UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey will make the next defence of her title on July 5th at UFC 175: “Weidman vs Machida” in Las Vegas, Nevada. The unbeaten judoka faces Canadian jiu-jitsu ace Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis in what will likely serve as the co-main event.

UFC President Dana White announced the title fight on Friday night, which ended weeks of speculation regarding a potential matchup between Rousey and former Strikeforce title challenger Gina “Conviction” Carano. Rousey and top contender Davis each picked up victories at UFC 170 in February.

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Three-time Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Champion Rena Kubota has been added to next Friday’s Shoot Boxing 2014: Act.2 event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Kubota is scheduled to face off against 18-year-old South Korean champion Seo Hee Im, who has won all 17 of her fights to date.

Kubota has endured a number of last-minute opponent changes during the past year and her most recent fight, a February bout with Katie Klimansky-Casimir, was scrapped when Casimir encountered immigration issues. Im competes in Japan for the first time after capturing a title in South Korea.

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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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