Less than one week after Hitomi Akano announced her retirement from MMA, another former Smackgirl champ has also called it a career. Hiroko “Cat’s Eye” Yamanaka, who captured the Smackgirl open-weight title in 2007, confirmed her retirement this morning after seven years in the sport.

Yamanaka began contemplating her retirement following a January decision loss to Ediane Gomes at Invicta FC 4 that resulted in a concussion. Like her former rival Akano, Yamanaka also took time to consider her next move before ultimately deciding to step away from MMA as an active competitor.

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Knockout artist Amanda “The Lioness” Nunes made a triumphant return to her home country tonight at UFC 163: “Aldo vs Korean Zombie” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 25-year-old kicked off her UFC career with a first-round TKO victory over fellow bantamweight Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff.

Nunes found herself in some early danger when Gaff took her back and threatened with a rear-naked choke, but she scrambled free and began to take control of the fight from top position. A barrage of hard punches and elbows dazed Gaff and referee Herb Dean intervened to stop the brief bout.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its return to HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil tonight for UFC 163: “Aldo vs Korean Zombie.” The event was headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship bout between current champ José “Scarface” Aldo and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.

Also on the card tonight, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida took on fast-rising star Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis in the co-main event. Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira faced Thiago “Marreta” Santos in middleweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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Top Japanese prospect Mizuki Inoue captured her second straight Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5-kilogram title tonight at the 2013 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Japan Midsummer Festival in Tokyo. Inoue defeated rival Ai Takahashi for a third time in tonight’s tournament championship final.

Another teen prospect also captured her second straight title on tonight’s card. Mio Tsumura outlasted two opponents to become this year’s Shoot Boxing JKS48 high school girls’ tournament champion. Tsumura’s mentor, three-time Girls S-Cup winner Rena Kubota, was also victorious tonight.

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The 2013 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 tournament took place tonight at Yamano Hall in the Yoyogi district of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Tonight’s three-round tournament field included 2012 champion Mizuki Inoue, 2012 finalist Ai Takahashi and six more of Asia’s premier female shoot boxers.

Elsewhere tonight, three-time Girls S-Cup champion Rena Kubota took on Lorena “Lady Pitbull” Klijn in a non-tournament bout. The card also featured the semi-finals and final of the 2013 JKS48 high school girls’ tournament, which included Kubota’s top protégé, 2012 JKS48 winner Mio Tsumura.

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Former Smackgirl Middleweight Champion Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano has officially retired from mixed martial arts. The 39-year-old announced the news on her blog on Thursday morning. She leaves the sport following a successful career that dates back to her professional debut in late 2004.

Akano took a full year to think about her decision before ultimately opting to retire. The judoka was one of Japan’s most successful female mixed martial artists to date. Of Akano’s 18 victories, 14 came via submission, and she scored key wins over some of MMA’s top female fighters during her career.

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Former Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino reclaimed the top spot at 145 pounds with another commanding win at Invicta Fighting Championships 6 on July 13th. Justino stopped Marloes “Rumina” Coenen to capture the inaugural Invicta FC featherweight title.

In other female fights this past month, Lauren Taylor continued her climb up the bantamweight rankings with a Unanimous Decision win over Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio at Invicta FC 6, and Amber “The Bully” Brown cracked the atomweight top five by upsetting Kikuyo Ishikawa at Pancrase 250.

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All quarterfinal bouts in the second annual Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5 tournament are now set for this Saturday night at the 2013 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup Japan Midsummer Festival in Tokyo. In Block A, Rio Kamikaze takes on Matsukuma Kikukawa and Ai Takahashi faces Wei-Ting Chen.

2012 champ Mizuki Inoue, who won the inaugural 53.5kg Girls S-Cup one year ago, returns to defend her crown on Saturday. Inoue faces “Jet” Izumi Noguchi in one of two Block B quarterfinals. Miyo Yoshida battles the only woman to have defeated Inoue in shoot boxing, Kanako Oka, in the other.

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