Fresh off of her victory at Invicta FC 6 this past weekend, Mizuki Inoue has signed on for this year’s Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup 53.5kg tournament on August 3rd in Yoyogi, Japan. The 2012 champion joins Ai Takahashi, Rio Kamikaze and Miyo Yoshida as the fourth tournament participant.

Inoue won the inaugural 53.5kg Girls S-Cup this past August by defeating Takahashi in a six-round war for the title. She has not lost a shoot boxing match since her pro debut in May 2010. Takahashi has won three straight fights since she suffered her second loss to Inoue in last year’s final.

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On Saturday night, top Japanese prospect Mizuki Inoue made a successful North American debut at Invicta Fighting Championships 6 in Kansas City, Missouri. The 18-year-old impressed onlookers with her speed and striking skills en route to a competitive Unanimous Decision win over Bec Hyatt.

Saturday’s bout marked the first time that Inoue had fought more than two rounds in any of her MMA fights. Her coach, Sadanori Yamaguchi, identified stamina as an area for improvement, but was happy with his star student’s performance and hopes that Inoue can face Claudia Gadelha in the future.

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A flyweight battle between Michele “Diablita” Gutierrez and Jordan Nicole “Ninja Princess” Gaza has been added to Dakota Fighting Championships 16: “Fall Brawl 2013” on August 23rd in Fargo, North Dakota. Matchmaker Chris Nelson confirmed the fight with MMARising.com earlier today.

Gutierrez makes her return to the cage for the first time since dropping a Unanimous Decision to Sarah “KO Kid” Maloy at Invicta FC 1. Gaza most recently earned her first pro win in February when she submitted two-time Invicta FC veteran Kathina “Kill Switch” Catron at Xtreme Fight Night 11.

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Grappling specialist Hérica Tibúrcio scored the biggest victory of her career in a featured strawweight tournament semi-final bout on Saturday night at MMA Super Heroes 1 in Louveira, São Paulo, Brazil. Tibúrcio submitted top Brazilian prospect Kinberly Novaes with an armbar late in round three.

In flyweight semi-final fights, both Kalindra Faria and Juliana “Julie” Werner Aguiar advanced on to the tournament final with key wins. Faria submitted Carina “Barbie” Damm in a rematch from September 2009, while Aguiar earned a clear-cut Unanimous Decision victory over Vanessa Melo.

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Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith earned her third Fight of the Night bonus in her flyweight debut tonight at Invicta Fighting Championships 6 in Kansas City, Missouri. Smith scored a Unanimous Decision victory over Brazilian contender Jennifer Maia in an action-packed fight on the main card.

Former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Jessica Penne won Submission of the Night tonight for her first-round rear-naked choke victory over Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc. “The Queen of Mean” Miriam Nakamoto won Knockout of the Night for her stoppage of “Diamond” Duda Yankovich.

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Former Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino added another title to her collection tonight with a dominant win at Invicta Fighting Championships 6 in Kansas City, Missouri. Justino stopped Marloes “Rumina” Coenen in a rematch for the Invicta FC featherweight title.

In tonight’s co-feature, Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha kept her unblemished record intact with a commanding victory over previously unbeaten Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki. Gadelha finished Hamasaki with a series of punches on the ground late in round three of their featured 115-pound fight.

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Invicta Fighting Championships held its sixth all-female event tonight at the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. Invicta FC 6 featured a pivotal featherweight championship rematch between former Strikeforce champions Marloes “Rumina” Coenen and Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino.

Also on tonight’s card, unbeaten standouts Ayaka Hamasaki and Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha faced off in a strawweight title eliminator bout. Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio took on rising star Lauren Taylor at 135 pounds. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the Invicta FC 6 card.

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On just one day’s notice, Kathina “Kill Switch” Catron has stepped in as a last-minute replacement fighter on tomorrow night’s Invicta Fighting Championships 6 card in Kansas City, Missouri. Catron faces Livia “T-Rex” von Plettenberg in a flyweight bout on the preliminary portion of the card.

MMARising.com confirmed the change with the promotion. Von Plettenberg was first set to face Cassie “The Hulk” Robb in a 105-pound bout, but von Plettenberg weighed in at 113 pounds and the fight was scrapped. Catron earned a TKO win over Summer Artherton this past weekend in Omaha.

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