An upcoming eight-man bantamweight tournament, dubbed the Japan Cup, has been delayed by eight days and will now begin on April 26th. A source close to the new promotion confirmed to MMARising.com on Tuesday that fighters competing on the card have been notified of the change in date.
Spearheaded by former Pride Fighting Championships president Nobuyuki Sakakibara and vice president Hiroyuki Kato, the Japan Cup will feature a three-round bantamweight tournament that spans across two events. The winner and one or more of the semi-finalists will advance on to DREAM.
Unbeaten prospect Jessica “Evil” Eye will return to the North American Allied Fight Series on June 4th. The Ohio native will face Irish standout Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly in a featured 125-pound bout as part of NAAFS: “Fight Night In The Flats 7.” The fighters jointly confirmed the planned bout earlier today.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz will return to action at UFC 132 on July 2nd. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” will face a tough test in top contender Ryan “Darth” Bader. MMAWeekly.com first reported the bout today, which was later confirmed by UFC President Dana White.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey tonight for UFC 128: “Shogun vs Jones.” The card was headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship matchup between champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and fast-rising star Jon “Bones” Jones.
One year ago, Megumi Fujii was battling injuries and on the verge of retiring as the greatest female fighter that mixed martial arts fans had ever seen. A call from Bellator Fighting Championships changed everything, however, and Fujii went on to gain more fans while competing in the United States.
On March 5th, Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Champion and Golden Glory standout Marloes Coenen rallied to submit Liz Carmouche in round four. One week later, she and trainer Martijn de Jong were shocked to learn that Strikeforce had been purchased by UFC parent company Zuffa, LLC.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced plans for a quartet of quality fights for UFC 132 on July 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. Among them is a welterweight rematch between former two-division UFC champion “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch. The pair fought to a Draw last month.
Once-beaten Irish standout Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly will step back into the cage on April 24th. The Bellator veteran has agreed to face Germany’s Sheila “Bulldog” Gaff at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 41 in North London, England in a featured matchup to be contested at 125 pounds.