The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the LG Arena in Birmingham, England today for UFC 138: “Leben vs Munoz.” The card was headlined by a middleweight bout between contenders Chris “The Crippler” Leben and Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz, contested over five rounds.

In the bantamweight co-feature, Brad “One Punch” Pickett looked to take one step closer to a UFC title shot when he faced Renan “Barao” Pegado, and former welterweight title challenger Thiago “Pitbull” Alves battled Papy “Makambo” Abedi. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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An on-again, off-again ProFC bout between Kaitlin Young and Milana Dudieva has been rebooked for December 10th in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Young has verbally agreed to the revised date, but has not yet signed on. The fight was originally scheduled for ProFC 37 on November 9th.

Young withdrew from the ProFC 37 card on Sunday after she was unable to secure a visa to travel and compete, and cited promotional disorganisation as a main factor. ProFC and Young’s management reached an agreement and the Minnesotan is expected to face Russia’s Dudieva next month.

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Former UFC middleweight title challenger Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort will welcome Anthony “Rumble” Johnson to the 185-pound ranks when the two face off at UFC 142 on January 14, 2012. The bout was announced today and is expected to take place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Belfort had originally planned to face former Strikeforce fan favourite Cung Le at UFC 139, but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. He has won six of his last seven, with the lone defeat coming against champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Johnson has won five of his last six fights.

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UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar retained his title and avenged his sole defeat by stopping Gray “The Bully” Maynard at UFC 136. Edgar retains his spot atop the lightweight ranks for November, but has no shortage of potential challengers for his coveted UFC championship.

Former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz takes a step up the 170-pound ranks after his dominant decision victory over “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn at UFC 137. In women’s action, four of the five divisions undergo significant rankings shakeups this month as new prospects emerge.

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UFC Featherweight Champion José “Scarface” Aldo will make the next defence of his title against Chad “Money” Mendes at UFC 142 on January 14, 2012 in Brazil. The bout, which was first reported by FoxSports.com tonight, is expected to take place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Aldo has picked up five-round Unanimous Decision victories in each of his two Octagon appearances since debuting in the UFC in April. Earlier this month, he defeated Kenny “KenFlo” Florian at UFC 136. Mendes remains unbeaten in his pro career and has also won twice in the UFC this year.

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A lightweight bout between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Nate Diaz will serve as the co-main event of UFC 141: “Lesnar vs Overeem” on December 30th in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAjunkie.com first reported on the fight on Sunday evening and UFC officials confirmed the planned bout today.

Also announced for the card was a pair of featherweight matchups. Former top contender Diego “The Gun” Nunes battles one-time WEC title challenger Manny “The Anvil” Gamburyan. Junior Assuncao looks for his third victory of 2011 when he welcomes Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson to 145 pounds.

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Brazilian star Vanessa Porto won her third straight fight on Friday night at Kumite MMA Combate in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Porto handed previously unbeaten prospect Jennifer Maia the first defeat of her professional career with a second-round technical submission in a competitive bout.

On Saturday in Hull, England, Hannah Stephens made a successful pro MMA debut by defeating talented striker Helena Martin at KnuckleUp MMA 8: “Eclipse.” Stephens survived a shaky start to the fight and used her superior ground skills to secure a fight-ending neck crank in round three.

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A planned bout between Kaitlin Young and Milana Dudieva at ProFC 37 in Ufa, Russia has been scrapped due to visa issues. The fight had been set to take place on November 9th, but Young announced her withdrawal tonight after the promotion reportedly failed to provide necessary travel information.

According to Young, ProFC did not provide her with a flight itinerary for her trip until Friday, which made securing a visa in time to compete in Russia all but impossible. She opted not to try to expedite the process by flying to and from the Russian Consultate in Seattle at extra cost and will not compete.

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