Following an unsuccessful attempt to reclaim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort will return to the middleweight division to face Michael “The Count” Bisping on January 19, 2013 in Brazil. UFC officials announced plans for the main event bout earlier today.

Belfort moved up to 205 pounds in September to challenge UFC champion Jon “Bones” Jones, but fell victim to a fourth-round keylock. He had won seven of his past eight fights prior to the setback. Bisping has won five of his past six and appears to be one win away from a middleweight title shot.

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Unbeaten Scottish striker Joanne Calderwood will look for her second win under the Invicta FC banner when she takes on popular Australian prospect Bec “Rowdy” Hyatt at Invicta Fighting Championships 4. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the 115-pound bout with the promotion today.

Calderwood earned Knockout of the Night honours in her promotional debut this past month at Invicta FC 3 and is currently one of the fastest-rising new stars in the strawweight division. Hyatt is riding a four-fight winning streak and most recently picked up a 37-second TKO victory just two weeks ago.

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Female fighters once again took centre stage this past month when Invicta Fighting Championships showcased a successful third event in Kansas City, Kansas. Newly-crowned Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Jessica Penne takes over the top spot at 105 pounds in the latest rankings update.

The Invicta FC 3 card yielded a number of other shakeups in the remaining women’s divisions. Brazilian star Vanessa Porto vaults into the flyweight top ten following her commanding victory over Tara LaRosa, while Zoila Gurgel also returns to the 125-pound listings following her win at Bellator 78.

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Fresh off of her win this past weekend, Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel will next face Jessica “Evil” Eye at Bellator Fighting Championships 83 on December 7th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. MMARising.com confirmed the featured flyweight matchup with Bellator officials this afternoon.

Gurgel and Eye were initially in talks to face off at Bellator 78, but a lingering foot injury delayed Eye’s return to the cage and Gurgel instead went on to post a Unanimous Decision win over Casey “KO” Noland. The Ohio-based rivals are now set to clash in five weeks in a pivotal bout for both.

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The inaugural Bantamweight Queen of Pancrase title will be up for grabs on December 1st when unbeaten Japanese standout Rin Nakai faces Danielle “The Honey Badger” West at Pancrase Progress Tour 14 in Tokyo, Japan. Pancrase officials announced plans for the title rematch earlier today.

Nakai and West first battled to a contentious Split Draw in a back-and-forth bout under the Pancrase banner in September 2011. Some observers felt that West had done enough to win the fight and she now looks to settle the score with Nakai by taking the Pancrase title back home to the U.K.

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Australian prospects Alexandra Chambers and Claire Fryer made short work of their Japanese opponents tonight at Brace For War 17: “Brace Girls” in Southport, Queensland, Australia. Chambers needed just 42 seconds to stop Mika “Future Princess” Nagano, while Fryer defeated Rina Tomita.

The two Australia versus Japan bouts headlined tonight’s all-female Brace For War card, which included a total of 11 women’s matchups in multiple weight classes. In addition to the impressive performances from Chambers and Fryer, “Ferocious” Fiona Muxlow picked up her sixth career victory.

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After spending nearly 18 months on the sidelines with a torn ACL, Bellator women’s champion Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel made a successful return to action tonight at Bellator Fighting Championships 78 in Dayton, Ohio. Gurgel earned a Unanimous Decision win over Casey “KO” Noland.

Gurgel got off to a slower start than she had hoped in round one, but began to take control of the fight on the feet and on the ground in the later rounds. She bloodied Noland with a nasty elbow strike from the top in round three that sealed the well-earned decision victory on all three judges’ scorecards.

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Veteran Brazilian contender Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm and rising star Kalindra Carvalho Faria are expected to compete in a rematch at Warriors Fighting Championship 1 on November 14th in São Paulo, Brazil. The promotion officially revealed plans for the matchup this past week.

Damm and Faria first faced off in September 2009. Damm prevailed via second-round corner stoppage and later moved on to a high-profile bouts in the United States. Faria is currently riding a four-fight winning streak and most recently captured the inaugural Pink Fight 121-pound title in March.

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