Former WEC welterweight champ “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit will return to action against recent UFC title challenger Josh Koscheck at UFC 143 on February 4, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Koscheck announced the planned bout last week and UFC officials confirmed it earlier today.

Condit has won 12 of his past 13 fights and he had expected to challenge for the UFC Welterweight Championship last month before an untimely injury to champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre cancelled the fight. Koscheck stopped Matt Hughes in September in his first fight back since losing to St. Pierre.

Read More…

Twelve bouts have now been confirmed for UFC 144: “Edgar vs Henderson” on February 26, 2012 in Saitama, Japan. Among the latest additions today is a lightweight bout between former long-time PRIDE champion Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi and submission specialist George Sotiropoulos.

Also announced today was a bantamweight battle between Japanese star Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and England’s Vaughan Lee, as both fighters look to rebound from setbacks. Elsewhere, Chinese prospect Tiequan “The Wolf” Zhang faces off with Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia in a featherweight bout.

Read More…

After bouts in Russia failed to materialise, Kaitlin Young will remain at home for her next fight. The Minnesota native is expected to face Canadian Anna “Smiles” Barone in a featured 140-pound matchup on January 6, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Minneapolis. Both fighters earned wins in October.

Young was originally booked to face Milana Dudieva for ProFC last month, but withdrew from the bout as a result of visa issues and cited promotional disorganisation. The fight was then rebooked for December 10th, but has since been scrapped again and Young will square off with Barone instead.

Read More…

Long-time training partners Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki and Satoru Kitaoka will face off for Aoki’s DREAM Lightweight Championship at DREAM: “Genki Desu Ka” on December 31st in Saitama, Japan. BloodyElbow.com was first to report on the bout earlier this week and the promotion announced it today.

Aoki has posted submission wins in a pair of non-title bouts for DREAM this year and has won six in a row overall. Kitaoka formerly held the Sengoku Lightweight Championship and has won four straight fights since a pair of defeats in late 2009. The fighters have combined for 34 submission wins.

Read More…

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has been granted his wish. The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion will indeed be part of the upcoming UFC 144 card on February 26, 2012 in Saitama, Japan. Jackson will face off against former top 205-pound contender Ryan “Darth” Bader in a featured bout.

ESPN.com first confirmed the matchup with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta today. Jackson expressed anger and frustration this week when it appeared that he would not be on the UFC card in Japan. The long-time PRIDE star will now compete in the country for the first time in exactly six years.

Read More…

Ohio star Jessica “Evil” Eye made a successful return to her roots in the North American Allied Fight Series tonight. The popular prospect earned a dominant Unanimous Decision victory over Jennifer “Superstar” Scott in a featured bout at NAAFS: “Night Of Champions 2011” in Canton, Ohio.

In the main event, NAAFS 125-pound women’s champion Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly made the first defence of her new title with a second-round submission of the previously unbeaten Kelly Warren. Daly first captured the title by defeating Eye when the pair faced off in the NAAFS cage in June.

Read More…

Two-time Girls S-Cup champion Rena Kubota earned one of the biggest victories of her career tonight at Rise 85 in Tokyo, Japan. Kubota defeated current S-Cup champ Erika Kamimura in a much-anticipated rematch from an April exhibition to become the first Rise Queen kickboxing champion.

While there was no official winner in the pair’s one-round exhibition match in April, Kamimura dropped Kubota and dominated much of the brief contest. Tonight’s bout was contested under full kickboxing rules across five rounds and Kubota was victorious via Unanimous Decision in a considerable upset.

Read More…

Two additional fights are now official for Jewels: “17th Ring” on December 17th in Tokyo, Japan. Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino will make her Jewels debut against Celine Haga, while Emi Tomimatsu faces AACC prospect Rina Tomita. Both bouts were announced by the promotion today.

Fujino has been inactive in MMA since a bout with Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii on December 30th. She has since competed in shoot boxing and will enter as a significant favourite against Haga, who is winless since May 2010. Tomimatsu and Tomita earned victories at “16th Ring” in September.

Read More…