Invicta Fighting Championships will crown its inaugural 115-pound champion when standout wrestler Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza faces BJJ black belt Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha at Invicta Fighting Championships 4. The event takes place on January 5th at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.

MMARising.com has confirmed plans for the title fight with multiple sources close to the negotiations. Esparza was originally expected to face Ayaka Hamasaki on the card, but Hamasaki will instead defend her Jewels title in December. Gadelha remains unbeaten and makes her Invicta FC debut.

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UFC Welterweight Champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre made a successful return from a serious knee injury tonight at UFC 154: “St. Pierre vs Condit” in Montréal, Québec, Canada. St. Pierre held off the challenge of interim UFC champion “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit in the main event.

In tonight’s co-main event, hard-hitting wrestler Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks made a strong case for a UFC welterweight title shot by stopping veteran contender Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann in just 46 seconds. Hendricks has won five straight fights and could be St. Pierre’s next opponent in 2013.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec, Canada tonight for UFC 154: “St. Pierre vs Condit.” The event was headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship unification bout between Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit.

Also on the card, Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann looked to continue his climb back into title contention when he faced rising star Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks in a welterweight bout. Francis “Limitless” Carmont faced “Filthy” Tom Lawlor at 185. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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Following back-to-back wins this year, Shizuka Sugiyama looks for her third victory of 2012 when she faces former Strikeforce title challenger Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi at Jewels: “22nd Ring” on December 15th in Tokyo, Japan. The 130-pound matchup was added to the card today.

Sugiyama returned to Jewels in July after a year-long trip to Australia to study English and jiu-jitsu. She has won three of her past five fights and is now set to take on her toughest opponent to date. Modafferi looks to get herself back on track by earning her first victory under the Jewels banner.

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Jewels stars Mika “Future Princess” Nagano and Rina Tomita will face off in a featured 52kg bout on December 15th at Jewels: “22nd Ring” in Tokyo, Japan. The trilogy fight was officially announced by the promotion today and will serve as Tomita’s retirement bout after a four-year career in MMA.

Also on the card, fast-rising prospect Satomi Takano faces her toughest test to date when she battles former Valkyrie champion Yasuko “Ikuko” Tamada. The December Jewels event will be contested inside a cage for the first time in the promotion’s history and also features the retirement of Naoko Omuro.

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Former UFC title challengers are set to collide on February 2, 2013 when standout wrestler Jon Fitch meets jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia at UFC 156 in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC officials announced plans for the welterweight matchup on Thursday evening. Both fighters are coming off of big wins.

Fitch recently returned to action for the first time in more than nine months at UFC 153 in Brazil and earned a thrilling Unanimous Decision victory over rising star Erick “Indio” Silva. On the same UFC 153 card, Maia dispatched of former contender Rick “The Horror” Story with a first-round neck crank.

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Former Strikeforce and DREAM Heavyweight Champion Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem hopes to return to action to face one-time EliteXC titleholder Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156 on February 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Review Journal first reported the bout on Tuesday.

Overeem’s return will be subject to licensing from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which suspended the Dutch fighter for elevated testosterone levels earlier this year. Overeem is unbeaten in his past 12 fights. Silva has won four of his past six and stopped Travis “Hapa” Browne at UFC on FX 5.

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Veteran wrestler Tonya “Triple Threat” Evinger made a successful flyweight debut on Saturday evening at Fight Hard MMA in St. Charles, Missouri. Evinger scored a Split Decision victory over long-time Brazilian standout Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm in the night’s main event.

Also on the Fight Hard MMA card, Tamikka “Boom Boom” Brents made her long-awaited pro debut and stopped Jessica “Raising Havoc” Halverson. In other action on Saturday night, Sadae “Manhoef” Suzumura submitted teen prospect Shino VanHoose at Pancrase Progress Tour 12 in Tokyo, Japan.

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