Tomorrow night in Lake Charles, Louisiana, rising star Jessica “Jag” Aguilar will have her wish granted. After years of waiting, Aguilar is set to challenge pound-for-pound standout Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii in a featured bout at 115 pounds on the Bellator Fighting Championships 69 main card.

Aguilar and Fujii had been on a collision course in 2010 before both suffered contentious losses to Bellator champ Zoila Gurgel. Aguilar has the utmost respect for Fujii, a woman whom she refers to as a legend, but knows that the Japanese dynamo stands between her and the top spot at 115 pounds.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia tonight for UFC on Fuel TV 3: “Korean Zombie vs Poirier.” The event was headlined by a featherweight bout between “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and fellow contender Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier.

Also on the card, TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah faced Jorge “Lil’ Monster” Lopez in a welterweight matchup, while former WEC title contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone battled Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens in lightweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC event.

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The fight with Aisling Daly at CWFC 47 is just 18 days away. As it gets closer, it always gets progressively harder to put my thoughts into any kind of coherent order. So this may or may not make sense to anyone else.

A decent poker player I know once told me, “Anyone can play poker for pretend money. Playing for real money is a whole different thing.” We talked about this for a while, and eventually he clarified: “Yeah, but the thing is, it’s not about treating the pretend money like real money. You’ve got to treat the real money as though it’s pretend money.” MMA is similar.

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In what was easily her most impressive performance to date, Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto captured her first MMA title belt on Saturday night at Women’s Fighting Championship 1 in Casper, Wyoming. Frausto submitted Diana “Dynamite” Rael to become WFC Atomweight Champion.

In the co-main event of the all-female WFC card, Darla “Train Wreck” Harris kept her unbeaten pro record intact with a Unanimous Decision victory over Stephanie “The Scrapper” Skinner. Other weekend winners included Sarah “Too Sweet” Alpar at KOTC: “Nightmare” and Marta Chojnoska at KSW 19.

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In her final fight as an amateur, Jessica Philippus added another title belt to her collection tonight at Kansas Super Fights: “My Battle, My Belt” in McPherson, Kansas. Philippus submitted Amanda Hein with a first-round arm-triangle choke to capture the KSF amateur women’s championship.

Philippus had originally planned to turn pro two weeks ago at Invicta FC 1, but opted against making the cut to 105 pounds so soon after the birth of her daughter. After picking up her seventh amateur win tonight, Philippus looks to transition to the pro ranks at Invicta FC’s second event in July.

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Talented striker Heather “Hurricane” Clark returns to action for one of her toughest tests to date at Xtreme Fighting Championships 18: “Music City Mayhem” on June 22nd in Nashville, Tennessee. Clark is set to face off against Sofia Bagherdai in a featured 120-pound bout announced today.

Clark debuted for XFC in February against Marianna Kheyfets and fared well until an elbow late in round one damaged Clark’s eye and forced a halt to the bout. She had won four straight prior to the setback. Bagherdai engaged in a competitive battle with Ashley Cummins at Invicta FC 1 this past month.

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UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones will put his title on the line against former PRIDE and Strikeforce champ Dan “Hendo” Henderson at UFC 151 on September 1st. The bout is set to take place at a venue to be determined in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to UFC President Dana White.

Jones is coming off of a one-sided decision victory over rival “Suga” Rashad Evans at UFC 145 this past month and has won seven straight fights since a contentious disqualification loss in late 2009. Henderson has won seven of his past eight and recently earned a big win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

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Bellator women’s champion Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel enjoyed a rapid rise to stardom in 2010, but her newfound fame did not come without a price. Drastic weight cuts, coupled with harsh comments from critics who challenged her biggest victories, took a physical and emotional toll.

Gurgel is currently on the road to recovery after suffering a torn ACL this past year and she is eager to get back into the cage to re-establish herself as the best in the sport. Gurgel spoke at length with MMARising.com this week about overcoming challenges and life inside and outside of the cage.

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