikes.

Results: