An injury in training has forced former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz out of a main event bout with Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira at UFC Fight Night 24 on March 26th. Nogueira will remain on the card and is now slated to face unbeaten prospect Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis.

News of Ortiz’s withdrawal from the card was announced by UFC President Dana White this evening, and MMAjunkie.com subsequently reported that Ortiz suffered a bad cut from an accidental headbutt during training. Davis will now step into the biggest fight of his career when he meets Nogueira.

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Two featured matchups have been added to the upcoming UFC 130 card on May 28th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will take on Matt “The Hammer” Hamill, while Thiago “Pitbull” Alves squares off with Ricky “The Horror” Story.

The event will be headlined by a third meeting between Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and Gray “The Bully” Maynard for the UFC Lightweight Championship. The pair’s second bout ended in a Split Draw on January 1st, and Maynard was awarded with an immediate rematch for Edgar’s title as a result.

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After a solid card last Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Strikeforce came to the Cedar Park Center near Austin, Texas tonight for Strikeforce Challengers 14. The event was headlined by an incredible lightweight battle between Pat “Bam Bam” Healy and Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm.

In the night’s co-main event, former WEC title challenger Carlo “Neo” Prater made short work of Bryan Travers by choking the Californian unconscious with an anaconda choke in a mere 38 seconds. Meanwhile, Ryan Couture earned the second win of his pro career when he defeated Lee Higgins.

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Tachi Palace Fights returned tonight with their eighth event, “All or Nothing,” at the Tachi Palace Resort and Casino in Lemoore, California. The card was headlined by a TPF Middleweight Championship bout between champion Leopoldo Serao and experienced UFC veteran David “The Crow” Loiseau.

In the co-main event, TPF Flyweight Champion “Useless” Ulysses Gomez defended his title against Darrell “The Mongoose” Montague, while the top flyweight in the world, Jussier “Formiga” da Silva, faced Ian McCall in a battle of contenders. MMARising.com has full results for the card.

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Rising female star and Bellator tournament veteran Jessica “Jag” Aguilar has found an opponent for her upcoming fight at G-Force Fights: “Bad Blood 5” on February 26th in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Aguilar will battle England’s Simona Soukupova, who has yet to taste defeat in her pro career.

Competing in last year’s Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament, Aguilar suffered a controversial decision loss to eventual champion Zoila Frausto in the semi-finals, but bounced back with a quick victory for G-Force Fights in November. Soukupova most recently stopped Celine Haga in England.

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Four more fights have been added to the upcoming Jewels: “Twelfth Ring” card on March 11th in Tokyo, Japan. The main event will feature a non-title matchup between Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion Ayaka Hamasaki and recent Bellator 115-pound tournament participant Lisa Ward.

An opponent was also announced for Jewels postergirl Shizuka Sugiyama, who will be in action for the final time before taking one year off to study in Australia. Sugiyama will face veteran journeywoman Mayumi “Super Benkei” Aoki. Former Jewels mainstay Rina Tomita will also compete on the card.

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Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez will make the first defence of his title against challenger Pat Curran at Bellator Fighting Championships 39 on April 2nd in Uncasville, Connecticut. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney first confirmed plans for the title fight with MMAFighting.com earlier today.

Alvarez first captured the title on June 19, 2009 when he won the inaugural Bellator lightweight tournament. He has won three times since, but has yet to defend his title. Curran earned his shot at the belt with a razor-thin victory over Toby Imada last June, but was later sidelined with a shoulder injury.

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Strikeforce came to the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey tonight for the start of its much-anticipated Heavyweight Grand Prix at Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Silva.” The event was headlined by a quarterfinal bout between “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

In a second quarterfinal matchup, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski clashed with Sergei Kharitonov. A trio of reserve bouts were also contested on the card featuring top heavyweight prospects and tough veterans. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the event.

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