Brazilian standout Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm returns to action on July 13th when she battles rising star Munah Holland at Matrix Fights 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the 130-pound catchweight bout with matchmaker Andria Caplan today.

Damm was initially set to face Zoila Gurgel at Bellator 57 in November, but that bout was scrapped when Gurgel suffered a torn ACL in training. Damm has not fought since a July 2011 submission win in Brazil. Holland most recently knocked out Marianna Kheyfets in her Bellator debut in March.

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A 135-pound Queen of Pancrase title tournament begins on September 1st on the Pancrase 2012 Neo-Blood Tournament Finals card in Tokyo, Japan. The four- or eight-woman bracket includes unbeaten standout Rin Nakai and will determine the first Pancrase women’s bantamweight champion.

Pancrase officials announced plans for the tournament on Monday and also confirmed Nakai’s status as an official athlete of Pancrase as of July 1st. The title tournament is expected to feature one or more competitors from outside of Japan. Participants will be announced in the coming weeks.

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Former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha “Takedown” Tate returns to action on August 18th at Strikeforce: “Rousey vs Kaufman” in San Diego, California. The grappling specialist faces Jackson’s MMA Series champ Julie “Fireball” Kedzie in a featured bantamweight matchup.

The promotion officially announced the bout today. Both fighters will look to rebound from recent setbacks. Tate’s six-fight winning streak came to an end in March when she was submitted by current champ “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. Kedzie dropped a Unanimous Decision in her Strikeforce debut.

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Veteran U.K. star Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton made a successful return to action and scored one of her biggest wins to date at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 47 on June 2nd. Sexton defeated Irish standout Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly and now reclaims her spot in the top three at 125 pounds.

Elsewhere in June, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson emerged victorious in his rematch with former divisional king Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall at UFC on FX 3 to become MMA’s premier flyweight. Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum retained his top-five spot at heavyweight with a quick win over Mike Russow.

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Eighteen-year-old Paige VanZant made a successful pro debut tonight at Ultimate Warrior Fighting: “Tournament of Warriors Finale” in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Reno Academy of Combat prospect upset hometown favourite Jordan Nicole “Ninja Princess” Gaza via razor-thin Split Decision.

VanZant took an early lead in the fight with effective clinchwork, but Gaza was able to take her opponent to the mat and threatened with submissions that included a tight guillotine and a rear-naked choke very late in the fight. It was not enough, however, and VanZant walked away with a big victory.

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Top Jewels star Shizuka Sugiyama will return to the promotion for her first bout since 2010 when she faces Japanese veteran Megumi Yabushita at Jewels: “20th Ring” on July 21st in Tokyo, Japan. The featured 62-kilogram matchup was one of five fights announced for the card earlier today.

Final Valkyrie Featherweight Champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi looks to get back on the winning track when she faces grappling ace Emi Tomimatsu in a rematch from Smackgirl in 2007. Elsewhere, former Valkyrie Flyweight Champion Yasuko “Ikuko” Tamada battles Naoko Omuro for a third time.

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A shoulder injury has forced veteran Kelly “Blood Red” Kobold out of her bantamweight bout with Brazilian standout Vanessa Porto at Invicta Fighting Championships 2 on July 28th in Kansas City, Kansas. Jiu-jitsu ace Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio will now face Porto on the event’s main card.

Invicta FC officials announced the change this morning. D’Alelio scored an impressive second-round submission win over the previously unbeaten Vanessa Mariscal at Invicta FC 1 in April. Porto has won seven of her past eight fights and captured the Pink Fight 132-pound title on March 10th.

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The use of performance-enhancing drugs has become a hot-button topic in MMA. Leading U.K. promotion Cage Warriors Fighting Championship will stage its inaugural 125-pound women’s tournament final this Fall and the bout may be overseen by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).

The CWFC final pits veteran British standout Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton against rising star Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff. Sexton recently spoke at length with MMARising.com about the use of VADA testing, which comes with a hefty price tag, and her possible retirement at the end of 2012.

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