Open season, wants winner of Honchak-Daly

A win for LaRosa would undeniably set her up to fight for the inaugural Invicta flyweight championship down the road. I don’t know Invicta’s plans for the division but it would only make sense to include LaRosa in the division’s first title bout if she is victorious over Porto because not only is she top ranked but she essentially pioneered women’s MMA.

She is certainly not looking past Porto at all but she is looking ahead to what she believes to be a very bright future and has her eyes set on the next potential opponent.

“Hopefully if I get past [Porto], it will be open season on the 125-lbs division. Come one, come all, come and get me. I’m amped, I want to rock because I tell you what I’m not getting any younger,” LaRosa said.

“If I win this fight with Porto, I want the winner of Aisling Daly-Barb Honchak. I think either of the two would be a great fight to determine a champion”

Fight for acceptance

As much as LaRosa would love to be the first flyweight to hold gold for Invicta, her ultimate goal is the same as it was 10 years ago when she first began her professional career and that is to help further women’s MMA to the masses.

“Honestly, I just want the women’s side of the sport to be accepted and embraced the way the rest of the sport has been. That’s my goal, I want the women to get their due, we’ve come a long way and there are so many talented individuals and I want to see the women get the publicity and the notoriety that they’re due,” LaRosa said.

“If that includes me as well then great but if it doesn’t that’s fine too but the fact that I can say I helped get it there is enough for me. I’ve been a part of a lot of awesome stuff and historical shows and a lot of behind the scenes stuff so I’m happy with where it’s at.”

Career prolonged due to the rise of Invicta

With a career dating back to 2002, LaRosa has seen the women’s side of MMA grow from virtually receiving zero respect to being the rising force that it is today with Strikeforce and Invicta. She could retire today with more accomplishments than most but the desire to fight is still burning strong.

“To be quite honest, even without being on the Invicta show, I could have retired and walked away and said ‘mission accomplished’. This is what I wanted, this is what my dream was and that is to be recognized and for the women’s side of the sport to be taken seriously,” LaRosa said.

“That’s what I’ve been fighting for, to be taken seriously for my skills and abilities and not because of how I look or the things I say or who I’m associated with but for how I perform in that cage.”

Invicta FC 3 takes place this Saturday night and will be streamed live and free on InvictaFC.com.

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