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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Four-time amateur champ Amanda Bobby Cooper makes her long-awaited pro debut on November 15th at North American Fighting Championship: “Unrivaled” in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Cooper will face flyweight prospect Heather Bassett, who scored an impressive victory two weeks ago.

MMARising.com confirmed details of the fight and event with NAFC officials on Thursday. Cooper has won four straight fights and she has finished her opponents in all eight victories to date. Bassett followed up on a stellar amateur run of her own by winning her professional debut this past month.

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The quarterfinal round of The Ultimate Fighter 18: “Team Rousey vs Team Tate” kicked off with a significant upset tonight. In a battle between each team’s first picks, Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña secured a big win for Team Tate by submitting Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler.

Peña held her own on the ground against the submission specialist in the opening round and she appeared to be the fresher fighter heading into the second stanza. After scoring a takedown, Peña transitioned to Baszler’s back and locked on a rear-naked choke that forced the veteran to submit.

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One of MMA’s most accomplished female fighters, Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii, now has an opponent for her retirement fight at Vale Tudo Japan 3rd on October 5th in Tokyo. Fujii will conclude her storied career when she takes on former Bellator rival Jessica “Jag” Aguilar in a rematch on the card.

VTJ officials announced the matchup today. Fujii, who opened her career with 22 straight victories, announced plans for her retirement in June. She most recently defeated “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi at VTJ 1st in December. Her opponent, Aguilar, has won six straight and defeated Fujii in May 2012.

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