Top Deep Jewels star Shizuka Sugiyama aims to extend her winning streak to three when she faces off against a familiar foe on May 31st at Deep Jewels 8 in Tokyo, Japan. Sugiyama is set to battle undefeated Gladiator women’s champion Ji Yeon Kim in a rematch from November 2013.

The Sugiyama-Kim bout was one of three new fights officially announced for the card today. In other action at Deep Jewels 8, former interim lightweight champion Emi Tomimatsu takes on Ayaka Miura, and veteran contender Misaki Takimoto returns from a three-year hiatus to face Yuko “Amiba” Oya.

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Shoot Boxing Japan Girls-S-Cup Champion Yukari Yamaguchi looks to rebound from the first loss of her pro kickboxing career when she returns to action on March 29th at J-Network: “J-Fight & J-Girls 2015 – 1st” in Tokyo, Japan. The highly-touted 16-year-old faces Midori Kato on the card.

Yamaguchi, the younger training partner of Deep Jewels champion Mizuki Inoue, won the 2014 all-Japan Girls S-Cup in August by defeating “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi and Mio Tsumura in one night to claim the title. Kato kicked off her pro career with a victory on an M-Fight card in early December.

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Gladiator Women’s Flyweight Champion Chihiro Imoto is set to make the first defence of her title on April 26th at Gladiator 84 in Osaka, Japan. The 17-year-old standout kickboxer faces off against unbeaten South Korean challenger Ok Soon Park, who makes her Gladiator debut in the fight.

Imoto announced the title fight earlier this month. She captured the belt in September with a dominant Unanimous Decision victory over Miyu Irie at Gladiator 75. Her opponent on next month’s card, Park, has won all five of her professional fights and plans to leave Gladiator 84 with the title.

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TUF 20 semi-finalist Jessica Penne looks for her second victory inside the Octagon when she returns to action at UFC Fight Night 67 on May 30th in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. The former Invicta FC champion is expected to face off against veteran Brazilian contender Juliana “Ju Thai” de Lima Carneiro.

Combat Press first reported on the targeted matchup today. Penne won her UFC debut in December when she edged out fellow TUF 20 semi-finalist Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos. Lima bounced back from a loss in her first UFC bout by defeating Nina “The Strina” Ansaroff at UFC Fight Night 56.

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Former two-division WIBA boxing champion “Lethal” Lindsay Garbatt kept her unblemished MMA record intact with a quick and emphatic win tonight at Pancrase 265 in Tokyo, Japan. The hard-hitting Canadian overwhelmed Shiori Hori with ground and pound en route to a first-round TKO victory.

The Garbatt-Hori fight was part of the second season of “Fight Xchange,” which follows the lives of Canadian fighters as they train and compete abroad in a foreign country. Garbatt easily dispatched of Hori in the brief bout and picked up an impressive win for Team Canada in the process.

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Veteran Russian contender Julia Berezikova earned one of her biggest wins to date in a featured flyweight bout tonight at XFC International 9 in São Paulo, Brazil. Berezikova entered hostile territory and submitted Brazilian standout Juliana “Julie” Werner with an impressive second-round kneebar.

In the XFCi 9 co-feature, Poliana Botelho picked up her second straight win by knocking out Antonia “Marretinha” Silvaneide da Silva to win the XFC women’s flyweight tournament. In strawweight tournament semi-final bouts, Viviane “Sucuri” Pereira and Vuokko Katainen both earned big wins tonight.

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Undefeated striking sensation Joanna Jędrzejczyk made history tonight by becoming the UFC’s first Polish champion at UFC 185: “Pettis vs dos Anjos” in Dallas, Texas. Jędrzejczyk battered and ultimately stopped Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza to claim the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship.

In addition to capturing UFC title gold, Jędrzejczyk also ascended to the number one spot in the 115-pound women’s division with her dominant win in the UFC 185 co-main event. Elsewhere on the card, Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie picked up a key victory over Larissa Moreira Pacheco.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas tonight for UFC 185: “Pettis vs dos Anjos.” The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and top-ranked challenger Rafael dos Anjos.

In tonight’s co-main event, UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza made her first title defence against Joanna Jędrzejczyk in a much-anticipated bout that determined a new number one at 115 pounds. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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