Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion Ayaka Hamasaki will make her first title defence against a familiar foe at Jewels: “17th Ring” on December 17th in Tokyo, Japan. Hamasaki will battle kickboxing ace Seo Hee Ham in a rematch from the pair’s hotly-contested tournament final last year.

Also announced was a bout between final Valkyrie Featherweight Champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi and Jewels postergirl Mika “Future Princess” Nagano. Another former Valkyrie champion, Yasuko “Ikuko” Tamada, will also be in action at 17th Ring when she takes on Sachiko “Sachi” Yamamoto.

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Less than two months before she will compete in the finals of the inaugural Jewels Under-15 kickboxing tournament, 12-year-old “Muay Thai Genius” Saya Ito added another title to her résumé this past weekend. Ito outlasted five others in a one-day competition at Top Run 2 in Osaka, Japan.

After receiving a bye into the semi-finals, Ito posted back-to-back decision victories to become Top Run Queen at 45 kilograms. Ito began training in kickboxing at the age of four and has now won over 60 times in her amateur career. She will compete again at Jewels: “17th Ring” on December 17th.

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Fan favourite Jessica “Evil” Eye will return to her roots in the North American Allied Fight Series when she takes on Jennifer “Superstar” Scott at NAAFS: “Night of Champions 2011” on November 23rd in Canton, Ohio. The bout was announced by the promotion today and takes place at 125 pounds.

Eye is coming off of a well-earned decision victory in her Bellator Fighting Championships debut last month and has tasted defeat just one time as a professional. Scott opened her career with a pair of victories and she now looks to rebound from her first professional setback in April of this year.

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North American Allied Fight Series champion Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly will defend her 125-pound women’s title against Kelly Warren next month, but the bout takes place later than first planned. Daly and Warren face off at NAAFS: “Night of Champions 2011” on November 23rd in Canton, Ohio.

Daly, who captured the title by defeating Ohio favourite Jessica “Evil” Eye in June, had expected to face Warren at “Eve of Destruction 2” on November 19th, but that card has now been rebooked for December 17th. Daly has won three of her last four fights. Warren is unbeaten in three pro bouts.

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Finnish standout Maiju “Mai” Kujala and once-beaten Spanish prospect Karla Benitez will face off at Cage 17: “Northern Storm” on November 5th in Oulu, Finland. The 55kg matchup, which was originally scheduled to take place at Cage 16 earlier this month, was announced by Kujala today.

Kujala was forced to withdraw from the Cage 16 fight and Benitez went on to face another Finnish opponent, Katja Kankaanpää. Benitez suffered her first career loss in the fight. She now replaces Kujala’s original opponent, Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova, and will look to get back on the winning track.

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A women’s bout between MMA veteran Megumi Yabushita and fellow pro wrestler Kyoko Kimura has been added to Pancrase Impressive Tour 11 on November 12th in Tokyo, Japan. The bout was officially announced by the promotion today and will serve as Kimura’s mixed martial arts debut.

Yabushita will compete in a Pancrase ring for the first time in her 14-year MMA career when she faces Kimura, but she will bring a huge experience edge into the fight. Kimura has been involved with pro wrestling since her teens and will look for an upset victory in her first foray into MMA.

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Xtreme Fighting Championships returned after a ten-month hiatus tonight at XFC 14: “Resurrection” from the UCF Arena in Orlando, Florida. The event was headlined by a 160-pound catchweight bout as former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie “C-4” Varner squared off against “Ladies Love” Nate Jolly.

In the co-main event, UFC veteran Carmelo “The Fury” Marrero faced Scott “The Bear” Barrett in a heavyweight bout, while unbeaten prospect Marianna “The Crushen Russian” Kheyfets battled Molly “The Maulinator” Helsel at 125 pounds. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s card.

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Bellator women’s champ Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel has suffered a significant setback and will be out of action until next year. Gurgel tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee and has been forced to withdraw from a planned bout with Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm at Bellator 57.

Gurgel announced the news earlier today and stated that she expects to undergo surgery soon after an MRI confirmed the severity of the ACL tear. The injury often requires a lengthy recovery time for fighters and Gurgel will likely be sidelined until mid-2012. Damm may still compete on the card.

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