On October 28th at Bellator 34, something happened that had never taken place before: Megumi Fujii competed in a mixed martial arts bout and her hand was not raised in victory at its conclusion. Fujii was upset by Zoila Frausto, who became Bellator 115-Pound Women’s Champion.
One week after suffering her first loss in 23 career bouts, Fujii has spoken out about the fight and her future. The long-time pound-for-pound queen, who has also trained some of the sport’s best female fighters, believes that the loss has given her a strength that she was missing before the fight.
Unbeaten 19-year-old prospect Tay Stratford will make her long-awaited Tuff-N-Uff debut on November 12th against Team Quest’s Shauna Dugger. The featured bout will be part of an eight-woman 145-pound tournament that will crown the first Tuff-N-Uff 145-pound amateur women’s champion.
Change was the central theme of the month of November. New champions were crowned in a variety of weight classes, while former divisional leaders suffered defeats. Cain Velasquez kept his unbeaten record intact when he dethroned Brock Lesnar to become the new UFC Heavyweight Champion.
A 135-pound women’s bout between tough veteran Jan “Cuddles” Finney and unbeaten prospect Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche is in the works for the Strikeforce Challengers 12 card on November 19th. MMARising.com first learned of the possible fight earlier this week and confirmed plans today.
Sengoku Raiden Championship came to the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan today for SRC 15. The main event featured a light heavyweight bout between Hiroshi Izumi and James “The Messenger” Zikic. Both the SRC Welterweight and Asia Bantamweight Grand Prixs were also showcased.
Four more fights have been announced for Greatest Common Multiple’s all-female Valkyrie 8 card on November 28th. Valkyrie Flyweight Champion Yasuko Tamada will face Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama in a non-title bout, while promotional veterans will return in other featured fights.
As has become a theme in her career, Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto came out on the right end of a controversial Split Decision tonight at Bellator Fighting Championships 34. She edged the previously unbeaten Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii via a contentious five-round decision to become the first ever Bellator 115-Pound Women’s Champion.
The long-rumoured merger between Zuffa’s Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting brands will take place in January 2011. MMAFighting.com first reported on the merger, which was later officially announced by UFC President Dana White today.