Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira will join his twin brother, Rodrigo, on the upcoming UFC 140 card. Nogueira will battle “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz on December 10th at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. UFC officials confirmed the bout on Friday night.
Nogueira and Ortiz were originally scheduled to face each other in March, but Ortiz was forced to withdraw after suffering a cut in training. Nogueira won his first two fights in the Octagon after making his long-awaited UFC debut, but has dropped two straight. Ortiz is 1-1 so far this year.
Bellator veteran Jessica Penne scored a significant upset this evening in her shoot boxing debut in Tokyo, Japan. Penne earned a Majority Decision win over promotional postergirl Rena Kubota after a pair of extension rounds in a razor-thin bout at Shoot Boxing: “Act.4” at the famed Korakuen Hall.
Standout boxer Holly “Hottie” Holm picked up her second mixed martial arts win tonight at Fresquez Productions: “Clash In The Cage” in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Holm stopped former Strikeforce title challenger Jan “Cuddles” Finney with a kick to the body in the later stages of the third and final round.
Three amateur bouts have been added to the undercard of this Saturday’s Jewels: “16th Ring” event in Tokyo, Japan. The all-female card now includes an MMA rematch between Tamaki Usui and Nana “Chanchin” Ichikawa, who first faced off in July. Usui won the pair’s first bout in just 14 seconds.
As quickly as he was removed from the UFC 137 card, Nick Diaz is back on. The outspoken former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion will now battle “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn at the October 29th event in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC President Dana White confirmed the news earlier this evening.
Rising star Marianna “The Crushen Russian” Kheyfets will return to action at XFC 14: “Resurrection” on October 21st in Orlando, Florida. The unbeaten 26-year-old will face off with tough veteran Molly “The Maulinator” Helsel in a featured 125-pound bout. The promotion officially announced the fight today.
Despite taking the fight on less than three days’ notice, NAAFS champion Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly needed just 20 seconds to submit Angela Hayes at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship: “Fight Night 2” tonight in Amman, Jordan. Daly has now won back-to-back fights since suffering a loss in April.
Fresh off of one of the biggest wins of his UFC career, former PRIDE legend Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira will have a chance to avenge his first stoppage loss when he faces Frank Mir for the second time at UFC 140 on December 10th in Toronto, Ontario. Verbal agreements are now in place.