MMA: Young, Sorenson Go Head To Head on August 9 For Invicta Belt

Two Minnesotans go head to head in a title fight showdown on August 9th, 2019 when “The Striking Viking” Kaitlin Young (10-9-1) and Pam “Bam” Sorenson (7-3) battle for Invicta’s vacant featherweight belt. The headlining title fight takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. Local fans will be able to watch the fight live on UFC Fight Pass which begins coverage at 7 P.M. CT.

The 33-year-old Sorenson is no stranger to championship contention according to Invicta Fight

Kaitlin Young, left, and Pam Sorenson, right, met at Canterbury Park in 2016 for a kickboxing match.

Championships who just announced the fight, having previously challenged for Invicta gold againstFelicia Spencer. Young recently returned from four years away from MMA competition and has reeled off three straight wins, including back-to-back stoppages inside the Invicta cage.

Sorenson and Young have shared the ring in a kickboxing match (in 2016) as well as the jiu-jitsu mats in past grappling tournaments. However, this will be the first time they put it all together to compete against each other in MMA. With training gyms just miles apart, the two friends outside of the cage say it will be business as usual once the cage door closes.

“Yes, Pam and I have shared the ring before and we also grappled in a grappling tournament”, said Young when asked about the previous meetings. “I have cornered her corner, and her corner has cornered me in the past. Our two gyms are so close together and are intertwined in a lot of ways. Both of our gyms have competed together in kickboxing, In the same venue and what not so we are very, very familiar with one another. I hope the fans will enjoy a hard-hitting featherweight bout. In addition to that, we are going to be playing chess as well. I wouldn’t say the friendship goes away (when the fight approaches) but it’s sort of irrelevant. I’m not someone who has to be angry to fight someone and Pam isn’t either. It does not require  mental preparation. I have fought friends many times before. The first time was when I was in a National tournament when I was fifteen years old against my closest training partner. So it’s not new for me. The beauty of fighting is that it teaches you how to control your emotions. I’m not expecting this to be different than any other day in the office.”

Sorenson added, “I shared the ring with Kaitlin a few years back in a kickboxing bout. I have grown a lot as a fighter since then and expect she has too. We both come from strong Muay Thai gyms, so I’m expecting an exciting, fast-paced fight. Kaitlin and I are friends, but we had actually discussed the possibility of fighting each other a few weeks before we got the offer from Shannon (Knapp). I know we’ll continue to be friendly before and after the fight. But at the same time, we are both training our asses off to beat one another. Once the cage door shuts, it’s all business.”

Prior to being offered the fight against Young, Sorenson had accepted a spot this coming October in the WAKO K1 Kickboxing World Championships. That is still in her plans but for now, she will be 100% focussed on what’s directly in front of her. Young says that she does not have another fight lined up but will continue to do the matchmaking for Driller Promotions’ upcoming Muay Thai show. Only now, with the help of a teammate.

“In October, I will be fighting in the WAKO K1 World Championships in Bosnia” said Sorenson. “It’s still too soon to know too much about it, but now that kickboxing is recognized by the Olympics as a sport – they’re expecting a good turn out with a lot of solid fighters from around the world. I’m really excited to fight in such a big tournament and get to meet, fight and watch people from all over.”

“I do not have any fights scheduled other than this title fight” said Young. “I am

Pam Sorenson

matchmaking the Mecca, Muay Thai show at The Varsity Theater on August 10th for Driller Promotions. That was put into place long before I thought I would be fighting on August 9th. Fortunately, Nora Schull, who has been fighting and coaching in Muay Thai for a long time is going to be coming on to help me out and help take care of some of the responsibilities so I can focus on this fight, thankfully.”

KAITLIN YOUNG: “I would like to thank my sponsors Zebra Mats and Menacing Valor for making these fight camps possible. For those who don’t know, I do some of my training in Minnesota with my coach Ryan Murray and the Diversiteam at The Academy, also Alphonso Vasquez, and Brian Hollenbech when I get the chance to. When I am in camp, I also typically travel to Fortuna, California at Redwood Muay Thai and work with Kronphet Phetrachapat and Levi Cope in preparation for MMA fights. So it is costly and it wouldn’t be possible without my amazing sponsors. Thanks to them and Mr. Mouthguard who keeps Diversiteam outfitted with great mouth guards.”

PAM SORENSON: “I’d just like to thank everyone for being so supportive. I’ve been through a lot since my last fight, having

kaitlin young

major surgery to have a cantaloupe-sized cyst removed from my abdomen back in January. My surgeon knew continuing to fight was important to me, and took every measure she could to make sure that would happen. My teammates and coaches at The Cellar were all great when I came back to training in March. They took care of me, while still pushing me when it was appropriate. And then both my family and my goon, Tom. I absolutely would not have made it back so quickly without their help and support. That being said, I’m beyond excited to get back in the cage and show what I can do when I’m 100%!”

In the co-main event, former strawweight title challenger Janaisa Morandin (10-2) looks to return to the top of the division as she welcomes veteran Emily Ducote (7-5) to the promotion. The Brazilian Morandin aims to rebound after coming up short against then-champion Virna Jandiroba in her last outing. Oklahoma’s Ducote has spent the majority of her career competing as a flyweight but made a successful return to 115 pounds in February of this year.

Also on the card, Brazilian atomweight Jéssica Delboni (8-1) clashes with New York’s Lindsey VanZandt (6-1), recent Phoenix Rising tournament finalist Kailin Curran (6-7) returns against a yet-to-be-determined strawweight opponent, undefeated wrestling stalwart Stephanie Geltmacher (4-0) collides with Louisiana flyweight Victoria Leonardo (5-1), Michigan’s Alyse Anderson (4-1) takes on undefeated Canadian Anastasia Nikolakakos (3-0) at 105 pounds, and Kansas flyweight Chantel Coates (1-0) looks to build on her record-setting knockout debut when she battles fellow unbeaten Caitlin Sammons (1-0) of Florida.

A quartet of bantamweight newcomers round out the action as Erin Harpe (1-0) faces off with Auttumn Norton (0-0) and Megan Cawley (0-0) meets Julia Ottolino (0-0).

The current Invicta FC 36 fight card can be found below:

Featherweight Title: Pam Sorenson vs. Kaitlin Young
Strawweight: Janaisa Morandin vs. Emily Ducote
Atomweight: Jéssica Delboni vs. Lindsey VanZandt
Strawweight: Kailin Curran vs. TBA
Flyweight: Stephanie Geltmacher vs. Victoria Leonardo
Atomweight: Alyse Anderson vs. Anastasia Nikolakakos
Flyweight: Chantel Coates vs. Caitlin Sammons
Bantamweight: Erin Harpe vs. Auttumn Norton
Bantamweight: Megan Cawley vs. Julia Ottolino

Tickets for Invicta FC 36 are on sale now through Eventbrite.