History will be made once again on July 16th when the Ultimate Fighting Championship stages its inaugural women’s strawweight bout at UFC Fight Night 45: “Cerrone vs Miller” in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Undefeated BJJ black belt Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha faces Tina “Jelly Bean” Lähdemäki.

FoxSports.com first reported on the 115-pound matchup on Wednesday. Gadelha was twice scheduled to compete for the Invicta FC Strawweight Championship, but injuries and illness forced her out of both planned bouts. Lähdemäki, also unbeaten, has finished three of her five pro opponents.

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Former Invicta FC star Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith looks to pick up her first Octagon victory when she returns to action at UFC Fight Night 45: “Cerrone vs Miller” on July 16th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Smith is set to face off against TUF 18 quarterfinalist Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke.

UFC officials announced the bantamweight bout today. Smith stepped in on short notice to face Sarah Kaufman in a rematch at the TUF Nations Finale in April, but dropped a Unanimous Decision. Duke also seeks redemption after she suffered a decision loss to Bethe “Pitbull” Correia at UFC 172.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico tonight for UFC Fight Night 42: “Henderson vs Khabilov.” The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between former champion “Smooth” Benson Henderson and Rustam “Tiger” Khabilov.

In tonight’s lightweight co-main event, Diego “The Dream” Sanchez returned home to face off against British standout Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson. John “The Magician” Dodson met John Moraga in a flyweight contender’s bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC Fight Night 42 card.

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Polish striking sensation Joanna Jędrzejczyk sent a message to the rest of the women’s flyweight division with a crushing knockout win tonight at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 69: “Super Saturday” in London, England. Jędrzejczyk stopped MMA pioneer Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton in round two.

Jędrzejczyk, a multi-time kickboxing world champ who is one of Europe’s brightest female MMA prospects, stuffed all of Sexton’s takedown attempts and dominated the fight on the feet. Earlier in the night, Kerry “Rocksteady” Hughes stopped Muay Thai striker Amanda Kelly late in the second round.

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Yet another late change has been made to the women’s bantamweight bout at UFC 174: “Johnson vs Bagautinov” on June 14th in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. With Milana Dudieva out, newcomer Elizabeth Phillips has now stepped in to face Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau on the card.

UFC officials announced the latest change on Friday. The card was initially scheduled to feature a bout between Dudieva and Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie, but de Randamie was forced to withdraw with an injury this week. A reason for Dudieva’s removal from the event was not announced.

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“Muay Thai Genius” Saya Ito looks to rebound from the first loss of her pro kickboxing career when she returns to the ring at Muaylok 2014: 2nd on July 13th in Tokyo, Japan. The 15-year-old Ito is set to face off against J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion Momi in a featured matchup on the card.

The bout between Ito and Momi was announced this week. Ito turned pro in April following a 93-fight amateur career and picked up a five-round decision victory. Both Ito and Momi now look to get back on the winning track after dropping close decisions to top-level opponents in their most recent fights.

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With Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie sidelined due to an injury, Russian standout Milana Dudieva has received a new opponent for her fight at UFC 174: “Johnson vs Bagautinov” on June 14th in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Dudieva now battles Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau.

News of the change was first reported by MMAnytt.se this past week and officially confirmed on Monday. Létourneau rebounded from a loss in the TUF 18 elimination round by stopping Jordan Moore on May 16th. Dudieva brings a two-fight winning streak into her long-awaited Octagon debut.

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Newly-crowned UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw shook up the MMA landscape with a huge victory on May 24th at UFC 173 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dillashaw stopped Renan “Barao” do Nascimento Mota Pegado in the championship main event and now claims the top spot at 135 pounds.

Elsewhere in May, Bantamweight Queen of Pancrase Rin Nakai continued her climb up the 135-pound women’s rankings with a dominant Unanimous Decision victory over Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio, and strawweight Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää scored an impressive submission win in Finland.

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