Wand Fight Team member Michele “Diablita” Gutierrez picked up her third straight victory tonight when she stopped 13-fight veteran Tammie Schneider at Crowbar MMA: “Fall Brawl.” Gutierrez scored with effective strikes that damaged Schneider’s right eye, forcing a halt to the bout in round three.
In the night’s co-main event, Nina Ansaroff made a big statement in her professional debut by defeating SNMMA Women’s Flyweight Champion Catia “Cat Woman” Vitoria in a non-title bout at 125 pounds. All three judges sided with the Florida native, who was cornered by Shayna Baszler.
Former DEEP Women’s Lightweight Champion Hisae Watanabe may make her long-awaited return to mixed martial arts this Fall. Watanabe retired from MMA in late 2007, but has competed in kickboxing and shootboxing bouts this year, including in the recent 2010 Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup.
After taking a pair of kickboxing bouts outside of the promotion, South Korean star Seo Hee Ham has been released from Jewels and is out of the 2010 Lightweight Grand Prix. Jewels has booked a fight between Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka and Celine Haga for “Tenth Ring” on October 10th, with the winner taking Ham’s spot in the tournament semi-finals.
Former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson and former two-time K-1 HERO’s tournament champ Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante will face off at Strikeforce San Jose: “Diaz vs Noons 2” on October 9th. The fight, first thought to be set for June, was officially announced today.
After close to two years away from the sport, Paulina “Sweetness” Ramirez made a successful return to mixed martial arts tonight at Tachi Palace Fights 6: “High Stakes” in Lemoore, California. The Hanford native bested former training partner Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto of Fresno.
Despite the loss of tournament participant Marcus “Maximus” Aurelio, Shine Fights still intends to move forward with its eight-man Lightweight Grand Prix on Friday. Shine Fights COO Jason Chambers told MMAFighting.com that the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma is already “90% sold out.”
The semi-finals of the Bellator Fighting Championships 115-pound women’s tournament will take place at Bellator 31 on September 30th. Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii faces Lisa Ward for the second time, while Jessica “Jag” Aguilar battles Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto. The promotion confirmed both fights with MMARising.com earlier today.
In an update from yesterday, MMARising.com has confirmed that all fighters on this Friday’s Shine Fights card in Newkirk, Oklahoma will face ineligibility suspensions for taking part in an unsanctioned event. The suspensions, expected to last between 60 and 90 days, are enforceable by all member states in the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).