Amanda “Powerhouse” Lucas will travel to Japan for her next mixed martial arts bout and she now has an opponent. The adopted daughter of Star Wars creator George Lucas faces Japanese veteran Hikaru Shinohara at DEEP: “55 Impact” on August 26th in Tokyo, Japan, in a bout announced today.

The 30-year-old Lucas has already received considerable attention from major sports media in Japan after her participation on the August card was first announced. She has not competed since late 2009, but her opponent may also experience ring rust as she returns after nearly three years away.

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Former WEC champions Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles have agreed to face off at UFC 139, which is believed to be targeted for November 19th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The UFC announced plans for the bout today. Faber is coming off of a decision loss to Dominick Cruz at UFC 132.

Despite lingering hand issues, Bowles brings momentum into the bout with Faber and has won two straight fights since losing his WEC title to Cruz last March. Faber had looked to capture Cruz’s new UFC title in their rematch earlier this month, but he was unable to defeat Cruz for a second time.

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UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz will make the next defence of his title on free television. Cruz will face Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson at UFC Live 6, which is set for October 1st at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. NBC Sports first reported on the bout today.

Cruz is coming off of a close but Unanimous Decision victory over former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber at UFC 132. With the win, he avenged the lone defeat of his career. Johnson recently earned a razor-thin and contentious Unanimous Decision over Miguel Torres at UFC 130.

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Female standouts Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi and Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly have verbally agreed to square off in a 125-pound bout at BlackEye Promotions 5, which is expected to take place on October 1st in Fletcher, North Carolina. Bout agreements have not yet been distributed.

MMARising.com confirmed plans for the fight with multiple sources earlier today. Daly is coming off of arguably her biggest win to date, in a June upset of Jessica “Evil” Eye for the NAAFS 125-pound women’s title. Modafferi has suffered a pair of razor-thin decision setbacks in bouts earlier this year.

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A women’s bout between Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann and fellow wrestler Tonya Evinger is in the works for Titan Fighting Championship 19 on July 29th in Kansas City, Kansas. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the fight with a source close to the promotion after Evinger announced it.

McMann has won both of her professional mixed martial arts bouts to date in quick fashion after initially struggling to find opponents. She will take a big step up in competition to face Evinger, however, and the fighters will have just over a week to prepare for next Friday’s event, which airs on HDNet.

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Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem will no longer compete in the second round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. Overeem was removed from the tournament today due to what is being officially attributed to a toe injury. He has been replaced by Daniel Cormier.

The semi-finals of the tournament are scheduled for September 10th and Overeem expressed in interviews earlier today that he would not be ready to compete in time. As first reported by Tatame.com, he was then removed from the tournament, but is believed to still be under Strikeforce contract.

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A women’s bout between talented wrestler Michelle Ould and Golden Gloves boxing champion Munah Holland is in the works for Ring of Combat 37 on September 9th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Verbal agreements are in place for the fight, though bout agreements have not yet been signed.

Ould has not fought since suffering an ankle injury in a May 2010 bout with future Bellator champion Zoila Gurgel. She is also booked to compete three weeks earlier in an August 19th bout for MEZ Sports in California. Holland, meanwhile, has won two of her three Ring of Combat fights to date.

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Brazilian striker Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos will welcome top Canadian prospect Jordan “Young Gun” Mein to the Strikeforce cage when the two face off on September 10th. Verbal agreements are now in place for the welterweight matchup, which was announced by the promotion today.

A location and venue have not been announced for the event, but reports suggest that Strikeforce may make its Canadian debut in the province of Ontario for the September 10th card. Santos is coming off of a title fight loss to Nick Diaz, while Mein has won five straight fights and nine of his last ten.

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