Final Valkyrie Flyweight Champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi competes outside of Japan for the first time in her MMA career when she battles unbeaten Finnish prospect Katja Kankaanpää on March 23rd. The bout takes place at Botnia Punishment 11 in Kankaanpää’s hometown of Seinäjoki, Finland.
Yamaguchi picked up a close decision victory over Mika “Future Princess” Nagano at Jewels: “17th Ring” in December. She has lost just once in her past eight fights. Kankaanpää stepped in as a late replacement and upset previously unbeaten Spanish prospect Karla Banitez at Cage 16 in October.
Veteran striker “Windy” Tomomi Sunaba competes one final time when she faces Jewels mainstay Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka at Pancrase Progress Tour 3 on March 11th in Tokyo, Japan. The fight will be Sunaba’s retirement bout after a 13-year career in both kickboxing and mixed martial arts.
A lightweight contender’s bout between jiu-jitsu specialists Jim Miller and Nate Diaz has been added to UFC on FOX 3, which will take place on May 5th in East Rutherford, New Jersey. UFC President Dana White officially announced the fight this evening. The bout could co-headline the card.
Bellator contender Jessica “Jag” Aguilar has received the go-ahead to fight outside of the promotion on February 17th. Aguilar will face rising star “Little” Patricia Vidonic in a featured matchup at Fight Time Promotions 8 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The women’s bout will be the first in Fight Time history.
Just six weeks before she enters the inaugural Cage Warriors 125-pound women’s tournament, Ireland’s Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly will face Dutch striker Titiana van Polanen Petel at Battlezone Fighting Championships 5. The fight takes place on March 24th in Daly’s hometown of Dublin, Ireland.
Brazil’s first all-female mixed martial arts promotion, Pink Fight MMA, will hold its inaugural event on January 29th in Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil. The card is headlined by a 125-pound bout between Maria Elisabete Tavares and Kalindra Carvalho Faria and will also include five additional fights.
2004 Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann put her wrestling skills to good use this evening in the co-main event of ProElite 3: “Grove vs Minowa” in Honolulu, Hawaii. McMann earned the biggest win of her MMA career and kept her perfect record intact by defeating Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano.
Despite a lengthy layoff, Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson made an impressive return to the cage tonight in the main event of Jackson’s MMA Series 7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Waterson submitted Colorado-based prospect Diana “Dynamite” Rael with a rear-naked choke in round one.