Jewels title contender Kikuyo Ishikawa avenged a past defeat in quick and impressive fashion on Sunday at Pancrase: “Sakaguchi Dojo vs Pancrase” in Okinawa, Japan. Ishikawa stopped Miyoko Kusaka with a right cross in the first round of their atomweight bout. The fighters first faced off in 2010.

On Saturday night in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, Vanessa Guimarães picked up her first professional victory in violent fashion at Striker’s House Cup 25. Guimarães fought off a takedown attempt and knocked out opponent Bruna Paiffer with a devastating knee in the early stages of the opening round.

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Amber “The Apex Predator” Stautzenberger kept her winning streak alive with a close decision victory tonight at Dakota Fighting Championships 15: “Spring Brawl” in Fargo, North Dakota. The strawweight prospect edged out Glena “Heartless” Avila, who stepped into the fight on short notice.

Both women threatened with numerous submission attempts throughout the back-and-forth bout. Avila came on strong at the end of rounds one and two, but her late rallies were not quite enough to sway the cageside judges and Stautzenberger’s dominant final round solidified her win on the scorecards.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to HP Pavilion in San Jose, California tonight for UFC on FOX 7: “Henderson vs Melendez.” The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between “Smooth” Benson Henderson and Strikeforce titleholder Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez.

In tonight’s co-main event, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir battled Strikeforce heavyweight tournament winner Daniel Cormier. Nate Diaz took on ex-Strikeforce champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson in a lightweight matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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Three-time Girls S-Cup champion Rena Kubota made a successful return to competition tonight at Shoot Boxing 2013: Act.2 in Tokyo, Japan. Kubota used a standing rear-naked choke to finish Taiwanese opponent Du Peiling in the third round after dominating much of the 50-kilogram matchup.

Kubota’s protégé, 2012 JKS48 champ Mio Tsumura, advanced on in this year’s JKS48 tournament by defeating Fuka Yoshino. Yuuki Kira narrowly edged out Yusa Tachi to earn her spot in the JKS48 semi-finals, and Lorena “Lady Pitbull” Klijn outpointed Miyo Yoshida in a non-tournament bout.

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Former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Jessica Penne looks to get right back into the title picture when she faces Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc in a main card bout at Invicta Fighting Championships 6 on July 13th in Kansas City, Missouri. The 105-pound fight was announced tonight.

Penne became the first champion in Invicta FC history when she submitted Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama at Invicta FC 3 in October, but she was upset by Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson in her first title defence. Rivera-Calanoc is coming off of a big win over Angelica Chavez at Invicta FC 2.

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Bantamweight contenders Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio and Lauren Taylor will meet in a featured main card matchup at Invicta Fighting Championships 6 on July 13th in Kansas City, Missouri. The D’Alelio-Taylor bout is one of many new fights that were announced for the card earlier this evening.

Also on the Invicta FC 6 main card, unbeaten rising stars Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood and Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha will face off in a strawweight contender’s bout. Calderwood is 2-0 in the Invicta FC cage. Gadelha makes her promotional debut after an injury forced her off of the Invicta FC 4 card.

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A featherweight contender’s bout between Ediane “India” Gomes and Julia “The Jewel” Budd has been rebooked for Invicta Fighting Championships 6 on July 13th in Kansas City, Missouri. The fight, which was first planned for Invicta FC 5 earlier this month, was officially announced tonight.

Also on the Invicta FC 6 card, standout strikers Miriam “The Queen of Mean” Nakamoto and “Diamond” Duda Yankovich will face off in a bantamweight bout. Nakamoto took home Knockout of the Night honours at Invicta FC 5. Yankovich is coming off of a vicious bone-breaking victory in March.

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Three more fights are now official for the Invicta Fighting Championships 6 preliminary card on July 13th in Kansas City, Missouri. Strawweight Ashley “Smashley” Cummins looks to get back on track after suffering her first career defeat when she takes on Jackson’s MMA fighter Emily Kagan.

Featherweight knockout artist Veronica “The Heartbreaker” Rothenhausler returns to action to face off against former amateur champion “Miss” Mollie Estes in another featured preliminary bout. “Fancy” Laura Sanko battles Livia “T-Rex” von Plettenberg in an atomweight fight that opens the card.

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