Three-time Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Champion Rena Kubota earned her ninth straight victory in quick fashion tonight at Shoot Boxing 2014: Act.2 in Tokyo, Japan. Kubota handed 18-year-old South Korean prospect Seo Hee Im her first professional defeat with a first-round standing guillotine choke.

Also tonight, former Shoot Boxing Japan Women’s Flyweight Champion Ai Takahashi made short work of Matsukuma Kikukawa on the preliminary card. Takahashi landed crisp punches early in the opening round and she dropped Kikukawa with a powerful right cross for an emphatic TKO victory.

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Former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman overcame two late opponent changes and earned her first UFC victory tonight at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale in Québec City, Québec, Canada. Kaufman defeated Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith in a bantamweight rematch from Invicta FC 5.

Unlike in the first fight, which Kaufman won via a razor-thin and contentious Split Decision, she was in control of tonight’s rematch from start to finish. Kaufman landed crisp punches throughout the three-round battle and she mixed up her strikes effectively en route to a well-earned decision victory.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Colisée Pepsi in Québec City, Québec, Canada tonight for The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale. The event was headlined by a middleweight matchup between bitter rivals Michael “The Count” Bisping and Tim Kennedy that was scheduled for five rounds.

In the co-feature, TUF coaches Patrick “The Predator” Côté and Kyle “KO” Noke met in a battle between Canada and Australia. Sheldon Westcott took on Elias “The Spartan” Theodorou in the middleweight final and Chad “The Disciple” Laprise faced Olivier Aubin-Mercier in the welterweight final.

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Three additional matchups have been added to the upcoming Deep Jewels 4 card on May 18th in Tokyo, Japan. In a featured kickboxing bout, reigning Deep Jewels Featherweight Champion Seo Hee Ham makes a quick return to action to battle Shoot Boxing JKS48 tournament finalist Yuuki Kira.

Deep Jewels officials also confirmed plans for two MMA bouts on the card. Grappling specialist Ayaka Miura and BJJ purple belt Ella “Power” Wu make their respective pro MMA debuts in an intriguing matchup. Elsewhere, Tomo Maesawa looks to spoil the MMA debut of grappler Brittany Ann Decker.

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Invicta FC strawweight contender Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää returns home for her next bout at Fight Night 10 on May 17th in Lappeenranta, South Karelia, Finland. Kankaanpää meets Ukrainian prospect Alyona Rassohyna in a featured matchup that was announced for the card today.

Kankaanpää most recently engaged in a closely-contested fight with TUF 20 cast member Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood at Invicta FC 7, while Rassohyna has won four straight. Also at Fight Night 10, Vuokko Katainen faces Julia Borisova and Suvi Salmimies makes her pro debut against Yana Lyashko.

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One of MMA’s brightest prospects, Marina “The Supernova From Moldova” Shafir, kicked off her pro career with an impressive win on Saturday night at Lights Out Promotions: “Chaos at the Casino 4” in Inglewood, California. The highly-touted judoka submitted Chandra Engel with a first-round armbar.

Also on Saturday night, undefeated Polish rising star Agnieszka “Kuma” Niedźwiedź secured her sixth professional victory at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 67 in Swansea, Wales. The 19-year-old submitted England’s Gemma Hewitt with a triangle choke in round one of a one-sided bout.

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UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey will make the next defence of her title on July 5th at UFC 175: “Weidman vs Machida” in Las Vegas, Nevada. The unbeaten judoka faces Canadian jiu-jitsu ace Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis in what will likely serve as the co-main event.

UFC President Dana White announced the title fight on Friday night, which ended weeks of speculation regarding a potential matchup between Rousey and former Strikeforce title challenger Gina “Conviction” Carano. Rousey and top contender Davis each picked up victories at UFC 170 in February.

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Three-time Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Champion Rena Kubota has been added to next Friday’s Shoot Boxing 2014: Act.2 event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Kubota is scheduled to face off against 18-year-old South Korean champion Seo Hee Im, who has won all 17 of her fights to date.

Kubota has endured a number of last-minute opponent changes during the past year and her most recent fight, a February bout with Katie Klimansky-Casimir, was scrapped when Casimir encountered immigration issues. Im competes in Japan for the first time after capturing a title in South Korea.

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