A non-title rematch between Jewels Featherweight Queen Champion Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama and final Valkyrie titleholder Yasuko “Ikuko” Tamada has been added to the May 26th Jewels: “19th Ring” event in Osaka, Japan. The featured 106-pound matchup was officially announced today.

Sugiyama and Tamada first faced off at Valkyrie 8 in November 2010, where Sugiyama upset the veteran. Tamada’s Valkyrie Flyweight Championship was not on the line and the promotion folded this past year. Also added to “19th Ring” today was a bout between Yukiko Seki and Yuko Kawabata.

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UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones had little trouble in successfully defending his title against rival “Suga” Rashad Evans at UFC 145 on April 21st in Atlanta. Jones earned a clear-cut Unanimous Decision victory after five rounds and retains his spot atop the 205-pound rankings.

In women’s action, Invicta Fighting Championships staged its debut card on April 28th. Former Strikeforce champ Marloes “Rumina” Coenen began her climb back up the 145-pound ranks, while Jessica Penne put on her best performance to date by stopping Lisa Ellis in the 105-pound co-feature.

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I’m currently five weeks out from my fight with Aisling Daly at CWFC 47 in Dublin on June 2nd. The usual question I’m asked is how training is going. I’m never quite sure how to answer this. The standard answer for a fighter to give is, “yeah, it’s going really well. I’m feeling great; in the best shape of my life. I can’t wait to fight!” And some of the time, that would be true enough.

The thing is, though, an eight-week training camp is a long time. A lot of stuff happens in that time, and I’m fairly sure that nobody really feels fantastic all the way through it. Nor would that necessarily be a good thing.

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Former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Marloes “Rumina” Coenen returned to 145 pounds and scored a convincing win over French rival Romy Ruyssen on Saturday night at Invicta Fighting Championships 1 in Kansas City, Kansas. Coenen spoke with MMARising.com after her fight.

While the rivalry with Ruyssen was settled on Saturday, another remains for Coenen. The 31-year-old Dutch star still has eyes on a rematch with Cindy “Battlecat” Dandois, whom she was originally set to face on last night’s card, but she does not feel that Dandois will ever answer the challenge.

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On Saturday night in the co-main event of Invicta Fighting Championships 1, Jessica Penne put on her most impressive performance to date in her second fight in the atomweight division. Penne stopped veteran opponent Lisa Ellis with punches in the third round of a back-and-forth battle.

Penne believes that she has found a new home at 105 pounds, where she no longer gives up a size and strength advantage to opponents who cut significant amounts of weight. She spoke with MMARising.com following her victory and discussed the debut Invicta FC card and her fighting future.

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A three-round battle between noted strikers Kaitlin Young and Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith earned Fight of the Night honours on Saturday night at Invicta Fighting Championships 1 in Kansas City, Kansas. Both fighters pocketed an additional $1500 in bonuses for their performances.

Sarah “White Tiger” Schneider won an additional $1000 for her Submission of the Night-winning armbar of “Slick” Sally Krumdiack in the opening bout on the main card. Fellow Invicta FC winners Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche and Jessica Penne also received $1000 in two Social Media bonuses.

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Invicta Fighting Championships staged a highly successful debut event on Saturday night at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. The all-female card was headlined by a rematch between Marloes “Rumina” Coenen and Romy Ruyssen, with Coenen defeating her French adversary for a second time.

Jessica Penne put on the best performance of her career in her atomweight debut against battle-tested veteran Lisa Ellis in the Invicta FC 1 co-feature. Penne landed a devastating knee that hurt and badly bloodied Ellis in the final round, leading to an impressive TKO victory for the fast-rising star.

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2004 Olympic silver medallist and undefeated mixed martial artist Sara McMann takes on her toughest test to date when she faces submission ace Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler in the main event of Invicta Fighting Championships 2. The event is targeted for July 28th in Kansas City.

McMann is coming off of a dominant decision win over former Smackgirl champ Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano at ProElite 3 in January. Baszler has won four straight fights, but she has not fought since November 2010 after planned bouts with Alexis Davis and Kelly Kobold were scrapped.

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