Japanese standout Kikuyo Ishikawa is no longer set to compete at Invicta Fighting Championships 2 on July 28th in Kansas City, Kansas. Ishikawa’s opponent, “South Valley’s Own” Angelica Chavez, will now face Nicdali “The Night Queen” Rivera-Calanoc. The change was announced today.
No official reason was named for Ishikawa’s withdrawal from the card, but it is believed that her bout with Chavez was under a tentative agreement only. Ishikawa may compete at Jewels: “20th Ring” on July 21st. Rivera-Calanoc returns to Invicta FC after competing on the promotion’s inaugural card.
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Pacific Northwest veterans “Slick” Sally Krumdiack and “Little” Patricia Vidonic will face off in a featured strawweight bout at CageSport 20 on July 14th in Tacoma, Washington. MMARising.com confirmed plans for the matchup on Monday following an initial announcement from Vidonic.
Krumdiack and Vidonic were initially set to face off in February for another Washington-based promotion, Fight Night Entertainment, but that bout was scrapped when FNE officials failed to secure necessary licences in time. Both fighters look to rebound from setbacks in their most recent fights.
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Injured UFC Welterweight Champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre is targeting a return to action against interim titleholder “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit at UFC 154 on November 17th in Montréal, Québec, Canada. UFC President Dana White confirmed plans for the fight on Friday night.
St. Pierre has been sidelined since April 2011 due to knee injuries, including a torn ACL in December that required surgery. Condit defeated Nick Diaz to claim the interim title at UFC 143 in February. A second welterweight bout at UFC 154 pits Johny Hendricks against Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann.
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A UFC Heavyweight Championship rematch between current champion Junior “Cigano” dos Santos and former titleholder Cain Velasquez is in the works for UFC 152 on September 22nd in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. UFC President Dana White confirmed plans for the main event bout on Friday.
Dos Santos captured the title from Velasquez in the featured fight at UFC on FOX 1 in November. Both fighters were battling injuries leading into the first meeting, which dos Santos won by TKO in just 64 seconds, and both are now coming off of dominant stoppage wins at UFC 146 two weeks ago.
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Rising welterweight star Rory “Ares” MacDonald has had his wish granted and is expected to face former two-division UFC champion “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn at UFC 152 on September 22nd in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. UFC President Dana White confirmed plans for the fight on Friday night.
MacDonald issued a challenge to Penn on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, which Penn later accepted. MacDonald has posted dominant wins in each of his past three fights. Penn returns to the Octagon after contemplating retirement following an October loss to Nick Diaz.
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Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey is expected to make the first defence of her title against former champ Sarah Kaufman on August 18th in San Diego, California. MMAFighting.com first reported on the matchup this week. A venue has not yet been confirmed.
Rousey captured the 135-pound title with a first-round armbar submission victory over Miesha “Takedown” Tate in March. She has yet to taste defeat and all eight of her pro and amateur bouts have ended in the first round. Kaufman has won three straight since losing the title in October 2010.
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida tonight for UFC on FX 3: “Johnson vs McCall 2.” The event was headlined by a UFC flyweight tournament semi-final rematch between Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall.
Also on tonight’s main card, Erick “Indio” Silva faced Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman in welterweight action, while Mike “Quicksand” Pyle took on fellow veteran Josh “The Dentist” Neer in a second matchup at 170 pounds. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC on FX 3 card.
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A shoulder injury has forced Brian Stann out of his main event bout with former Bellator titleholder Hector Lombard at UFC on FOX 4 on August 4th in Los Angeles, California. Former UFC champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua faces Brandon “The Truth” Vera in the new UFC on FOX 4 headliner.
UFC officials confirmed the change on Wednesday evening. Lombard now replaces an also-injured Michael Bisping and faces Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 on July 21st. The Rua-Vera light heavyweight bout will be contested over five rounds and joins two additional 205-pound matchups on the main card.
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