A 145-pound women’s bout has been added to the upcoming Strikeforce Challengers 13 event in Nashville, Tennessee on January 7, 2011. Recent Strikeforce victor Julia “The Jewel” Budd will face Brazilian standout Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes in a fight with major title implications.

MMARising.com first learned of plans for the featured bout last month and the promotion confirmed the addition late Saturday night. Budd enters the fight after a dominant upset win over the previously unbeaten Shana “Rock Solid” Olsen, while Nunes has won five straight fights by knockout.

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The Ultimate Fighter 12 concluded tonight with the TUF 12 Finale from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was headlined by the season’s lightweight final between Jonathan Brookins and Michael “The Menace” Johnson. The winner received a six-figure contract with the UFC.

Also on the card, TUF 1 veteran “The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar clashed with Igor “The Duke” Pokrajac, while submission ace Demian Maia battled TUF 3 winner Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove in a middleweight bout. MMARising.com has play-by-play for tonight’s TUF 12 Finale event.

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Strikeforce returned to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri tonight for Strikeforce: “Henderson vs Babalu.” The solid card was headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between former PRIDE champ Dan “Hendo” Henderson and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral.

Also on the card, Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith faced Paul “Semtex” Daley in a battle of welterweight strikers, while “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler took on Matt “The Law” Lindland in middleweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for all of the televised fights on the Showtime card.

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Xtreme Fighting Championships returned to HDNet tonight with XFC 13: “Unstoppable” from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. The event was headlined by an XFC Featherweight Championship bout between Jarrod “The Wild Card” Card and challenger Luis “Baboon” Palomino.

Also on the card, heavyweight prospect Chris “Beast Boy” Barnett looked to rebound from his first loss when he faced Mario Rinaldi, while Marianna “The Crushen Russian” Kheyfets took on Marissa “Shorty” Caldwell in a featured women’s bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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A bout between Jewels star Hiroko Yamanaka and 2008 Olympic Bronze Medallist Randi Miller, first planned for August, has been announced for the upcoming Jewels: “Eleventh Ring” card on December 17th. The fight will be contested at 68kg (149.6 pounds) and will be Miller’s pro MMA debut.

Miller withdrew from the planned August bout due to what was first believed to be an injury. Later reports suggested that Miller had felt that she was not yet ready to make her pro debut at the time, but she will now do so against one of Jewels’s top fighters. Yamanaka has won six straight fights.

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Tachi Palace Fights returned tonight with TPF 7: “Deck The Halls” from the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California. The solid event was headlined by a catchweight bout between hard-hitting UFC veteran James “The Sandman” Irvin and Brazil’s Jorge “Van Damme” Oliveira.

Also on the card, top-ranked flyweight Jussier “Formiga” da Silva made his Tachi Palace Fights debut against Danny Martinez, while John “The Natural” Alessio and Phil “The Pain” Collins squared off for the TPF Welterweight Championship. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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A pair of close decisions in November saw Yushin “Thunder” Okami and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson narrowly edge out Nate “The Great” Marquardt and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, respectively. Both Okami and Jackson move closer to the top of their divisions in this month’s rankings.

In women’s action, Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama upset Valkyrie champion Yasuko “Ikuko” Tamada in a non-title bout and assumes the top spot in the strawweight division, while Rin Nakai continues to make inroads at 145. Tara LaRosa remains atop the 125-pound ranks with her win over Takayo Hashi.

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