After an illness forced her out of a planned bout in May, strawweight Nina “The Strina” Ansaroff returns to the Octagon on January 2, 2016 at UFC 195: “Lawler vs Condit” in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ansaroff faces off against TUF 20 member Justine Kish, who also returns following a lengthy hiatus.

The Ansaroff-Kish bout was initially reported on UFC Tonight, and the date and location were subsequently clarified by the UFC’s Thomas Gerbasi. Ansaroff was pulled from the UFC 187 card on mere hours’ notice due to influenza. Kish sustained a knee injury during TUF 20 and did not compete.

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Four-time Girls S-Cup winner and reigning Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Champion Rena Kubota is set to make her long-awaited MMA debut next month during the Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix in Saitama, Japan. Kubota battles fellow kickboxer and MMA debutant Jleana Valentino in a 51kg bout.

Rizin officials announced the matchup today. Kubota most recently captured Shoot Boxing’s women’s flyweight world title in August by stopping Kane Chopirom at the 2015 Girls S-Cup. Italy’s Valentino is a formidable striker who seeks to upset one of Japan’s biggest female stars next month.

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TUF 18 winner Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña entered the UFC women’s bantamweight title picture with her biggest victory to date on October 3rd at UFC 192: “Cormier vs Gustafsson” in Houston, Texas. Peña defeated Jessica “Evil” Eye and vaulted up the 135-pound women’s ranks.

In the UFC 192 main event, light heavyweight champ Daniel “D.C.” Cormier retained his title with a hard-fought decision victory over Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson. Ryan “Darth” Bader spoiled the long-awaited return of former 205-pound champion “Suga” Rashad Evans in the co-feature.

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An injury has forced Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood out of her main event bout at UFC Fight Night 80 on December 10th in Las Vegas, Nevada. In her place, TUF 20 finalist “Thug” Rose Namajunas has now stepped in to face popular rising star “12 Gauge” Paige VanZant in the strawweight headliner.

UFC officials announced the updated bout earlier today. Specific details of Calderwood’s injury were not disclosed. Namajunas most recently earned her first official UFC victory earlier this month at UFC 192. VanZant, one of the UFC’s top stars, has earned three straight victories inside the Octagon.

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Irish star Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly scored one of the biggest victories of her career in front of her hometown fans tonight at UFC Fight Night 76: “Holohan vs Smolka” in Dublin, Leinster, Ireland. Daly defeated Brazilian grappling specialist Ericka Almeida in a featured strawweight bout.

Daly was very aggressive throughout tonight’s fight and she kept Almeida on the defensive. Almeida had her best success in the second round when she threatened with a rear-naked choke, but Daly came on strong again in the final round and she was rewarded with a well-deserved decision victory.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to 3Arena in Dublin, Leinster, Ireland tonight for UFC Fight Night 76: Holohan vs Smolka.” The injury-riddled card was headlined by a flyweight bout between hometown star Patrick “The Hooligan” Holohan and Louis “Da Last Samurai” Smolka.

In tonight’s lightweight co-main event, “Stormin'” Norman Parke took on the returning Reza “Mad Dog” Madadi. Darren Till faced Nicolas “Sharpshooter” Dalby at 170 pounds and Neil “2Tap” Seery squared off against Jon “The Heat” delos Reyes. MMARising.com has play-by-play for the main card.

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Veteran flyweight contender Julia Berezikova earned a dominant TKO win in front of a partisan crowd tonight at Eurasia Fight Nights: Saint Petersburg in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The popular Berezikova stopped Brazilian standout Rosy Duarte with punches and knees in the second round.

Tonight’s win was Berezikova’s second in a row since returning to MMA in March following a two-year hiatus. Earlier on tonight’s EFN card, Anastasia Yankova kept her perfect pro record intact with a first-round submission win over Thailand’s Chommanee Sor Taehiran in featured flyweight action.

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Reigning Deep Women’s Flyweight Champion “Princess” Satoko Shinashi earned her sixth straight stoppage win on Saturday night at Deep: “73 Impact” in Tokyo, Japan. The diminutive grappler submitted South Korean pro debutant Hee Da Choi in a back-and-forth 44kg matchup on the card.

Shinashi has drawn criticism for taking on inexperienced opponents since returning to the ring this past October following a six-year retirement. Her bout with Choi was more competitive than many had predicted, but Shinashi secured a fight-ending rear-naked choke midway through the second round.

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