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.

In the night’s co-main event, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort faced Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in a bout that was changed to a catchweight after Johnson came in well above the 185-pound middleweight limit. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 142.

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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.

Peña returned to the cage after a two-year injury hiatus in December and stopped Canadian Rachael Swatez in impressive fashion. Taylor, who holds a pair of women’s titles in her home state of Alaska, has defeated all four of her pro opponents to date via a form of knockout; one in just 17 seconds.

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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.

Also confirmed for the card is a bantamweight bout between British standout Brad “One Punch” Pickett and fellow former WEC contender Damacio “The Angel of Death” Page. Both fighters will look to rebound from setbacks in their Octagon debuts this past year when they face off in Sweden.

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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.”

MMARising.com confirmed the fight with NAAFS President and CEO Greg Kalikas today. Bout agreements have already been signed. Eye has won back-to-back fights since her lone career defeat against NAAFS champion Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly, who handed Warren her first loss in November.

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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.

Event matchmaker Chris Nelson confirmed with MMARising.com that verbal agreements are in place for the tentative rematch. Bout agreements have not yet been signed. Baszler won four straight fights in 2010, while Kobold returned from a lengthy hiatus with a quick submission victory in April.

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Strikeforce veteran Shana “Rock Solid” Nelson will make her bantamweight debut against one-time Bellator competitor Leslie Smith at Cage Fighting Xtreme: “Winter Brawl” on February 18th in Fargo, North Dakota. Event matchmaker Chris Nelson confirmed the bout with MMARising.com.

Nelson won each of her first four fights leading into her Strikeforce debut in October 2010, but suffered her first loss against Julia “The Jewel” Budd. She will look to get back on the winning track at 135 pounds against Smith, who has won two of her past three and also looks to rebound from a loss.

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Former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Sarah Kaufman will have to wait at least a little longer for a shot at regaining her title. Kaufman will next face fellow Canadian Alexis Davis in a rematch on March 3rd in Columbus, Ohio. The contender’s bout was officially announced tonight.

Also confirmed for the March 3rd card tonight were a pair of intriguing men’s bouts. “King” K.J. Noons faces Josh Thomson in a matchup first reported by MMAjunkie.com yesterday. British knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley battles Japanese veteran Kazuo Misaki in a featured welterweight clash.

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Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha “Takedown” Tate will defend her title against Olympic bronze medallist “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey on March 3rd in Columbus, Ohio. The bout, first reported by MMAWeekly.com this week, was officially confirmed during tonight’s Strikeforce telecast.

Tate has won six straight fights since dropping a decision to Sarah Kaufman at the inaugural Strikeforce Challengers event in May 2009 and captured the belt from Marloes “Rumina” Coenen this past July. Rousey has won each of her seven pro and amateur bouts by armbar in less than one minute apiece.

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