As a result of an injury, Matt “The Real One” Grice has withdrawn from his bout with Nam Phan at UFC 136 on October 8th in Houston, Texas. Phan will now have an opportunity to avenge a highly controversial loss from last year when he rematches Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia on the Texas card.

The UFC announced today that verbal agreements are now in place for the rematch. Garcia defeated Phan via Split Decision in a 2010 Robbery of the Year candidate in December. Both fighters are coming off of losses and need to win in order to ensure that they will remain on the UFC roster.

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Former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz will no longer compete for the UFC Welterweight Championship on October 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Diaz was removed from his UFC 137 main event bout today after failing to show up for two mandatory press conferences and his UFC tenure may be over.

In a surprise announcement, UFC President Dana White confirmed today that “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit has stepped in to challenge Georges “Rush” St. Pierre for the title. Condit was previously set to face “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn on the same card. Penn awaits a new opponent.

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A broken hand has forced Diego “The Dream” Sanchez out of his UFC 135 bout with former long-time champion Matt Hughes on September 24th in Denver, Colorado. Former title challenger Josh Koscheck has now stepped in to face Hughes. UFC President Dana White confirmed the change today.

Koscheck was initially expected to compete in a middleweight bout on an upcoming card, but will remain in the welterweight division to face Hughes in a battle of powerful wrestlers. Koscheck has not fought since December, when he dropped a Unanimous Decision to Georges “Rush” St. Pierre.

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Rising welterweight star Rory “Ares” MacDonald will compete in his native Canada for his next fight. The once-beaten British Columbian faces veteran Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole at UFC 140, which is targeted for December 10th in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Verbal agreements are in place for the bout.

Also announced for the card today were a pair of bouts featuring two more Canadian prospects. Claude “The Prince” Patrick will face Rich “The Raging Bull” Attonito in a welterweight bout, while unbeaten Saskatchewan native Mitch Clarke takes on New Jersey’s John Cholish in lightweight action.

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Three additional fights have been added to the upcoming UFC On FOX 1 card on November 12th in Anaheim, California. Among them is a lightweight contender’s bout between former WEC champion Ben “Smooth” Henderson and one-time Strikeforce 155-pound titleholder Clay “The Carpenter” Guida.

In other action on the card, Japanese superstar Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto will clash with UFC newcomer Darren “BC” Uyenoyama in a bantamweight bout, while featherweights Cub Swanson and Ricardo Lamas square off at 145. All three fights were officially announced by the UFC earlier today.

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Former champions will collide inside the Octagon on December 30th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Brock Lesnar will face Alistair Overeem in a battle of former UFC and Strikeforce heavyweight titleholders. The bout was first reported by the L.A. Times and subsequently confirmed by UFC officials on Twitter.

Lesnar will make his return to the cage after a second bout with diverticulitis this year. He has not fought since losing his UFC title to Cain Velasquez last October. Overeem was released from his Strikeforce contract in late July despite holding the promotion’s belt and is unbeaten in his last 11 fights.

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Ukrainian prospect Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova moved her mixed martial arts record to a perfect 8-0 on Saturday in Mariupol, Ukraine. The multi-time kickboxing and MMA champion submitted Eugenia Kostina with an armbar at the Professional Association of Martial Arts Ukraine’s “President’s Cup.”

In Imatra, Finland, Strikeforce tournament veteran Maiju “Mai” Kujala earned her second straight win and fourth by TKO with a quick victory at Carelia Fight 7. Competing in front of friends and supporters, the Finnish standout defeated late replacement opponent Ieva Šležaitė by TKO in round one.

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An illness has forced Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff out of a planned bout with Angela Hayes on Thursday at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship: “Fight Night 2” in Amman, Jordan. NAAFS champion Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly has stepped in on just three days’ notice to face Hayes on the card.

MMARising.com confirmed the change with a source close to the promotion today. Daly and Hayes will face off in a 132-pound catchweight. Daly was upset by Gaff in April, but captured the NAAFS title by submitting Jessica “Evil” Eye in June. Hayes brings three straight wins into her CWFC debut.

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