Two additional matchups have been announced for the upcoming Jewels: “Twelfth Ring” card on March 11th in Tokyo, Japan. Club Barbarian prospect Sakura Nomura will look to rebound from the first defeat of her career when she welcomes Korean boxer Ji Yun Kim to Jewels in Kim’s MMA debut.
Also confirmed for the card was a kickboxing match between Miku Hayashi and Suzuna Nakamura. The bout will be contested at 115 pounds and is the lone kickboxing contest currently scheduled for the card. Additional updates for “Twelfth Ring” are expected to be announced in the coming days.
A 125-pound women’s bout between divisional standouts Tara LaRosa and Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm is in the works for Shark Fights 14 in just nine days. The matchup, which has been in the making for three years, is expected to serve as the co-main event on the HDNet-televised card.
After weeks of speculation, Strikeforce has confirmed the postponement of the remainder of the opening round of its inaugural Heavyweight Grand Prix. The final two quarterfinal bouts, first set for April 9th, will now take place on June 18th at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
February was another solid month for mixed martial arts, and will likely best be remembered for Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva’s impressive victory over “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce. Emelianenko drops from the top five in the heavyweight division as a result, while Silva climbs up the ranks.