Keeping her unblemished record intact, 2004 Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann earned a third-round submission victory over a very game Raquel “Rocky” Pa’aluhi at ProElite 1 tonight in Honolulu, Hawaii. The pair engaged in a spirited Fight of the Night battle that drew cheers from the crowd.

McMann was surprisingly aggressive with strikes at times during the fight, but resorted to her strength in wrestling to take the fight to the ground on multiple occasions. Pa’aluhi, a fan favourite and native of Hawaii, defended well on the ground, but eventually succumbed to a keylock in round three.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Brazil for the first time in 13 years tonight at UFC 134: Rio. The event took place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro and featured a bout between Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Yushin “Thunder” Okami for the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Also on the card, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions collided when Mauricio “Shogun” Rua faced Forrest Griffin for the second time, and PRIDE legend Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira battled Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub at heavyweight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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Leading amateur promotion Tuff-N-Uff crowned two women’s champions tonight in Las Vegas, Nevada. Teen prospect Jordan Nicole Gaza won the promotion’s 115-pound title by submitting Kathryn Davis, while unbeaten Liz “Lil’ Lightning” McCarthy upset Jordan McDonald for 110-pound gold.

Gaza, who was left without a fight after her original opponent withdrew from the card, used a guillotine choke to submit Davis, who stepped into the title fight on short notice. McCarthy kept her unblemished record intact with a second-round flying triangle choke that forced McDonald to submit.

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Former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Marloes Coenen has officially signed a new deal with North Carolina-based BlackEye Promotions. The Dutch submission specialist was abruptly released from her Strikeforce contract earlier this month along with her Golden Glory teammates.

Coenen, who lost her Strikeforce title to Miesha Tate on July 30th, has spent time on vacation in the United States since her release. She recently began training with camps in the Missouri area and will return to the Netherlands soon. Her signing with BlackEye Promotions was officially announced today.

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Amanda “Powerhouse” Lucas, the adopted daughter of Star Wars creator George Lucas, earned her second mixed martial arts victory this evening at DEEP: “55 Impact” in Tokyo, Japan. Lucas defeated pro wrestler and MMA veteran Hikaru Shinohara by technical submission due to an armbar.

The 30-year-old Lucas took her opponent down to the mat in the opening round and threatened with submissions before using punches to set up the armbar. A dejected Shinohara did not tap, but her corner threw in the towel and an elated Lucas was awarded with the victory in her Japanese debut.

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A second kickboxing matchup has been added to the Jewels: “16th Ring” card on September 11th in Tokyo, Japan. Kozue “Azuma” Nagashima, who was victorious in the kickboxing main event of “13th Ring” in May, will face once-beaten South Korean Kim Sung Eun, who holds numerous titles.

Nagashima defeated Yukimi Kamikaze in their May headliner and she has captured championships of her own during her kickboxing career. The fight between Nagashima and Eun joins a previously announced kickboxing match between Chikako WSR and Satoko Ozawa on the September card.

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A foot injury has forced Josh Thomson off of the upcoming Strikeforce card on September 10th in Cincinnati, Ohio. The embattled former champion had been scheduled to face Maximo “Maxi” Blanco, but he must now watch from the sidelines due to the injury. He has fought just four times in three years.

Thomson was kept out of action for nearly all of 2009 due to a broken leg and lost the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship in a rematch with Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez at the end of the year. He earned two wins in 2010, but suffered a defeat against Tatsuya “Crusher” Kawajiri on New Year’s Eve.

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Two light heavyweight bouts have been added to the upcoming UFC 139: “Velasquez vs dos Santos” card on November 19th in San Jose, California. Ryan “Darth” Bader faces Jason “The Hitman” Brilz, while “The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar squares off with Kyle “Kingsbu” Kingsbury.

The fights were officially announced by the promotion earlier today. Both Bader and Brilz will look to rebound from losses in their most recent bouts. Bonnar and Kingsbury, both of whom are currently in the midst of winning streaks, will be aiming to take another step towards contendership at 205.

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