Three more bouts have been announced for the Jewels: “16th Ring” card on September 11th in Tokyo, Japan. Teen prodigy Mizuki Inoue, who turned 17 on Friday, will take a huge step up in competition when she faces Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion Ayaka Hamasaki in a non-title matchup.
Also announced for the event was the return to MMA of grappling ace Emi Tomimatsu, who faces Norway’s Celine Haga. Tomimatsu has not competed in MMA since early 2008. In other action, Yuko “Amiba” Oya looks to bounce back from her first loss in two years when she faces Akiko “Betiko” Naito.
The “Strongest Female High School Student” reigns supreme. Tonight at Shibuya-AX in Tokyo, Japan, Erika Kamimura outlasted three opponents to win the 2011 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup tournament. The 18-year-old edged out kickboxer and MMA standout Seo Hee Ham in the finals of the event.
Final Valkyrie Open-Weight Champion Rin Nakai will put her unbeaten MMA record on the line against England’s Danielle “The Curse” West at Pancrase Impressive Tour 9 on September 4th in Tokyo, Japan. MMARising.com first learned of the bout on Wednesday and the promotion announced it today.
A featherweight bout between TUF 12 alum Pablo “The Scarecrow” Garza and rising star Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier is the first addition to the UFC On FOX 1 card on November 12th in Anaheim, California. The fighters have verbally agreed to the fight, which was officially announced earlier today.
One of the top stars in Japan’s Jewels promotion, Shizuka Sugiyama, is four months into a year-long trip to Australia and she is training diligently for her return to MMA. The karate black belt is learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Gracie Oceania Training Centre in Marrickville, New South Wales.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has secured a major network deal. In a joint announcement today, UFC and FOX executives revealed a seven-year broadcast agreement that will include 36 live events per year including 24 new episodes of The Ultimate Fighter that will feature live fights on FX.
Leading all-female promotion Jewels announced a total of six fights today for its “16th Ring” card on September 11th in Tokyo, Japan. All four quarterfinal matchups in the Jewels Featherweight Queen Tournament are now set, and the winner of the grand prix will become the first Jewels champion at 48kg.
A welterweight bout between contenders Rick “The Horror” Story and Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann is in the works for UFC 139 on November 19th in San Jose, California. Both fighters will look to rebound from decision losses. Verbal agreements are in place for the bout, which was announced today.