Kanako Murata prevailed in a five-round battle on Friday against Emily Ducote for the Invicta Strawweight Championship.
Going all 25 minutes of the fight, the fighters relied on scorecards to determine a winner. In a split decision, Murata walked away as the new champion (48-47 Murata, 48-47 Ducote & 49-46 Murata).
The championship was vacant before, as previous champion Brianna van Buren had dropped the belt to sign with the UFC.
Murata made her Invicta debut in June, defeating Liana Pirosin via rear naked choke. She had previously fought in JMMA promotions RIZIN, DEEP, Pancrase and Shoot Boxing.
This article is part of a series of coverage called the “JMMA Tracker.” The series keeps track of Japanese MMA fighter’s activities in other promotions around the world.
JackWannan.com 