Fans in Ontario, Canada may finally be able to attend live mixed martial arts events in 2011 without travelling beyond the provincial borders. The Ontario government announced today that the province will regulate MMA and the sport’s top promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is eyeing a 2011 Ontario debut that could happen as early as March.
The announcement represents a stark contrast from comments made by Premier Dalton McGuinty earlier this year, but the UFC credits Minister of Consumer Services Sophia Aggelonitis for assisting in the process.
In a night marred by dreadful officiating and a round format that left a lot to be desired, Miesha “Takedown” Tate persevered to become the Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Tournament Champion. Tate outlasted Maiju Kujala and Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano in a pair of highly competitive battles.
Strikeforce came to the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona tonight with Strikeforce Challengers 10. The card was headlined by a catchweight bout between UFC veteran Joe “Diesel” Riggs and Louis “Handgunz” Taylor and also featured the professional mixed martial arts debut of Ryan Couture.
At last, the first-round matchups for tomorrow night’s Strikeforce 135-pound women’s tournament are known. A random drawing at tonight’s weigh-ins determined that Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm will face Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano, while Miesha “Takedown” Tate faces Maiju Kujala.
The inaugural Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament kicked off tonight at Bellator 24 in Hollywood, Florida and the first two semi-finalists are now known. Women’s pound-for-pound queen Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii submitted late replacement Carla Esparza, while Jessica “Jag” Aguilar defeated Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez.
As a result of an injury, Bellator Season Two Lightweight tournament winner Pat Curran will no longer face Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 33. Instead, UFC veteran Roger “El Matador” Huerta will battle Alvarez in a non-title bout. MMAjunkie.com first reported on the change.
This Friday’s Strikeforce 135-pound women’s tournament has undergone last-minute format changes. The promotion announced last week that all bouts in the four-woman tournament would be contested under a three, three-minute round format. However, opening round bouts have now been shortened and will be contested over just two rounds of three minutes.
On just three days’ notice, former two-time All-American wrestler Carla Esparza will step in to face Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii this Thursday night at Bellator Fighting Championships 24 in Hollywood, Florida. Esparza will replace Angela Magana, who was forced to withdraw due to a foot injury.