Multi-time boxing champion Jessica “The Ragin'” Rakoczy earned the first win for her team during tonight’s fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 18: “Team Rousey vs Team Tate.” Rakoczy knocked out Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi to give fight control to coach “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey.

Led by coach Miesha “Cupcake” Tate, Modafferi got off to an excellent start in her fight with Rakoczy and she dominated the majority of round one on the ground. Rakoczy showcased her striking skills in round two and she finished Modafferi on the mat after dazing her with a powerbomb slam.

Read More…

Former Valkyrie champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi will compete outside of Japan for the second time in her MMA career when she debuts for Pacific Xtreme Combat on October 25th. Yamaguchi has agreed to face “Little” Patricia Vidonic in a strawweight bout at PXC 40 in Mangilao, Guam.

MMARising.com confirmed plans for the bout with PXC CEO E.J. Calvo on Saturday night following announcements from both fighters. Yamaguchi has alternated between victories and competitive defeats in each of her past six fights, while Vidonic has suffered setbacks in five of her past seven bouts.

Read More…

ACCEL champion Chihiro Imoto retained her women’s title with a lopsided Unanimous Decision win this past Monday at ACCEL vol.25 in Kobe, Japan. The 16-year-old sensation picked up her 138th career victory by defeating former karate champion Megumi Igawa in a featured bout on the card.

Imoto became ACCEL’s first female champion in her December pro debut and made the first defence of her new title with a dominant win in May. She was equally impressive in her ACCEL return and remained a step ahead of Igawa in the striking battles en route to a clear-cut win after three rounds.

Read More…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada tonight for UFC 165: “Jones vs Gustafsson.” The card featured a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jon “Bones” Jones and challenger Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson.

In the co-main event, UFC Interim Bantamweight Champion Renan “Barao” Pegado defended against top contender Eddie Wineland. Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub took on Matt Mitrione in a featured heavyweight matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC 165 card.

Read More…

South Korean star Seo Hee Ham defends her Deep Jewels Featherweight Championship for the first time at Deep Jewels 2 on November 4th in Tokyo, Japan. Ham is set to face prospect Sadae “Manhoef” Numata on the card. Deep Jewels officials announced the 106-pound title fight earlier today.

Ham captured what was then known as the Jewels Featherweight Queen Championship in May by defeating Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama on the final Jewels card. Her title carried over to Deep Jewels when the all-female promotion was formed earlier this year. Numata has won four straight fights.

Read More…

Former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate’s team retained control tonight with another key victory during The Ultimate Fighter 18 Episode 3. Team Tate’s Chris Holdsworth submitted UFC champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey’s team member Chris Beal.

Tonight’s win meant that Tate retained control of the fight picks, which are made at the conclusion of each bout. Next week, Team Tate representative Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi takes on former boxing champion Jessica “The Ragin'” Rakoczy in the second women’s quarterfinal fight.

Read More…

Invicta FC Strawweight Champion Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza makes her first title defence at Invicta Fighting Championships 7 on December 7th in Kansas City, Missouri. Esparza is expected to face unbeaten BJJ black belt Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha in a bout that may headline the card.

MMARising.com confirmed event date and location details with Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp today, and plans for the Esparza-Gadelha title tilt with multiple sources close to the negotiations. The fighters were first set to face off at Invicta FC 4, but Gadelha was forced out due to a broken nose.

Read More…

Japanese star Erika Kamimura added another prestigious championship to her impressive collection on Friday night at Rise 95 in Tokyo. Kamimura defeated J-Girls champ Momi by Unanimous Decision to claim the vacant Rise Queen kickboxing title in a bloody and action-packed five-round fight.

In MMA action on Friday night at Legacy Fighting Championship 23 in San Antonio, Texas, atomweight Tessa Simpson picked up a big victory in her first fight since August 2009. Simpson handed prospect Paulina “Firefox” Granados her first career defeat via a one-sided Unanimous Decision.

Read More…