One day after Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis was forced to withdraw from his upcoming main event bout with “Suga” Rashad Evans at UFC 133, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz has stepped in to face Evans for a second time. UFC President Dana White announced the news today.
Initial reports and comments from White suggested that another former UFC champion, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, would be rematching Evans on the card. However, Machida opted against taking on the short-notice fight and Ortiz will now enter the bout with less than four weeks to prepare.
A PRIDE rules bout between Kaitlin Young and Elaina “Beef” Maxwell has been added to the newly-rescheduled Colosseo Championship Fighting 6: “Bushido” card on September 3rd in Sangudo, Alberta, Canada. A source close to the negotiations confirmed the fight with MMARising.com today.
The recent string of MMA injuries has claimed another main event, as Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis has been forced out of his UFC 133 headliner against “Suga” Rashad Evans after suffering a knee injury. MMAFighting.com first reported on Davis’s withdrawal from the August card this evening.
A welterweight bout between former two-division UFC champ “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn and final WEC Welterweight Champion “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit is in the works for October. While not set, the tentative fight could take place at UFC 137 on October 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Strikeforce and BodogFIGHT veteran Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm will next compete at Iron Man Championship 10 on July 21st in Salinópolis, Pará, Brazil. She will face Muay Thai champion Valentina Shevchenko, who has competed just twice in MMA and last fought in late September.
Former Shooto and Sengoku champion Hatsu Hioki will make his Octagon debut against George Roop at UFC 137 on October 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The promotion officially announced the bout today. Hioki vacated his Shooto title and began negotiations with the UFC at the end of May.
An eight-woman featherweight tournament will begin on September 11th in Tokyo, Japan to determine the first Jewels Featherweight Queen Champion at 48 kilograms. The tournament, which will conclude on December 17th, was officially announced during Jewels: “15th Ring” in Tokyo tonight.
Leading all-female promotion Jewels showcased its biggest event tonight with Jewels: “15th Ring” at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. The card was headlined by a Jewels vs Valkyrie Special Rules bout between Jewels rep Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka and veteran Yuka “Vale Tudo Queen” Tsuji.