Invicta FC kicked off its Phoenix Rising Series on Friday night with an action-packed card that saw Brianna Van Buren crowned strawweight champ.
Invicta FC crowned a new strawweight champion Friday night. And it came in a throw-back style, one night tournament at Phoenix Rising 1. Sure, there were a few changes to get in line with modern athletic commissions and the like. Quarter and Semi-final fights were one round affairs. The title fight was a three round deal, making it a total of five rounds or less for finalists.
But it was still a tournament. And in the end, it took less than five rounds for Brianna Van Buren to be crowned the new Invicta FC 115lb champ. She opened the tournament with a first round submission, followed that up with a decision win, then capped off the night by submitting former UFC fighter Kailin Curran in the second round of the main event.
In co-main event action, meanwhile, a fantastic bout between Kay Hansen, still just 19 years old, and promotional newcomer Magdaléna Šormová ended in a split decision in favor of the debuting Czech fighter. However, Hansen nearly pulled off a last minute arm-bar submission once again, and had dominated in the opening round.
Phoenix Rising 1 was certainly a success in terms of action in the cage. It also saw the debut of Jimmy Smith in the broadcast booth for the promotion, which was a welcome return. Smith had been off the air since the end of his UFC contract.
Check out highlights of all the action below, courtesy of Invicta FC!
Invicta FC: Phoenix Rising 1 Results:
Brianna Van Buren def. Kalin Curran by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 3:49 – for the Invicta FC strawweight championship
Magdaléna Šormová def. Kay Hansen by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Kalin Curran def. Sharon Jacobson by unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9) – strawweught tournament semi-final
Brianna Van Buren def. Julianna Lima by unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9) – strawweught tournament semi-final
Alyssa Khran def. Itzel Esquivel by split decision (10-9, 9-10, 10-9) – strawweight tournament reserve bout
Sharon Jacobson def. Amber Brown by unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9) – strawweight tournament quarterfinal
Brianna Van Buren def. Manjit Kolekar by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 3:20 – strawweight tournament quarterfinal
Juliana Lima def. Danielle Taylor by Split Decision (10-9, 9-10, 10-9) – strawweight tournament quarterfinal
Kailin Curran def. Sunna Davidsdottir by Split Decision (10-9, 9-10, 10-9) – strawweight tournament quarterfinal
