Mere hours after losing his original opponent for UFC on FOX 2, Demian Maia has received a new one. The submission specialist faces standout wrestler Chris Weidman in a featured middleweight matchup on the card, which is set to take place on January 28th in Chicago, Illinois.
UFC President Dana White announced the change earlier today. Maia had originally been scheduled to face Michael “The Count” Bisping on the card, but Bisping stepped in for an injured Mark Munoz to face Chael Sonnen. The undefeated Weidman takes a big step up in competition on short notice.
For only the second time to date, women will headline a major Strikeforce card when Miesha “Takedown” Tate defends her bantamweight title against “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey on March 3rd in Columbus, Ohio. The pair will face off in the main event of the newly-dubbed Strikeforce: “Tate vs Rousey.”
An untimely arm injury has forced Mark Munoz out of his upcoming bout with Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2 on January 28th in Chicago, Illinois. Sonnen will now face off against Michael “The Count” Bisping on the card. UFC President Dana White announced the change on Twitter today.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil tonight for UFC 142: “Aldo vs Mendes.” The card featured a UFC Featherweight Championship matchup between champion José “Scarface” Aldo and unbeaten challenger Chad “Money” Mendes.
Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña and Lauren “All-In” Taylor are in talks to face off in a battle of unbeaten prospects at Fitetime Entertainment: “Arctic Combat 12” on February 18th in Fairbanks, Alaska. Promoter David Knight confirmed plans for the matchup with MMARising.com today.
Rising star Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson will compete in front of his hometown crowd when he faces Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 2 on April 15th in Stockholm, Sweden. UFC officials announced the light heavyweight headliner earlier today.
Popular prospect Jessica “Evil” Eye will compete in her home state of Ohio when she returns to the cage on February 18th in Cleveland. Eye will face once-beaten Jackson’s MMA representative Kelly Warren in a featured matchup at North American Allied Fight Series: “Caged Vengeance 10.”
A rematch between submission specialist Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler and fellow EliteXC veteran Kelly “Blood Red” Kobold is currently in the works for Cage Fighting Xtreme: “Spring Brawl” on April 21st in Fargo, North Dakota. The fighters first faced each other back in May 2004.