Strikeforce tournament veteran Maiju “Mai” Kujala looks for her third straight victory when she takes on unbeaten Brazilian Juliana “Thai” Carneiro Lima at Revolution Fighting Champion 1 on March 9th. The targeted matchup, which Kujala announced earlier today, will take place in Beirut, Lebanon.

Despite a number of bout cancellations due to injuries, Kujala earned a pair of first-round stoppage wins in 2011 after fighting five times in the year prior. Carneiro Lima has fought exclusively for Brazil Fight in her home country, where she has picked up decision victories in each of her three pro bouts.

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Jewels prospect Mizuki Inoue will compete in her third shoot boxing match when she faces current Shoot Boxing Japan Women’s Flyweight Champion Ai Takahashi on February 5th in Tokyo, Japan. The bout was confirmed on Wednesday and will be part of Shoot Boxing 2012: “Road To S-Cup, Act.1.”

Inoue most recently challenged Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki in a non-title bout in October, but suffered her first MMA defeat in a competitive bout. She now returns to shoot boxing for the first time since May to face Takahashi, who defeated Rena Kubota for the vacant SB title in June.

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Mere hours after losing his original opponent for UFC on FOX 2, Demian Maia has received a new one. The submission specialist faces standout wrestler Chris Weidman in a featured middleweight matchup on the card, which is set to take place on January 28th in Chicago, Illinois.

UFC President Dana White announced the change earlier today. Maia had originally been scheduled to face Michael “The Count” Bisping on the card, but Bisping stepped in for an injured Mark Munoz to face Chael Sonnen. The undefeated Weidman takes a big step up in competition on short notice.

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For only the second time to date, women will headline a major Strikeforce card when Miesha “Takedown” Tate defends her bantamweight title against “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey on March 3rd in Columbus, Ohio. The pair will face off in the main event of the newly-dubbed Strikeforce: “Tate vs Rousey.”

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed the news with MMARising.com today. Tate became the third Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion by submitting Marloes “Rumina” Coenen in late July. Rousey has yet to taste defeat in seven MMA bouts, but has not yet fought at 135 pounds.

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An untimely arm injury has forced Mark Munoz out of his upcoming bout with Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2 on January 28th in Chicago, Illinois. Sonnen will now face off against Michael “The Count” Bisping on the card. UFC President Dana White announced the change on Twitter today.

The revised fight between Sonnen and Bisping will serve as a number one contender’s bout, with the winner moving on to challenge Anderson “The Spider” Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship. Bisping’s original opponent, Demian Maia, now awaits a replacement foe for the event.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil tonight for UFC 142: “Aldo vs Mendes.” The card featured a UFC Featherweight Championship matchup between champion José “Scarface” Aldo and unbeaten challenger Chad “Money” Mendes.

In the night’s co-main event, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort faced Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in a bout that was changed to a catchweight after Johnson came in well above the 185-pound middleweight limit. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 142.

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Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña and Lauren “All-In” Taylor are in talks to face off in a battle of unbeaten prospects at Fitetime Entertainment: “Arctic Combat 12” on February 18th in Fairbanks, Alaska. Promoter David Knight confirmed plans for the matchup with MMARising.com today.

Peña returned to the cage after a two-year injury hiatus in December and stopped Canadian Rachael Swatez in impressive fashion. Taylor, who holds a pair of women’s titles in her home state of Alaska, has defeated all four of her pro opponents to date via a form of knockout; one in just 17 seconds.

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Rising star Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson will compete in front of his hometown crowd when he faces Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 2 on April 15th in Stockholm, Sweden. UFC officials announced the light heavyweight headliner earlier today.

Also confirmed for the card is a bantamweight bout between British standout Brad “One Punch” Pickett and fellow former WEC contender Damacio “The Angel of Death” Page. Both fighters will look to rebound from setbacks in their Octagon debuts this past year when they face off in Sweden.

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