In the past 18 months, the female flyweight division has developed into one of MMA’s premier women’s weight classes. One of its fastest rising stars, Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak, is currently riding a six-fight winning streak and scored an impressive Unanimous Decision victory at Invicta FC 3.

Honchak has made rapid improvements to her game over the past year and her journey to the top is expected to culminate with her biggest fight to date in 2013. She is tentatively scheduled to face Brazil’s Vanessa Porto for the inaugural Invicta FC Flyweight Championship on the promotion’s fifth card.

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Seventeen-year-old prospect Shino VanHoose returns to the Pancrase ring on November 10th at Pancrase Progress Tour 12 in Tokyo, Japan. The grappling specialist is set to face Sadae “Manhoef” Suzumura in a featured atomweight matchup that was officially announced this past weekend.

VanHoose looks to rebound from her first pro loss in May at the hands of top-ranked atomweight Kikuyo Ishikawa. She had won all three of her fights prior to the setback. Suzumura most recently earned her biggest win to date when she defeated Sachiko “Sachi” Yamamoto at Jewels: “19th Ring.”

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Diana “Dynamite” Rael snapped the first two-fight losing streak of her career with an impressive submission victory on Saturday night at Made For War 1 in Castle Rock, Colorado. Rael handed fellow atomweight prospect Darla “Train Wreck” Harris her first pro loss via second-round rear-naked choke.

Also on Saturday night, Jackson’s MMA representative Emily Kagan made the most of a short-notice opportunity by defeating the previously unbeaten Glena “Heartless” Avila at Dakota FC 13: “Coming Home” in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Kagan earned a Split Decision victory after three rounds.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil tonight for UFC 153: Silva vs Bonnar.” The card featured a non-title light heavyweight bout between UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva and “The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar.

Also tonight, rising star Glover Teixeira looked for his second straight win inside the Octagon when he took on Fabio Maldonado at 205 pounds. Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira battled Dave Herman in a featured heavyweight matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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After twelve planned bouts failed to materialise, Bellator champ Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel at last has an opponent for her long-awaited return to action at Bellator Fighting Championships 78 on October 26th in Dayton, Ohio. Gurgel is expected to face Casey “KO” Noland in a flyweight matchup.

MMARising.com confirmed plans for the fight today following an initial report from MMAWeekly.com. Gurgel has not fought since a March 2011 victory over Karina Hallinan due to a torn ACL. She became Bellator’s first women’s champ in October 2010. Noland looks to rebound from a loss at Bellator 51.

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Jewels stars Mika “Future Princess” Nagano and Rina Tomita will compete in separate bouts at Brace For War 17: “Brace Girls” on October 27th in Southport, Queensland, Australia. Nagano faces Alexandra Chambers in the night’s main event, while Tomita battles Claire Fryer in the co-feature.

Both Japanese fighters were initially added to the all-female card earlier this summer, but Nagano first had to get past newcomer Tomo Maesawa at Jewels: “21st Ring” this past month. Tomita is 1-1 since her return to action after undergoing successful surgery for cervical cancer in March 2011.

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Former friends turned rivals Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig and Michele “Diablita” Gutierrez will face off for a second time at Bellator Fighting Championships 84 on December 14th in Hammond, Indiana. The rematch was officially announced earlier today and will be contested at 115 pounds.

Herrig and Gutierrez first clashed in Gutierrez’s pro debut in November 2009. Herrig prevailed via Unanimous Decision and has won six of her eight bouts since then. Gutierrez is currently looking to rebound from a decision loss to Sarah “KO Kid” Maloy on the inaugural Invicta FC card in late April.

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Serbia’s Sanja Sučević posted her third straight win and second under the Super Fight League banner tonight at SFL 4 in Mumbai, India. Sučević dispatched of Spanish youngster Irene “La Nina” Cabello with a barrage of punches early in the second round of their co-main event matchup.

Sučević made an instant name for herself in mid-March by upsetting the previously unbeaten Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova at Super Fight League’s inaugural event. She has yet to go the distance in any of her professional fights and was dominant throughout tonight’s featured bout with Cabello.

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