Finland’s Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää picked up another big win tonight at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 51 in Dublin, Ireland. Kankaanpää stayed unbeaten with a Unanimous Decision win over hometown standout Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly in a featured 120-pound catchweight bout.

Kankaanpää has put together a solid run in 2012 with impressive wins over Daly and final Valkyrie Featherweight Champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi, and a Split Draw with English prospect Simona Soukupova. The Cage Warriors 51 bout tonight marked Kankaanpää’s first fight outside of her home country.

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It wasn’t the knockout that she had hoped for, but former Strikeforce champ Marloes “Rumina” Coenen scored an impressive win tonight at DREAM.18: “Special NYE 2012” in Saitama, Japan. Coenen submitted late-replacement opponent Fiona Muxlow with an armbar in the latter half of round one.

Coenen held a clear advantage in the striking exchanges early in the fight and she landed knees after taking Muxlow down. Muxlow was able to sweep into top position, but Coenen worked for a series of submissions until she was able to secure the fight-ending armbar to earn her 21st career victory.

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Leading Japanese promotion DREAM staged its annual New Year’s Eve event tonight at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. DREAM.18: “Special NYE 2012” was headlined by a featherweight bout between veteran Tatsuya “Crusher” Kawajiri and former UFC competitor Michihiro Omigawa.

Also on the card, DREAM Featherweight Champion Hiroyuki “Streetfight Bancho” Takaya battled Georgi “Insane” Karakhanyan in a non-title bout. DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki faced Antonio “Mandingo” McKee. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the event.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 155: “Dos Santos vs Velasquez 2.” The event features a UFC Heavyweight Championship rematch between Junior “Cigano” dos Santos and former titleholder Cain Velasquez.

Also on the card, Jim Miller took on fellow contender Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon in a lightweight bout. Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch faced Constantinos “Costa” Philippou and Yushin “Thunder” Okami battled Alan “The Talent” Belcher in a middleweight rematch. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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After Claudia Gadelha withdrew from the Invicta Fighting Championships 4 main event this morning, Australia’s Bec “Rowdy” Hyatt has stepped in on short notice to face Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza for the Invicta FC Strawweight Championship. MMAWeekly.com first reported the change.

Hyatt was previously scheduled to face Joanne Calderwood in a featured bout on the January 5th card, but accepted the fight with Esparza after other potential opponents turned it down. Calderwood will remain on the card and is now set to face off against Austrian striker Livia “T-Rex” von Plettenberg.

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Unbeaten BJJ black belt Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha has withdrawn from her main event title bout against Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza at Invicta Fighting Championships 4. Gadelha announced today that she had suffered a broken nose in training and would be unable to compete on the card.

Gadelha and Esparza were scheduled to face off for the inaugural Invicta FC Strawweight Championship at the event, which takes place on January 5th in Kansas City, Kansas. The promotion has not yet scrapped the title fight entirely and a search is currently underway for a replacement fighter.

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Former Strikeforce women’s champ Marloes “Rumina” Coenen will compete in Japan for the first time in more than five years when she faces off against Australian grappling specialist Fiona Muxlow at DREAM.18: “Special NYE 2012.” The event takes place on December 31st in Saitama, Japan.

DREAM officials confirmed plans for the Coenen-Muxlow featherweight bout today. Coenen is coming off of a successful debut for Invicta FC in April and has won three of her past four fights. Muxlow is on a three-fight winning streak and most recently earned a Unanimous Decision victory in October.

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Following a stellar 151-fight amateur career, 15-year-old Chihiro Imoto made a successful pro kickboxing debut tonight at ACCEL vol.22 in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. Imoto earned a Majority Decision victory over Michi Nakamura after three rounds to claim the vacant ACCEL women’s championship.

Imoto, already one of Japan’s most decorated female kickboxers, captured numerous titles during her amateur career and opted to make the move to the professional ranks after earning victory number 132 earlier this year. She will likely make a quick return to action for her second pro bout in 2013.

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