Bantamweight Queen of Pancrase Rin Nakai returns to action to face off against arguably her toughest opponent to date on May 11th at Pancrase 258 in Tokyo, Japan. The undefeated champion is set to battle Invicta FC contender Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio in a non-title bout on the card.

D’Alelio first announced her participation in the fight earlier this week and Pancrase officials confirmed plans for the matchup on Thursday. Nakai became the inaugural Bantamweight Queen of Pancrase in late 2012 and she most recently defeated Tara LaRosa at Pancrase 252 in September.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates today for UFC Fight Night 39: “Nogueira vs Nelson.” The event was headlined by a heavyweight bout between jiu-jitsu specialists Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and Roy “Big Country” Nelson.

Also on the card, Clay “The Carpenter” Guida took on Tatsuya “Crusher” Kawajiri in a featherweight fight. John “Doomsday” Howard battled Ryan LaFlare in welterweight action and Ramsey Nijem faced Beneil Dariush in a lightweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the main card.

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A dislocated thumb has forced Amanda “Lioness” Nunes out of her short-notice fight with Sarah Kaufman at The Ultimate Fighter: “Nations” Finale on April 16th in Québec City, Québec, Canada. Kaufman will now square off against Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith in a rematch from one year ago.

UFC officials announced the change this evening. Smith and Kaufman first met at Invicta FC 5 this past April when Kaufman prevailed via a razor-thin and contentious Split Decision. She was set to face Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler in eight days, but now battles Smith for a second time.

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After dropping both of her fights in 2013, Russian standout Milana Dudieva continued her climb back towards bantamweight contendership with her second victory of the year on Sunday night at ProFC 53 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Dudieva submitted 19-year-old newcomer Daria Chibisova.

Dudieva appeared to be one win away from securing a UFC contract before losses to Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade and Pannie “Banzai” Kianzad halted her momentum. On Sunday, Dudieva took the fight with Chibisova to the mat and she used ground and pound to set up a fight-ending heel hook.

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Deep Jewels Featherweight Champion Seo Hee Ham fought at home for the first time in her MMA career and scored an impressive victory tonight at Road Fighting Championship Korea 3: “Nations Fight: Korea vs Brazil.” The skilled striker outpointed teen prospect Shino VanHoose at 105 pounds.

Ham dominated most of round one by mounting VanHoose and landing hard punches that set up a rear-naked choke attempt. VanHoose defended well and threatened with submissions of her own as the fight progressed, but Ham maintained top position and was rewarded with a well-deserved win.

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Unbeaten Jungle Fight Women’s Bantamweight Champion Larissa Moreira Pacheco retained her title with a slick submission victory tonight at Jungle Fight 68 in Pacaembu, São Paulo, Brazil. The 19-year-old forced Lizianne “Uga Uga” Silveira da Conceição to tap out to a third-round triangle choke.

Despite having just two professional fights on her record, Silveira proved to be a formidable challenger for Pacheco tonight and she landed some hard shots on the feet and on the ground. Pacheco stayed calm and countered a sweep in round three by trapping Silveira in the fight-ending triangle.

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Decorated boxing champ Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm captured her first MMA title with another highlight-reel win tonight at Legacy Fighting Championship 30 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Holm stopped Juliana Werner to claim the Legacy FC Women’s Bantamweight Championship.

Werner showed her resolve throughout tonight’s championship fight as she weathered a storm of kicks and punches from Holm, who held a clear lead on the scorecards after 20 minutes. In the fifth round, Holm landed a vicious head kick and she followed up with ground and pound for the TKO victory.

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With Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler sidelined due to a training injury, former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman has received a new opponent for The Ultimate Fighter: “Nations” Finale on April 16th in Québec City, Québec, Canada. Kaufman now faces Amanda “Lioness” Nunes.

Globo and Tatame first reported on the fight change today. Baszler was forced out of the planned rematch with Kaufman this week. Nunes was originally booked to face unbeaten Octagon newcomer Alexis Dufresne at UFC on FOX 11 on April 19th. Dufresne now remains without an opponent.

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