On Friday, May 3, Invicta Fighting Championships hosted its inaugural Phoenix Rising tournament from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan.
The one-night, eight-woman tournament crowned a new 115-pound champion after undefeated Brazilian Virna Jandiroba vacated the belt to sign with the UFC.
The randomly drawn quarterfinal match-ups pitted former atomweight title challenger Amber Brown against decorated wrestler Sharon Jacobson, India’s Manjit Kolekar met California’s Brianna Van Buren, UFC veterans squared off as Danielle Taylor clashed with Juliana Lima, and Hawaii’s Kailin Curran faced Iceland’s Sunna Davíðsdóttir.
Former title challengers Mizuki Inoue and Janaisa Morandin were both removed from the tournament due to missing weight.
The event streamed on UFC Fight Pass at 8 p.m. ET.
Magdaléna Šormová def. Kay Hansen by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Kailin Curran def. Sharon Jacobson by unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9) – strawweight tournament semifinal
Brianna Van Buren def. Juliana Lima by unanimous decision (10-9, 10-9, 10-9) – strawweight tournament semifinal
Alyssa Krahn def. Itzel Esquivel by split decision (9-10, 10-9, 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 (armbar). Round 1, 3:20 – strawweight tournament quarterfinal
Juliana Lima def. Danielle Taylor by split decision (9-10, 10-9, 10-9) – strawweight tournament quarterfinal
Kailin Curran def. Sunna Davíðsdóttir by split decision (10-9, 9-10, 10-9) – strawweight tournament quarterfinal