World Extreme Cagefighting came to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight with WEC 50: “Cruz vs Benavidez 2.” The excellent event was headlined by a back-and-forth WEC Bantamweight Championship rematch between champ Dominick Cruz and challenger Joseph Benavidez.

Also on the stacked card, Shane Roller faced Anthony “Showtime” Pettis in lightweight action, while Cub Swanson took on Chad Mendes at 145. Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen and Brad “One Punch” Pickett squared off in a bantamweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the event.

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The Bellator Fighting Championships 115-pound women’s tournament is set to conclude at Bellator 34 on October 28th. The finals of the eight-woman bracket will take place on the season-ending card, while the semi-finals are set for Bellator 29 on September 16th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Megumi Fujii, a tournament favourite who won her first-round matchup at Bellator 24, posted the updated schedule on her blog yesterday. She will face the winner of next Thursday’s Bellator 26 bout between Lisa Ward and Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly in the next round of the tournament.

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Despite the efforts of top female fighters such as Tara LaRosa, an official decision on whether to instate a 125-pound women’s division in Strikeforce has not yet been made. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed tonight with MMARising.com that talks are progressing, but nothing is final.

Following this past Friday’s Strikeforce 135-pound women’s tournament, LaRosa commented that three of the four tournament participants could all easily make 125 pounds. Miesha “Takedown” Tate, the tournament winner, later stated that she could make 125 as well if necessary.

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While a superfight between dominant Strikeforce champions Sarah Kaufman and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos may still be a possibility, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker remains focused on a 135-pound title fight between Kaufman and Marloes “Rumina” Coenen. Coker confirmed with MMARising.com that plans for the Kaufman-Coenen bout are still the top priority.

Recent speculation has suggested that Coenen may have trouble with the weight cut to 135, which led to rumours that Kaufman may face Santos later this year instead, but Coker maintains that that is not the case.

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Despite rumours to the contrary earlier today, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker tells MMARising.com that his promotion is not currently planning any events for the month of September. Reports today suggested that Strikeforce may return to Kansas City or elsewhere in the Midwest on September 17th.

The current Strikeforce schedule continues this Saturday with Strikeforce: Houston at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, and the promotion will return to its home base of San Jose, California on October 9th. Strikeforce Challengers 11 will take place on October 23rd in Fresno, California.

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2008 Olympic bronze medallist Randi Miller won’t have an easy fight in her mixed martial arts debut. The wrestling standout will face Jewels postergirl Hiroko Yamanaka in a special rules MMA bout on August 29th as part of the Shootboxing Girls S-Cup card in Tokyo, Japan.

The fight will be contested under “special Jewels rules” which permit strikes to the head on the ground. Women’s fights in Jewels traditionally outlaw ground-and-pound. Round numbers and times were not disclosed, but it is expected that the bout will be a professional mixed martial arts fight.

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As a result of a hip injury, former PRIDE and UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming main event rematch with Frank Mir at UFC 119. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović is expected to take Nogueira’s place in the fight.

Fighters Only was first to report on the change in combatants, though Filipović’s participation has not been officially announced. MMAjunkie.com was first to disclose the nature of Nogueira’s injury. Filipovi&#263 has won three of his last four fights inside the Octagon and sports a 4-3 UFC record.

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After declining an August Strikeforce fight with Shana “Rock Solid” Olsen due to an inability to make 145 pounds, Erin “Steel” Toughill will now travel to Singapore for her next fight. She will compete for the upstart Martial Combat promotion at Martial Combat 9 on September 15th.

Toughill’s opponent is reportedly China’s Bao Yu Dan and the fight will be contested at 155 pounds. Dan’s record is reportedly 3-0 in MMA but, as with some other fighters on the Martial Combat cards, background information is scarce. The bout should serve as a tune-up fight for Toughill.

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