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.
Damm and Akano are no strangers to one another, as both share a common manager in Shu Hirata, but both travelled very different paths on their way to the tournament. Meanwhile, the odds-on favourite Tate will look to get back into title contention against Kujala, who makes her Strikeforce debut.
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.
Citing a foot injury suffered during training, New Mexico’s Angela Magana has withdrawn from the Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament. She was scheduled to face unbeaten pound-for-pound queen Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii at Bellator 24 on August 12th in a first-round tournament matchup.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California tonight for UFC 117: “Silva vs Sonnen.” The event was headlined by a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva and outspoken wrestling standout Chael Sonnen.
A featured women’s bout has been added to the upcoming Jackson’s MMA Series 2 card on September 4th. Julie “Fireball” Kedzie, one of the true pioneers of women’s MMA in North America, will square off with unbeaten prospect Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio at 135 pounds.