DREAM began the 2011 DREAM World Bantamweight Grand Prix tonight at Dream.17: “Fight For Japan” at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. In the main event, reigning DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki faced “Razor” Rob McCullough in a non-title matchup.

Also on the card, former lightweight rivals Tatsuya “Crusher” Kawajiri and Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen squared off in a much-anticipated rematch in the featherweight division, and Caol “Uno Shoten” Uno battled “Lion” Takeshi Inoue. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s DREAM card.

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Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos has an opponent at last. The Brazilian star will face once-beaten Japanese standout Hiroko Yamanaka in a title bout announced by the promotion today. The fight is expected to take place on December 17th in San Diego.

Santos has not fought since a June 2010 destruction of an overmatched Jan “Cuddles” Finney, as she has sat on the sidelines awaiting a new contract. Having recently signed a new deal, Santos now returns to the cage against Yamanaka, who will hold a significant height and reach advantage.

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Strikeforce returned to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada this evening for Strikeforce Challengers 19: “Larkin vs Rossborough.” The event was headlined by a light heavyweight bout between unbeaten rising star Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin and Nick “Leatherface” Rossborough.

In other action on tonight’s main card, Ryan Couture rebounded from the first professional loss of his career by defeating Maka Watson in lightweight action. Shawn Jordan submitted Strikeforce veteran Lavar “Big” Johnson with a second-round keylock in the night’s heavyweight co-main event.

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Titan Fighting Championship returned to the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas tonight for Titan Fighting Championship 20 on HDNet. The co-main event featured a heavyweight bout between former Strikeforce contender Brett “Da Grim” Rogers and Eddie “The Manic Hispanic” Sanchez.

In the main event, former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner took on late replacement Dakota Cochrane, while Andrew Whitney stepped in on short notice to face Laramie Shaffer at bantamweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for all of the fights on tonight’s TFC 20 main card.

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Bellator women’s champion Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel will make her return to action against Brazilian veteran Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm at Bellator 57 on November 12th in Rama, Ontario, Canada. Bout agreements have been distributed and Damm confirmed participation today.

The targeted bout will be contested at 125 pounds. Gurgel had agreed to face rival Jessica “Jag” Aguilar in a late-October rematch, but Aguilar is still recovering from foot surgery following a Bellator win in June. Damm won back-to-back fights in Brazil this year and will make her Bellator debut.

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An injury has forced Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort out of his bout with former Strikeforce standout Cung Le at UFC 139 on November 19th in San Jose, California. Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva has stepped in to face Le on the card. UFC President Dana White announced the change today.

Silva is coming off of a quick knockout loss to middleweight contender Chris “The Crippler” Leben in July and has posted wins in just two of his last eight fights. Le will make his Octagon debut on the San Jose card and has not fought since a June 2010 win over rival Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith.

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Former Strikeforce title challenger Jan “Cuddles” Finney has been officially cleared to face Kaitlin Young in the main event of Freestyle Cage Fighting 49 on October 1st in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The veteran suffered a TKO loss on September 9th in New Mexico, but was not placed under suspension.

Finney was stopped by standout striker Holly Holm in the September 9th bout in Albuquerque, but will now be free to face Young in the main event of the all-female FCF card. Young most recently battled another veteran, Julie Kedzie, to a competitive five-round decision defeat in an April title fight.

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Reigning Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan “Hendo” Henderson is expected to face former UFC champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139 on November 19th in San Jose, California. MMAWeekly.com first reported on the targeted matchup today, and it will most likely headline the card.

Henderson, who became a free agent following his Strikeforce victory over Fedor Emelianenko on July 30th, will return to the UFC for the first time in over two years. The hard-hitting wrestler knocked out Michael “The Count” Bisping at UFC 100. Rua most recently stopped Forrest Griffin last month.

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