Jessica Aguilar has not had an easy start to 2011. The Bellator standout has encountered fight cancellations, lived through a devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, and now faces financial stresses due to the lack of prominent sponsors that are available for female fighters in MMA today.
Through this, the Florida native has found strength and inspiration, and she is focused on attaining success in order to help others. Aguilar will return to the Bellator cage this Saturday against All-American wrestler Carla Esparza and hopes that a victory will propel her into a title fight later this year.
Long-time pound-for-pound queen Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii will return to Jewels on July 9th when she faces promotional star Mika “Future Princess” Nagano for the second time. The featured bout will be part of a stacked Jewels: “15th Ring” card at Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan.
Strikeforce made its way to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas tonight for Strikeforce: “Overeem vs Werdum.” The card was headlined by a Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout between Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.
A second Olympian was also in action tonight, as silver medallist in freestyle wrestling Sara McMann needed only 32 seconds to stop Julie Malenfant at Blackeye Promotions 4 in Fletcher, North Carolina. McMann took the fight to the mat and moved to mount, then unloaded with punches for the win.
Olympic bronze medallist in judo “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey picked up her fifth MMA win and second as a professional tonight with a 49-second armbar submission of Charmaine “Not So Sweet” Tweet at Hard Knocks Fighting Championship: “School of Hard Knocks 12” in Calgary, Alberta.
Hard Knocks Fighting Championship made its return to the Century Casino in Calgary, Alberta, Canada tonight for HKFC: “School of Hard Knocks 12.” The event featured a 150-pound women’s bout between Olympic medallist “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey and Charmaine “Not So Sweet” Tweet.
On April 15th, UFC and TUF 5 veteran Brian Geraghty travelled to St. Paul, Minnesota to face rising prospect Marcus LeVesseur on a card promoted by Seconds Out and Vivid MMA. To date, Geraghty has not been paid for his fight by promoter Tony Grygelko, and an official complaint has been filed.
A rematch from one of the top women’s fights of 2010 has been announced for The Cage Inc. “Battle at the Border 10” on July 30th in Hankinson, North Dakota. Submission ace Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler will put her 140-pound TCI title on the line when she faces Alexis Davis once again.