Bellator standouts Jessica “Jag” Aguilar and Lisa Ellis-Ward will face off in a rematch nearly six years in the making at Bellator Fighting Championships 58 on November 19th in Hollywood, Florida. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney officially confirmed the fight with MMARising.com earlier today.

Aguilar and Ellis-Ward first squared off on February 18, 2006 in Aguilar’s pro debut. Ellis-Ward earned a submission victory with mere seconds remaining in round two. Aguilar has never been finished in 14 bouts since and has won six of her last seven fights. Ellis-Ward is 2-1 inside the Bellator cage.

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Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez will indeed be defending his title against Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal on December 17th. Strikeforce officially confirmed the bout today, and it is expected to take place at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California.

Melendez had been rumoured to be facing Masvidal on the card for months, but his participation recently came into question after UFC President Dana White stated that Melendez would be brought over to the UFC very soon. Melendez will remain in Strikeforce to defend his title one more time.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas tonight for UFC 136: “Edgar vs Maynard 3.” The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship trilogy bout between rivals Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and Gray “The Bully” Maynard.

In the co-main event, current UFC Featherweight Champion José “Scarface” Aldo defended his title against former two-time UFC title challenger Kenny “KenFlo” Florian, while Chael Sonnen battled “All American” Brian Stann in middleweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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A rematch between veteran female fighters “Happy” Fukuko Hamada and Kayo Nagayasu has been announced for Pancrase Impressive Tour 12 on November 27th in Osaka, Japan. The promotion officially confirmed the bout today and it will take place during part one of the all-day Osaka event.

Hamada and Nagayasu first faced off in the now-defunct Valkyrie promotion in April 2010. Nagayasu emerged victorious via a close Majority Decision and most recently battled Naoko Omuro to a Majority Draw in Pancrase last month. Hamada has earned wins in both of her Pancrase fights this year.

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A UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jon “Bones” Jones and rival “Suga” Rashad Evans has once again been delayed due to injury. UFC President Dana White announced today that Jones will now defend his title against Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at UFC 140 on December 10th.

Evans is currently sidelined with a hand injury and would not be ready to compete on the Toronto, Ontario, Canada card. Machida now steps into the title fight after knocking out Randy “The Natural” Couture at UFC 129. The win got Machida back on track after back-to-back defeats in 2010.

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Just days after picking up an impressive victory at Freestyle Cage Fighting 49, Kaitlin Young has agreed to face one of Russia’s top female prospects on November 9th. The Minnesota native battles Milana Dudieva at ProFC 37 in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia. The promotion announced the bout today.

Young returned after a six-month absence on October 1st and stopped late replacement opponent Liz Carreiro in the main event of the FCF card. All five of her credited wins have come by knockout. Dudieva has finished all but one opponent and has not lost since her February 2009 pro debut.

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A Bellator Fighting Championships 125-pound women’s tournament is in the works for 2012. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney discussed the tournament with MMARising.com today, but reaffirmed that planning remains in early stages and the tournament may not take place until Bellator’s seventh season.

Rebney is currently focused on bringing attention back to Bellator’s female fighters by showcasing women’s fights on television or on preliminary cards streaming online. Bellator season six could still feature the 4- or 8-woman tournament, but may now be used to build towards it later in the year.

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Amanda “Powerhouse” Lucas will make her return to mixed martial arts competition on October 29th at DEEP: “Cage Impact” in Tokyo, Japan. The adopted daughter of Star Wars creator George Lucas will face Japanese veteran Mika “Hari” Harigai in a bout announced by the promotion today.

Lucas made a successful debut for DEEP in late August with a first-round destruction of Hikaru Shinohara. Taking MMA training very seriously, she became a star in Japan leading up to her bout with Shinohara. Harigai holds an edge in experience, but Lucas will enjoy a significant strength advantage.

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