From the historic headlining bout between Gina “Conviction” Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in Strikeforce to the crowning of tournament champions in Japan, 2009 has been a groundbreaking year for women’s MMA. We honour the past year with the inaugural edition of the MMARising.com Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Awards.

Assembled by a panel of writers, these awards recognise the top fights, fighters and women’s MMA promotions in 2009, as well as the breakout stars and the most impressive knockouts and submissions.

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Representing her adopted home of Japan, Roxanne Modafferi will look to get back on the winning track when she faces Molly “The Maulinator” Helsel at King of the Cage: “Toryumon” on January 30, 2010 in Okinawa, Japan. The fight will be one of many “Japan vs USA” bouts on the impressive card and is expected to be contested at 135 pounds.

Modafferi most recently moved up in weight on very short notice to face old rival Marloes Coenen at Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Rogers” in November, while the battle-tested Helsel has won four of her last six fights.

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Originally thought to be facing fellow Japanese star Kazushi Sakuraba, former Grabaka ace Kazuo Misaki will instead battle knockout king “Marvellous” Melvin Manhoef at K-1 Dynamite!! “Power of Courage 2009” on New Year’s Eve. The event airs live on HDNet.

Reports had previously confirmed that Sakuraba would compete on the card against Misaki, but it is presently unknown whether Sakuraba will still be part of the gigantic Dynamite!! event. Misaki will now face an opponent with a vastly different style when he takes on Manhoef.

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After original opponent Yves Jabouin was forced to withdraw due to an injury, Canadian striker Mark “The Machine” Hominick will face another tough test in his WEC return at WEC 46 on January 10th. Hominick is tentatively set to square off with EliteXC and Strikeforce veteran Bryan “Kid” Caraway in a featured featherweight bout on the card.

Caraway will be making his WEC debut after successful tenures in a variety of promotions in the Pacific Northwest, while Hominick, one of the top technical strikers in the division, looks to pick up his first WEC win.

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With Korean star Dong Hyun Kim sidelined due to injury, welterweight prospect Brian Foster will look to pick up his second straight UFC victory when he takes on battle-tested veteran Chris “Lights Out” Lytle at UFC 110 on February 21, 2010 in Sydney, Australia.

The welterweight bout will be part of the event’s undercard, but it is a pivotal one for both fighters. Lytle has alternated wins and losses in his last six fights and needs an impressive victory, while a win for Foster would establish him as a contender in the stacked division.

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Ending months of speculation, MMARising.com can exclusively report that Strikeforce 135- and 145-pound women’s tournaments are no longer set to take place in early 2010. As the promotion continues to add to its expanding roster, plans for the women’s division have changed.

Instead, the Oklahoma-based Freestyle Cage Fighting promotion will showcase eight of the top 135-pound female fighters in the world in the 2010 FCF Women’s Bantamweight Grand Prix. The three-round tournament begins in Shawnee, Oklahoma at FCF 39 on January 30, 2010.

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Putting weeks of speculation to rest, Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) has officially confirmed a pair of blockbuster DREAM vs Sengoku lightweight bouts for the massive K-1 Dynamite!! “Power of Courage 2009” event on New Year’s Eve.

DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki will battle Sengoku Lightweight Champion Mizuto Hirota, while #1 contenders Tatsuya “Crusher” Kawajiri and Kazunori Yokota will also square off in a featured bout. The event will air live on HDNet in North America.

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In the wake of the explosive “Evolution” card last night, Strikeforce is already planning big things for the year ahead. CEO Scott Coker has addressed many of the fights that the promotion hopes to showcase in 2010, including a pair of interesting “Strikeforce vs DREAM” matchups.

Coker has yet to determine opponents for former NFL Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker and ex-WWE superstar Bobby “The Dominator” Lashley for their January 30th bouts in Sunrise, Florida, but expects to have the event’s main card finalised in the coming weeks.

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