Competing for the first time in seven months, Jessica “Jag” Aguilar made a successful return tonight with a Split Decision win over All-American wrestler Carla Esparza at Bellator Fighting Championships 46 in Hollywood, Florida. The victory was Aguilar’s second since losing to Zoila Gurgel last year.
The back-and-forth matchup saw both fighters land numerous leg kicks, and Aguilar held her own in the takedown and wrestling departments. Despite a knockdown early in the final round, Aguilar rallied back to take the fight on two of the three judges’ scorecards. A third scored the bout for Esparza.
After a shoulder injury forced Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos out of a planned Strikeforce bout with fellow striker Paul “Semtex” Daley on July 30th, Daley has received a new opponent for the card. The British knockout artist will now face off against unbeaten prospect Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley.
MMARising.com reports live from the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington for coverage of Strikeforce Challengers 16. The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between rising star Caros “The Future” Fodor and James Terry, with the winner looking to graduate from the Challengers Series.
Former Strikeforce middleweight title challengers “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler and Tim Kennedy will square off in a featured matchup at Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Henderson” on July 30th in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The bout was made official by the promotion in an announcement earlier this afternoon.
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai will receive a second shot at DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis. The Japanese veteran will face Zaromskis in a non-title rematch at DREAM’s upcoming event on July 16th in Tokyo, Japan. The bout was officially announced earlier today.
A concussion in training has forced UK star Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton out of a CWFC Women’s Super Flyweight Championship bout with Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff. The bout, which was to take place at Cage Warriors 43 on July 9th in North London, England, has now been scrapped entirely.
Jessica Aguilar has not had an easy start to 2011. The Bellator standout has encountered fight cancellations, lived through a devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, and now faces financial stresses due to the lack of prominent sponsors that are available for female fighters in MMA today.
Long-time pound-for-pound queen Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii will return to Jewels on July 9th when she faces promotional star Mika “Future Princess” Nagano for the second time. The featured bout will be part of a stacked Jewels: “15th Ring” card at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan.