A knee injury has forced former WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit out of a planned bout with Chris “Lights Out” Lytle on February 27th at UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia. “The Natural Born Killer” has been replaced by veteran Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole, who will face Lytle on short notice.
Sportsnet.ca was first to report on Condit’s injury, and Fight News Australia named Ebersole as his replacement today. Lytle enters the welterweight matchup on a four-fight winning streak, while Ebersole brings over 70 fights’ worth of experience into his UFC debut and has never been knocked out.
A second women’s bout has been added to the Pancrase Impressive Tour 2 fight card on March 13th in Osaka, Japan. Former Smackgirl Middleweight Champion Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano will face Chisa Yonezawa. The fight was first noted by Akano’s friend and training partner, Megumi Fujii.
Bellator 115-pound women’s champion Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto will indeed face rival Karina Hallinan for the second time at Bellator Fighting Championships 35 on March 5th, but the bout is not scheduled to be part of the televised card. MMAjunkie.com first reported on the news earlier today.
Two fights have been announced for Jewels: “Twelfth Ring” on March 11th in Tokyo, Japan. Promotional postergirl Mika “Future Princess” Nagano faces Emi Murata, while Miyoko Kusaka squares off with Yuka Okumura. Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion Ayaka Hamasaki will compete as well.
Fresh off of her Ring of Combat title victory this past weekend, top prospect Jessica “Evil” Eye is expected to make her Strikeforce debut against tough veteran Jan “Cuddles” Finney on March 5th. The targeted matchup would be contested at 135 pounds on the undercard of Strikeforce: Columbus.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight with a stacked card at UFC 126: “Silva vs Belfort.” The event was headlined by a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort.
Strong Style Fight Team prospect Jessica “Evil” Eye kept her unblemished record intact tonight when she stopped Ashley “No Limit” Nee in round one at Ring of Combat 34. The win earned Eye the vacant ROC 130-Pound Women’s Championship; the first title of her professional MMA career.
Making use of a unique variation of a Brabo Choke, rising amateur prospect Jessica Philippus submitted rival Sarah “Piranha” Goodlaxson in a featured 105-pound women’s title bout tonight at Ultimate Blue Corner Battles in Kansas City, Missouri. The end came at the 1:20 mark of round two.