A concussion sustained in training has forced Elaina “Beef” Maxwell out of her bout with Julia “The Jewel” Budd at Invicta Fighting Championships 3 on October 6th in Kansas City, Kansas. U.K.-based veteran Danielle “The Honey Badger” West has stepped in to face Budd on the main card.

MMARising.com confirmed the change with sources close to the promotion today. West, who is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, will compete in her home country for the first time in her nine-year MMA career. Budd looks for her second straight victory after scoring a big win at Invicta FC 2 in July.

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Stephanie “The Shark” Gonzalez and Jillian “Justice” Lybarger will settle unfinished business from earlier this year when they face off at Tuff-N-Uff: “Feastibrawl” on November 21st in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the 125-pound bout with the promotion on Wednesday.

Gonzalez was twice set to challenge for Lybarger’s 115-pound title this year, but both bouts were scrapped when Lybarger was unable to make weight. Also targeted for the November card is a rematch between new 125-pound champ Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey and Rachael “The Panther” Cummins.

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After a planned Strikeforce bout was scrapped earlier this week, Cat “Alpha” Zingano has stepped in on short notice to face Raquel “Rocky” Pennington at Invicta Fighting Championships 3 on October 6th in Kansas City, Kansas. Zingano replaces an injured “Killer” Kim Connor-Hamby on the card.

Zingano was first set to face Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith at Invicta FC 3, but withdrew from the fight in order to compete for Strikeforce this Saturday. The Strikeforce event was subsequently cancelled and Zingano will now face Pennington, who is one of the sport’s top bantamweight prospects.

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Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez has suffered a shoulder injury and has withdrawn from his bout with Pat “Bam Bam” Healy this Saturday in Sacramento, California. Strikeforce officials announced late Sunday night that the entire event has been cancelled as a result.

Melendez was set to defend his title against Healy in the Strikeforce main event, but the promotion’s television partner, Showtime, was unwilling to air the event once Melendez was removed from the card. Strikeforce has not yet announced whether the remaining nine bouts will be rescheduled.

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Competing on short notice, “12 Gauge” Paige VanZant posted her second professional victory of the year tonight at Premier Fight Series 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. VanZant defeated local favourite Amber “The Apex Predator” Stautzenberger by Unanimous Decision in an action-packed bout.

VanZant was forced to play defence in the first round after Stautzenberger started strong with takedowns and ground and pound, but rounds two and three belonged to VanZant. The 18-year-old employed effective strikes in the clinch and on the ground to seal the close but well-earned decision win.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada tonight for UFC 152: “Jones vs Belfort.” The event featured a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between champion Jon “Bones” Jones and former titleholder Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort.

Also tonight, the inaugural UFC Flyweight Championship was up for grabs when Joseph Benavidez took on Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. In middleweight action, Michael “The Count” Bisping battled “All American” Brian Stann. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s card.

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Top Jewels stars Mika “Future Princess” Nagano and Shizuka Sugiyama both picked up stoppage victories tonight at Jewels: “21st Ring” in Tokyo, Japan. Nagano submitted Jewels newcomer Tomo Maesawa, while Sugiyama finished Yurika Tanaka with a barrage of punches in round two.

In the night’s Muay Thai main event, popular kickboxer Kozue “Azuma” Nagashima battered late replacement opponent Mi-Jeon Chan across three rounds for a clear-cut Unanimous Decision victory. Satomi Takano remained unbeaten in her MMA career with a win over “Happy” Fukuko Hamada.

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Japan’s all-female Jewels promotion returned to Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo tonight for Jewels: “21st Ring.” The event was headlined by a Muay Thai bout between Jewels kickboxing veteran Kozue “Azuma” Nagashima and South Korean challenger Mi-Jeon Chan, who made her promotional debut.

In featured MMA action on the card, top Jewels star Mika “Future Princess” Nagano clashed with newcomer Tomo Maesawa, while Shizuka Sugiyama looked for her second straight victory when she faced off against Yurika Tanaka. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s Jewels event.

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