Top-ranked bantamweight veterans Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler and Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis will face off in a rematch at Invicta Fighting Championships 4 in January. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the bout on Thursday evening following an initial report from MMAWeekly.com.

Baszler eked out a close but Unanimous Decision victory over Davis when the fighters first faced each other in March 2010. Both women are coming off of impressive submission victories in their most recent bouts for Invicta FC and the winner of the rematch may compete for an Invicta FC title next year.

Read More…

Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey will reportedly make history next year by competing in the UFC’s first female fight. According to a report from TMZ.com on Thursday, Rousey has signed with the promotion and will be recognised as its first women’s champion.

TMZ further reported that the upcoming Strikeforce event on January 12th, which features three title fights, will be the final Strikeforce show before the promotion closes its doors. Along with Rousey, former Strikeforce champion Miesha “Takedown” Tate has also reportedly signed on with the UFC.

Read More…

UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson will make the first defence of his new title against TUF 14 winner John “The Magician” Dodson in the main event of UFC on FOX 6 on January 26th in Chicago, Illinois. UFC officials announced the matchup on Tuesday evening.

Also confirmed for the card is a lightweight contender’s bout between former WEC champ Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and long-time contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. A light heavyweight battle between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Glover Teixeira may also take place at UFC on FOX 6.

Read More…

DEEP Women’s Open-Weight Champion Amanda “Powerhouse” Lucas will return to action on December 8th at DEEP: “Cage Impact 2012 In Tokyo” at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan. Lucas faces pro wrestling veteran Yuiga in a non-title fight on the card. The bout was officially announced today.

Lucas captured the inaugural open-weight championship in February with a third-round submission victory over the returning Yumiko Hotta. She has won all three of her bouts under the DEEP banner. Smackgirl veteran Yuiga will compete in mixed martial arts for the first time in more than five years.

Read More…

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.

Read More…

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.

Read More…

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.

Read More…

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.

Read More…