A neck injury has forced welterweight rising star Rory “Ares” MacDonald out of his planned rematch with “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit at UFC 158: “St. Pierre vs Diaz” on March 16th in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Condit will now battle hard-hitting contender Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks.

With Hendricks moved into the fight with Condit, his original opponent on the card, Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger, now welcomes former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nate “The Great” Marquardt back to the UFC. Both 170-pound fights were first reported by MMAjunkie.com on Monday.

Read More…

For the first time in its short history, Invicta Fighting Championships is set to implement random drug testing for the upcoming Invicta FC 5 event on April 5th in Kansas City, Missouri. Testing will be conducted by an independent anti-doping agency in conjunction with the Missouri Office of Athletics.

Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp told MMARising.com on Sunday night that the testing will be used to provide a level playing field for each athlete. Invicta FC 5 competitors were informed of the new policy in late January. Fighters will be tested on a randomly selected basis prior to each event.

Read More…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Wembley Arena in London, England tonight for UFC on Fuel TV 7: “Barao vs McDonald.” The event was headlined by a UFC Interim Bantamweight Championship bout between champ Renan “Barao” Pegado and challenger Michael “Mayday” McDonald.

Also on the card, Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier battled Cub Swanson in a featured featherweight fight. Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate took on unbeaten prospect Jimi “The Poster Boy” Manuwa in a light heavyweight showdown. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC on Fuel TV 7 card.

Read More…

Former Strikeforce champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos has signed on with Invicta Fighting Championships and will face off against Brazilian compatriot Ediane “India” Gomes at Invicta FC 5 on April 5th in Kansas City, Missouri. The matchup was officially announced by the promotion this evening.

Santos was officially released from her Zuffa contract earlier this week and will now look for a fresh start under the Invicta FC banner. Gomes’s original opponent on the Invicta FC 5 card, Julia “The Jewel” Budd, will now face off against Australian grappler Fiona Muxlow. The card features 15 fights.

Read More…

Multi-time boxing champion Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm returns to MMA on February 28th at Bellator 91 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Holm is in talks to face Massachusetts native Katie Merrill in a bantamweight bout on the event’s preliminary card. Bout agreements have not yet been signed.

MMARising.con confirmed plans for the potential fight with sources close to the negotiations following a report from 101.7 The Team on Thursday. Both fighters bring undefeated records into their respective Bellator debuts and each will be competing in mixed martial arts for the first time since 2011.

Read More…

JKS48 Women’s Minimumweight Champion Mio Tsumura puts her unbeaten shoot boxing record on the line against J-Girls Mini Flyweight Champion Momi at Shoot Boxing 2013: Act.1 on February 22nd in Tokyo, Japan. The featured 48-kilogram matchup was officially added to the card today.

Competing on the same card as mentor Rena Kubota, Tsumura captured the JKS48 high school girls’ title on August 25th. The 17-year-old prodigy has won all seven of her shoot boxing matches. Momi won the J-Girls title in November and she brings a wealth of striking experience into the fight.

Read More…

Top atomweight contenders Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc and “Sassy” Cassie Rodish will meet in a featured main card matchup at Invicta Fighting Championships 5 on April 5th in Kansas City, Missouri. Invicta FC officials announced plans for the 105-pound bout earlier today.

Rivera-Calanoc and Rodish are both coming off of impressive victories in their most recent fights. Rivera-Calanoc earned a clear-cut Unanimous Decision win over “South Valley’s Own” Angelica Chavez at Invicta FC 2 in July. Rodish stopped Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto at Invicta FC 4.

Read More…

Undefeated fighters are set to collide on April 5th when Finnish standout Katja “Killer Bunny” Kankaanpää battles Brazilian prospect Juliana “Ju Thai” Carneiro Lima at Invicta Fighting Championships 5 in Kansas City, Missouri. The featured 115-pound bout was announced by the promotion today.

Kankaanpää scored one of her biggest wins to date in December when she defeated NAAFS champion Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly at Cage Warriors 51. Carneiro Lima fought twice in a three-week span in September, winning both bouts to remain unbeaten. She now makes her North American debut.

Read More…