After overcoming a tough weight cut, Amanda Bobby “ABC” Cooper became the first female finalist with a big victory during tonight’s 11th episode of The Ultimate Fighter 23: “Team Joanna vs Team Claudia.” Cooper submitted teammate Lanchana Green with a first-round rear-naked choke.

Cooper initially weighed in over the strawweight limit, but she managed to shed the final 1.5 pounds in one hour. With the battle against the scale behind her, a motivated Cooper overwhelmed Green on the ground and she secured her spot in the finals by locking on the fight-ending choke.

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Former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Lauren Murphy seeks her second straight UFC victory on July 13th at UFC Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Murphy is expected to face two-division Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Katlyn Chookagian on the card.

Combat Press first reported on plans for the matchup on Monday. Murphy rebounded from a pair of controversial decision losses by stopping Kelly Faszholz at UFC Fight Night 83 in February. Chookagian, who is one of the fastest rising stars in North America, captured two CFFC titles this year.

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Deep Women’s Flyweight Champion “Princess” Satoko Shinashi cruised to another quick and easy victory on Sunday night at Deep: “76 Impact” in Tokyo, Japan. Shinashi finished massively outmatched pro debutant Proof Date early in the first round of a one-sided 97-pound catchweight bout.

Since returning to MMA in October 2014 following a six-year retirement, Shinashi has drawn criticism for facing opponents with little to no pro MMA experience. She continued her streak of finishes by stopping Proof with ground and pound after securing a slick takedown in the opening minute.

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Fresh off of her second-place finish on Dancing With The Stars, popular strawweight star “12 Gauge” Paige VanZant steps back into the Octagon on August 27th at UFC on FOX 21 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. VanZant is set to face “Rowdy” Bec Rawlings in a featured matchup.

VanZant announced the fight today on ESPN SportsCenter. The 22-year-old had her four-fight winning streak snapped in December when she was submitted by “Thug” Rose Namajunas in the UFC Fight Night 80 headliner. Rawlings is coming off of a contentious decision win over Seo Hee Ham.

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Undefeated strawweight rising star Alexa Grasso makes her long-awaited return to action on July 29th at Invicta Fighting Championships 18 in Kansas City, Missouri. Grasso is set to face off against The Ultimate Fighter 23 contestant Jodie Esquibel in the featured 115-pound main event.

Grasso has been sidelined due to injuries and has not fought since scoring her biggest victory to date over Deep Jewels champion Mizuki Inoue at Invicta FC 11, while Esquibel has won back-to-back bouts. In the Invicta FC 18 bantamweight co-feature, Irene Aldana takes on unbeaten Taila Santos.

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Former Deep champion Hisae Watanabe was fortunate to escape with a Majority Draw in a competitive atomweight matchup on Sunday night at Vale Tudo Japan: “VTJ In Osaka” in Osaka, Japan. Watanabe faced off against 19-year-old South Korean prospect Jeong Eun Park in the co-main event.

Sunday’s bout appeared to belong to Park, who kept Watanabe on the defensive with a varied arsenal of kicks and quick punching combinations. Watanabe’s best success came in the form of right hooks, and a brief knockdown late in round one was enough to even the fight on two cards.

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Following a pair of close decision defeats, Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey seeks her first Octagon victory on July 13th at UFC Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Casey is set to battle once-beaten Romanian prospect Cristina “Barbie” Stanciu in strawweight action on the preliminary card.

UFC officials announced the fight this past weekend. Casey came up just short in competitive UFC bouts against Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood and Seo Hee Ham this past year. Stanciu put on a strong showing in her April UFC debut, but dropped a narrow decision to Maryna “The Iron Woman” Moroz.

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Hometown fan favourite Jessica “Evil” Eye faces a must-win situation when she competes in front of a partisan crowd on September 10th at UFC 203: “Miocic vs Overeem” in Cleveland, Ohio. Eye is expected to face off against Bethe “Pitbull” Correia in a bantamweight showdown on the card.

Globo.com first reported on plans for the matchup earlier this month. Eye has dropped three straight fights inside the Octagon including a decision loss to Sara McMann this past month. Former UFC title challenger Correia also seeks redemption after suffering her second consecutive defeat in April.

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