Bellator veteran Jessica Penne will make her Shoot Boxing debut in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday against two-time Girls S-Cup champion Rena Kubota. The promotion officially announced the late addition to the card today and MMARising.com confirmed that Penne will depart for Japan this week.
Penne last competed in MMA in November when she submitted Amy “Lil’ Dynamite” Davis. The win got Penne back on track after her lone career defeat against Bellator champ Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel. Kubota, meanwhile, earned a second-round knockout in shoot boxing last month.
Rin Nakai narrowly kept her unbeaten record intact today in Tokyo, Japan. The first and only Valkyrie open-weight champ battled England’s Danielle “The Curse” West to a Split Draw at Pancrase Impressive Tour 9 in a highly competitive bout that West surprisingly dominated in the later stages.
UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez will make the first defence of his new title against Junior “Cigano” dos Santos live on FOX television. UFC President Dana White announced the five-round fight earlier today. The bout takes place on November 12th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Top prospects “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey and Julia “The Jewel” Budd have verbally agreed to face off at Strikeforce Challengers 20 on November 18th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Strikeforce announced the featherweight matchup on Wednesday and MMAjunkie.com first reported on the event and venue.
Heavyweight legend Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira picked up one of his biggest wins in recent years on August 27th at UFC 134: Rio. Competing at home in Brazil for the first time in his storied career, Nogueira knocked out Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub and re-enters the heavyweight rankings.
Two of the top female fighters in Bellator will soon square off for a second time. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney confirmed to MMARising.com today that Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Gurgel and Jessica “Jag” Aguilar have verbally agreed to compete in a late October rematch at an event to be determined.
Former WEC lightweight title challenger Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will step in to face Dennis Siver at UFC 137 on October 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cerrone replaces Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout, who withdrew from the fight. MMAWeekly.com first reported on the change to the matchup on Monday.
A 125-pound women’s bout between Jessica “Evil” Eye and Casey “KO” Noland has been added to the Bellator Fighting Championships 51 card on September 24th in Canton, Ohio. The fight was officially announced by the promotion earlier today and serves as both fighters’ Bellator debuts.