Japanese superstar Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto has verbally agreed to face WEC veteran Damacio “The Angel of Death” Page at UFC 135 in Denver, Colorado. UFC President Dana White announced the matchup today, which is expected to take place on September 24th at Denver’s Pepsi Center.
Both Yamamoto and Page are coming off of losses in their UFC debuts, and each needs a big win in order to ensure that they remain on the promotion’s roster. The pair have 29 stoppage victories between them and are regarded as two of the most aggressive bantamweight fighters in the sport.
A welterweight battle between hard-hitting strikers Paul “Semtex” Daley and Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos has been added to the upcoming Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Henderson” card on July 30th in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Daley’s management confirmed plans for the matchup this past weekend.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its second trip to the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada tonight for UFC 131: “Dos Santos vs Carwin.” The event was headlined by a heavyweight bout between top contenders Junior “Cigano” dos Santos and Shane Carwin.
Strikeforce women’s tournament veteran Maiju “Mai” Kujala will return to action on July 9th when she faces unbeaten prospect Simona Soukupova at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 43 in North London, England. Verbal agreements are currently in place for the 117-pound catchweight bout.
The Score television network presented its debut solo event tonight with the Score Fighting Series 1 from the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The card was headlined by a welterweight bout between Jordan “Young Gun” Mein and Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis.
Strikeforce has not yet given up on plans to feature a 145-pound women’s bout on its upcoming June 18th event in Dallas, Texas, but the promotion has encountered another roadblock after attempts to replace Gina Carano with Olympic judo bronze medallist Ronda Rousey failed to materialise.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced today that all upcoming non-title main events will now be contested over five, five-minute rounds. The change will not apply to fights that have already been signed, but the ruling will be utilised for newly-signed main event bouts moving forward.
Gina “Conviction” Carano will no longer make her return to MMA action on June 18th in Dallas, Texas. The “Face of Women’s MMA” has been forced out of her televised Strikeforce bout with Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio due to what has been deemed to be a “revoked medical clearance.”