The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship is on the line this Saturday when the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for UFC 140: “Jones vs Machida.” Current champion Jon “Bones” Jones makes the first defence of his title against ex-champ Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida.

Twin brothers Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will both be in action on the UFC 140 main card. Rodrigo faces rival Frank Mir in a heavyweight rematch, while Rogerio battles Tito Ortiz in light heavyweight action. MMAGirls’ Joanne Spracklen previews Saturday’s UFC 140 card.

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UFC Welterweight Champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre has suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and may be sidelined for up to ten months. Nick Diaz, who was set to challenge for St. Pierre’s title at UFC 143, will face former WEC champ “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit in an interim title bout.

UFC President Dana White confirmed the change earlier today. St. Pierre previously withdrew from a planned bout with Condit at UFC 137 due to an injury to his left knee. Diaz went on to defeat B.J. Penn in the main event of the card and now faces Condit on February 4, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Fresh off of a dominant victory this past weekend, British star Michael “The Count” Bisping will return to the cage on January 28, 2012 when he faces submission specialist Demian Maia at UFC on FOX 2 in Chicago, Illinois. The middleweight bout was officially announced by UFC personnel today.

Bisping stopped fellow TUF 14 coach Jason “Mayhem” Miller in the show’s finale event on Saturday and looks to position himself for a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship later in 2012. Maia has won three of four fights since challenging unsuccessfully for the 185-pound title last year.

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UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz and bitter rival “The California Kid” Urijah Faber will serve as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 15. The upcoming live season of the competition, the first in history, will air on the FOX-owned FX network and begins on March 9, 2012.

UFC officials announced the news tonight and confirmed that TUF 15 will feature both lightweight and welterweight contestants. Cruz and Faber have already faced off twice in the past, with both fighters earning one victory. At UFC 132 in July, Cruz defeated Faber in a rematch to retain his UFC title.

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Two top contender bouts have been officially announced for UFC on FOX 2 on January 28, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Chael Sonnen takes on Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz at middleweight. Former champ “Suga” Rashad Evans faces Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis in light heavyweight action.

UFC officials confirmed both matchups on Saturday. Sonnen looks to get a second shot at UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva, but must first get past Munoz, who has won seven of his past eight. Evans and Davis face off to determine the next challenger for the 205-pound title.

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The Ultimate Fighter season 14 concluded tonight at The Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card featured a middleweight bout between TUF 14 coaches Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Michael “The Count” Bisping. The season’s featherweight and bantamweight winners were also crowned.

In the bantamweight final, Team Alpha Male prospect T.J. Dillashaw looked to stay unbeaten when he faced Jackson’s MMA ace John “The Magician” Dodson. Dennis “The Menace” Bermudez faced Diego “Ceara” Brandao in the featherweight finale. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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The third annual Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Awards are currently being constructed for the 2011 calendar year and will recognise many outstanding accomplishments by female fighters in the sport. This year’s awards again feature over a dozen categories including one that is open to the public.

The panel-voted portion of the awards will reward this year’s best knockouts, submissions, fights, promotions and fighters in a variety of weight classes. Winners will be announced in the coming weeks. Fans are able to vote for their favourite female mixed martial artist of 2011 in the poll listed below.

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Former Smackgirl Middleweight Champion Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano has agreed to a three-fight deal with ProElite. The submission specialist is expected to face 2004 Olympic silver medallist in freestyle wrestling Sara McMann at ProElite 3 on January 21, 2012 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

A source close to the negotiations confirmed the news with MMARising.com early today. Akano has won three of her past four fights, with the lone defeat coming against Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate last year. McMann remains unbeaten and won her ProElite debut in August.

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