Budd TKOs Coenen for inaugural Bellator 145-pound women's title

Julia Budd finally has herself a major MMA championship.

The 33-year-old became the first Bellator women's champion at 145 pounds Friday by finishing veteran Marloes Coenen via TKO at the 2:42 mark of Round 4 in Bellator 174's main event.

After stints with Strikeforce and Invicta FC, the Canadian claimed a title belt in her 12th professional bout. She improved to 4-0 in the Bellator cage and 10-2 overall.

Coenen announced her retirement to the Thackerville, Okla., crowd following the loss, closing a career that spanned 31 fights over 16 years.

The size and strength of Budd was evident throughout as she easily scored takedowns and slams on Coenen, who stayed in the fight by working for submissions while on her back. As the bout continued, Budd was able to improve her position and search for submissions of her own while also attacking with ground-and-pound.

In the fourth round, Budd again took Coenen down and advanced to full mount, where she rained down punches on a turtled-up Coenen. Though none of the blows looked to be too damaging, referee John McCarthy waved the fight off when it became clear that Coenen couldn't escape her predicament.

Budd is now the second women's champion in Bellator's eight-year history. The only other female titleholder was Zoila Gurgel, who won a 115-pound title back in 2010. Gurgel never defended the belt and it was vacated and retired three years later.