OSAC: All Shine Fights Competitors Now IneligibleWhile the Shine Fights Grand Prix went ahead as planned last weekend, controversy continues to surround the promotion. Contrary to claims from Shine Fights COO Jason Chambers, all fighters who competed on the card now face 60-day ineligibility distinctions in Oklahoma, Ohio and elsewhere.

OSAC Inspector Leigh Brown confirmed to MMARising.com that all Shine Fights participants are now ineligible to compete on sanctioned MMA cards for 60 days from the date of the event. The one-night, eight-man lightweight tournament was won by former UFC welterweight contender Drew Fickett.

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UFC Fight Night 22 Live Play-By-Play & ResultsThe Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas tonight for UFC Fight Night 22. The event was headlined by a middleweight matchup between former title challenger Nate “The Great” Marquardt and leglock specialist Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares.

Also on the main card, TUF 8 winner Efrain “Hecho en México” Escudero faced unbeaten prospect Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira in lightweight action, while Jim Miller took on Gleison Tibau in another featured 155-pound bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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Shinya Aoki Likely For DEEP: 50th Impact, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai In TalksDREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki is very likely to compete at the upcoming DEEP: “50th Impact” event on October 24th. Sources close to the promotion tell MMARising.com that Aoki will compete on the Tokyo card against a mid-level, non-contender opponent.

In other related news, DEEP officials are also in talks with Hayato “Mach” Sakurai to compete on the same card. Sakurai’s participation is by no means certain, but both sides are involved in an ongoing dialogue. Sakurai made three appearances for DEEP in 2003, going 2-1 during that time.

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Kiuma Kunioku, Carina Damm & Eiji Ishikawa To Compete At Fury 2Former two division King of Pancrase Kiuma Kunioku will return to action on October 9th at Fury 2 in Macau. The submission specialist will face Golden Glory representative Vincent Latoel in a featured bout on the card and will look to pick up his fourth win in his last five fights.

Also on the card, recent Strikeforce signee Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm will square off with Mongolian wrestler Esui, while Grabaka veteran Eiji Ishikawa takes on UFC veteran Jess “The Joker” Liaudin. Sources close to the event confirmed all three fights with MMARising.com.

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BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes 3 Targeted For UFC 123A trilogy bout between former UFC champions “The Prodigy” BJ Penn and Matt Hughes is planned for UFC 123 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. CagePotato first reported on the bout’s possibility and multiple sources have since confirmed plans for the fight. Penn will return to 170 for the bout.

Penn and Hughes first met at UFC 46 in early 2004 in a one-sided fight that saw Penn emerge victorious by submission late in the first round. Hughes got his revenge at UFC 63 in 2006 after rallying from two rounds down to stop Penn in the third round. Hughes has now won three straight fights.

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Strikeforce Announces Signing Of Josh BarnettFormer UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett has officially signed with Strikeforce. The promotion announced the acquisition earlier today. Barnett was previously one of the top heavyweight free agents in MMA, but his career has been marred by steroid scandals.

Barnett joins an increasingly impressive heavyweight division in Strikeforce that features fellow ex-PRIDE stars Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum, current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem and former world number one “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko.

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Erin Toughill Withdraws From Martial Combat 9 Fight In SingaporeJust two days before she was scheduled to face China’s Bao Yu Dan, Erin “Steel” Toughill has withdrawn from Martial Combat 9 in Singapore. Toughill cited a broken clavicle as the reason for pulling out of the 155-pound fight, which has now been scrapped from the card entirely.

The development is the latest in a series of fight cancellations and disputes that Toughill has been involved in since signing with Strikeforce in 2009. She was thrice scheduled to compete for Strikeforce, but fights failed to come to fruition on each occasion and the injury is yet another setback.

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Dream.16 Card Takes Shape, Three More Fights SetThe September 25th Dream.16 fight card is beginning to take shape and three more bouts have been added to the event. Former top lightweight contender “The Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida will continue on with his campaign as a featherweight when he faces “Wicky” Akiyo Nishiura.

Elsewhere, Cole “The Triangle” Escovedo will look to pick up his second victory in DREAM when he steps in for new Bellator champ Joe Warren against Michihiro Omigawa. Chase “The Rage” Beebe will also return to DREAM when he faces Hiroyuki “Streetfight Bancho” Takaya.

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