Spokane, Washington native Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña kept her unbeaten record intact tonight in front of a partisan hometown crowd. Peña submitted Canadian Rachael Swatez with a second-round guillotine choke at Conquest of the Cage in the nearby suburb of Airway Heights.

The road back to the cage was not an easy one for Peña, who endured a pair of serious knee injuries that kept her out of action for two full years. The 22-year-old has now won all three of her pro fights by stoppage and became the first woman to finish Swatez in seven career bouts with tonight’s win.

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Pro wrestling convert Kyoko Kimura returns to the Pancrase ring to face veteran Mizuho Sato at Pancrase Progress Tour 1 on January 28, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan. Kimura won her MMA debut last month and will move up in weight to face Sato. The women’s bout was officially announced today.

Kimura, famous for taking part in violent pro wrestling “deathmatches” in Japan, challenged MMA pioneer Megumi Yabushita in November and upset the veteran via doctor stoppage after round one. Sato campaigned in the Valkyrie open-weight title tournament last year, but fell short in the finals.

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Strikeforce heavyweight contender Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum is likely to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 143 on February 4th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace is expected to face Roy “Big Country” Nelson on the card. MMAWeekly.com first reported the bout earlier today.

Werdum won three of his four Strikeforce fights after departing the UFC in late 2008. His most notable victory during that time came in the form of a shocking submission of Fedor Emelianenko in June 2010. Nelson has won three of five UFC fights and stopped Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović in October.

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A late addition to this Saturday’s Jewels: “17th Ring” event has brought the all-female card to a total of 15 bouts. M-1 kickboxing champion Miiri Sasaki returns to Jewels to face Fuka Saito in a kickboxing matchup announced today. Jewels: “17th Ring” takes place at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan.

Sasaki most recently took part in the semi-finals of the inaugural Jewels Under-15 Amateur Kickboxing Tournament, which began in September at “16th Ring.” Sasaki suffered a competitive decision loss to finalist Chihiro Imoto and now welcomes Saito to the Jewels ring in a two-round bout.

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Rivals Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort and Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva will serve as opposing coaches on the debut season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil next year. UFC officials confirmed Belfort and Silva’s participation today. The competition is expected to begin on March 25, 2012.

Belfort and Silva first squared off over 13 years ago at UFC 17.5: “Ultimate Brazil,” where Belfort scored a 44-second TKO victory. The fighters will now coach opposing teams on TUF Brazil before facing off for the second time. In the interim, Belfort takes on Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at UFC 142.

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Former long-time PRIDE Heavyweight Champion “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko will return to Japan for his next fight. The Russian sambo specialist is set to battle 2008 Olympic gold medallist in judo Satoshi Ishii at DREAM: “Genki Desu Ka” on December 31st in Saitama, Japan.

Emelianenko recently rebounded from a three-fight losing skid by defeating Jeff “The Snowman” Monson this past month. Prior to the setbacks, he was unbeaten in 28 fights. Ishii won four straight fights after dropping his pro debut and most recently fought to a contentious Draw with Paulo Filho.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship will crown its first flyweight champion next year. UFC President Dana White announced tonight that a four-man 125-pound tournament will begin on March 3, 2012 as part of the UFC on FX 2 card. The semi-final winners will face off for the title at a later date.

In one semi-final bout, Tachi Palace Fights Flyweight Champion Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall faces recent UFC bantamweight title challenger Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. Former WEC title challenger Joseph Benavidez battles Shooto Bantamweight Champion Yasuhiro Urushitani in the other.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada tonight for UFC 140: “Jones vs Machida.” The event was headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship showdown between champion Jon “Bones” Jones and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida.

In the co-feature, former PRIDE and UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira clashed with fellow ex-champ Frank Mir for the second time. Rodrigo’s twin brother Rogerio faced Tito Ortiz at light heavyweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s card.

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