The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 114: “Rampage vs Evans.” The event was headlined by a long-awaited grudge match between bitter rivals and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “Suga” Rashad Evans.

Elsewhere, middleweights Michael “The Count” Bisping and Dan Miller squared off, while Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira faced Jason “The Hitman” Brilz. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the event.

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The White Cage returned tonight as DREAM presented Dream.14 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The eight-fight event was headlined by a non-title welterweight matchup between Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz and Japanese legend Hayato “Mach” Sakurai.

Also on the card, Kazushi “The Gracie Hunter” Sakuraba faced another member of the famed Gracie clan, Ralek, while former DREAM Lightweight Champion Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen battled Hiroyuki “Streetfight Bancho” Takaya. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the event.

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A 120-pound catchweight bout is in the works between the number one pound-for-pound female fighter in the world, Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii, and Sarah “White Tiger” Schneider for Bellator 21 on June 10th. MMARising.com has learned that bout agreements have been distributed and the fight is expected to be formally announced this week.

Schneider, who competes at 135 pounds, will drop down considerably in weight to take on Fujii as the Japanese superstar prepares for the Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament later this year.

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Strikeforce middleweight contenders Tim Kennedy and Trevor Prangley will square off in a featured bout at Strikeforce: “Live” in Los Angeles, California on June 16th. The promotion officially announced the fight today and also confirmed that Bobby “The Dominator” Lashley is injured and will no longer compete against Ron Sparks.

Prangley enters the bout with Kennedy on just three weeks’ notice, while Kennedy will compete for the first time since a late September submission victory against Zak Cummings at Strikeforce Challengers 3.

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A Sengoku Middleweight Championship rematch between Jorge Santiago and Kazuo “The Hitman” Misaki is in the works for Sengoku Raiden Championships 13 on June 20th in Tokyo, Japan. MMAjunkie.com was first to report on the planned bout and at least one fighter has signed on to fight.

Santiago and Misaki first squared off at Sengoku: No Ran 2009 on January 4, 2009 in a bout that saw Santiago come back from the brink of defeat to choke Misaki out in the late stages of the fifth round. Both fighters are 1-1 since then and Santiago recently defeated Mamed “The Cannibal” Khalidov.

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As 145-pound champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos prepares for her next title defence in late June, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker once again discussed his company’s plans for additional women’s title fights and a tournament in an exclusive interview today with MMARising.com.

Confirming that plans for a 145-pound women’s tournament have been put aside for now, Coker set a timetable for the 135-pound bracket, which will go ahead as planned. The tournament will begin “no later than August 15th” and will determine a title challenger in the developing 135-pound division.

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Despite the best efforts of Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has confirmed to MMARising.com that there have been no formal discussions regarding a potential superfight between Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez and Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez.

While Rebney, Melendez and Alvarez have all spoken publicly in favour of the proposed matchup, Coker states that there has been absolutely no dialogue between him and Rebney and that the fight is purely speculatory.

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According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, a showdown between Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem and “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko may be a possibility provided that the stoic Russian can defeat jiu-jitsu ace Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum on June 26th.

Not wanting to look past the June bout, Coker could not confirm that the winner will be guaranteed a title shot, but told MMARising.com that the fight may determine a number one contender. Werdum, a heavy underdog against Emelianenko, already holds a win over Overeem.

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