An atomweight bout between amateur champs Laura Marcusse and Cassie Robb has been added to Invicta Fighting Championships 4, which takes place on January 5th in Kansas City, Kansas. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the matchup with sources close to the negotiations this week.

Both fighters will be making their professional debuts in next month’s fight after capturing amateur titles this year. Marcusse defeated Nadia Nixon for The Blue Corner’s atomweight title in March, while Robb submitted Liliana Orozco for the Kick Down MMA 110-pound women’s title in October.

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In her biggest fight to date, flyweight standout Jessica “Evil” Eye put on the most impressive performance of her career tonight at Bellator Fighting Championships 83 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Eye choked out Bellator champ and bitter rival Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel in 58 seconds.

Eye dropped Gurgel with punches within seconds of the opening bell and quickly secured a standing arm-triangle choke as Gurgel recovered and battled back to her feet. Eye refused to relinquish her grip on the hold and Gurgel was soon rendered unconscious, giving Eye a huge victory.

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Russia’s Julia Berezikova picked up her sixth straight win tonight at Super Fight League 12 in Mumbai, India. Berezikova submitted Spanish rival Karla Benitez in a rematch from a hotly-contested bout in May. Berezikova has won four fights in 13 months and is quickly rising up the female ranks.

In tonight’s SFL 12 rematch, Berezikova erased any lingering doubts about her Split Decision win over Benitez from earlier this year. She held a clear advantage in the striking exchanges early on and eventually trapped a game but outmatched Benitez in a fight-ending armbar early in the second round.

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For the first time in its 19-year history, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to promote a female fight inside the world-famous Octagon. Newly-crowned UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey will face Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche in the main event of UFC 157.

UFC officials announced the historic title bout today. UFC 157 takes place on February 23, 2013 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Rousey remains unbeaten in MMA and is one of the sport’s fastest-rising stars. Carmouche is coming off of back-to-back stoppage wins for Invicta FC.

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Grappling ace Emi Tomimatsu will test her striking skills in a shoot boxing match at Jewels: “22nd Ring” on December 15th in Tokyo. Tomimatsu is set to face Nako Otsuka in one of three additional bouts confirmed for the card today. In a Jewels first, the event will be contested inside a cage.

A pair of mixed martial arts bouts have also been added to the Jewels card. Megumi Yabushita, an MMA pioneer for women in Japan, faces off against American wrestling champion Jade Marie Anderson in a featherweight matchup. Miyoko Kusaka returns to Jewels to face Norway’s Celine Haga.

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A bantamweight bout between Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith and Raquel “Rocky” Pennington has been added to the main card of Invicta Fighting Championships 4 on January 5th in Kansas City, Kansas. The featured matchup was officially announced by the promotion earlier today.

Smith is coming off of an impressive second-round TKO victory over Kaitlin Young in a rematch at Invicta FC 3. She has tasted defeat just once in her past five fights. Pennington defeated Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras in her Invicta FC debut in July and now looks to rebound from a loss in October.

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A planned rematch between Michele “Diablita” Gutierrez and Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig will no longer take place at Bellator Fighting Championships 84 on December 14th in Hammond, Indiana. Gutierrez withdrew from the bout this past weekend and Herrig will instead face “Little” Patricia Vidonic.

MMARising.com confirmed the fight change with multiple sources today following announcements from both fighters on Sunday. The revised bout is also a rematch, as Herrig earned a dominant Unanimous Decision victory over Vidonic at XFC 17 in April. She has won four of her past five fights.

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Erika Kamimura successfully reclaimed the vacant WPMF Women’s Mini Flyweight Championship tonight with a commanding stoppage victory at RISE/M-1MC: “Infinity” in Tokyo, Japan. Kamimura knocked out 16-year-old opponent Loma Lookboonmee, a veteran of 121 fights, in the third round.

In other action on the card, former Shoot Boxing Japan Women’s Flyweight Champion Ai Takahashi rebounded from a loss to Mizuki Inoue in August by stopping Itsuka Yokose under kickboxing rules. Takahashi overwhelmed Yokose with punches in round three to earn an impressive TKO victory.

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