UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva makes the next defence of his title against rival Chael Sonnen when the Ultimate Fighting Championship travels to João Havelange Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The rematch, announced today, takes place at UFC 147 on June 23rd.

UFC officials hope to set a new attendance record with the event. The mark to beat of roughly 55,000 fans was set this past April at UFC 129 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. UFC 147 also features a second rematch when Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva battles Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort once again.

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The North American Allied Fight Series returned to Chapparells Community Center in Akron, Ohio tonight for NAAFS: “Midwest Combat Challenge 19.” The amateur fight card was headlined by an all-Ohio welterweight battle between unbeaten prospects Joshua Lasich and Dave Lastafka.

Tonight’s event also featured a total of five women’s bouts. In 120-pound main card action, Rebecca “Trainwrecka” Gruitza faced Ashley Delk, while “Rowdy” Ronda Gale took on Ricardo Almeida understudy Rachel Sazoff at 115. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s NAAFS card.

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Unbeaten Finnish prospect Katja Kankaanpää picked up the biggest victory of her young MMA career tonight in the main event of Botnia Punishment 11 in Seinäjoki, Finland. Kankaanpää defeated final Valkyrie Featherweight Champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi by Unanimous Decision after three rounds.

Kankaanpää looked to have a significant size and strength advantage over her opponent, and she used it to reverse Yamaguchi’s takedowns as the fight progressed. After a dominant second round, Kankaanpää closed out round three with a big takedown en route to the well-earned decision win.

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A planned bout between European prospects Maiju “Mai” Kujala and Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova has been officially scrapped from the Lappeenranta Fight Night 7 card on April 14th in Finland. LFN promoter and matchmaker Jukka Paananen discussed the cancellation with MMARising.com today.

Kujala was forced out of a fight with Julianna Carneiro Lima earlier this month after struggling to make weight. She cited a medical issue as the cause and had planned to be ready to compete against Ovchynnikova, but will instead take time off to recuperate before returning later this year.

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Welterweight standouts Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger and Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann will face off in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale on June 1st in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC officials announced the bout today and the winner could advance on to a 170-pound title fight.

Ellenberger has won six straight fights inside the Octagon since suffering a contentious Split Decision defeat in his September 2009 UFC debut. He has knocked out 17 opponents to date. Kampmann has earned victories in four of his past six bouts and submitted Thiago “Pitbull” Alves on March 3rd.

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Former UFC middleweight title challenger Demian Maia drops down to 170 pounds to face once-beaten South Korean standout Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim at UFC 148: “Cruz vs Faber 3” on July 7th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The featured welterweight bout was announced by UFC officials today.

Also confirmed for the card this week was a light heavyweight trilogy bout between former UFC champions Forrest Griffin and “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz, as well as a middleweight showdown pitting Japanese veteran Riki Fukuda against rising star Constantinos “Costa” Philippou.

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A UFC flyweight tournament rematch between Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall will take place at UFC on FX 3 on June 8th. UFC officials announced the planned matchup on Tuesday. Verbal agreements are in place and the winner moves on to the tournament final.

Johnson and McCall first faced off at UFC on FX 2 earlier this month in Sydney, Australia. After three action-packed rounds, Johnson was awarded a somewhat contentious Majority Decision victory, but the bout was ruled a Majority Draw when a scoring error was identified shortly after the event.

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British standout Michael “The Count” Bisping will face rising middleweight star Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch in one of two bouts officially added to UFC 148: “Cruz vs Faber 3” earlier today. The event is scheduled to take place on July 7th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Also confirmed for the card was a bantamweight showdown between Renan “Barao” Pegado and Jeff “Hellbound” Hougland. Barao is unbeaten in 29 fights dating back to a decision defeat in his April 2005 pro debut. Hougland has won nine straight and most recently earned a victory at UFC 132.

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