Knockout artist Kaitlin Young is set to return to mixed martial arts action on September 11th in Fargo, North Dakota. The Circle Pines, Minnesota native will square off with San Francisco’s Jamie Seaton in a 135-pound matchup in the co-main event of Crowbar MMA: “Fall Brawl.”
Young most recently competed in the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women’s Bantamweight Grand Prix in January, but was defeated in the first round by rising star Jennifer “Rosebud” Tate. Seaton, who has split time between 135 and 145 pounds, has won two straight fights.
Following changes made late this week, MMARising.com can exclusively report that the one-night Strikeforce 135-pound women’s tournament will proceed on August 13th and all four participants are confirmed. A plan is in place to use a random draw format to determine first-round matchups.
The DREAM Lightweight Championship was up for grabs tonight when champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki finally squared off with top contender Tatsuya “Crusher” Kawajiri. The long-awaited matchup headlined Dream.15 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
After successfully retaining the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 116, Brock Lesnar may make his next title defence as early as October. MMAFighting.com reports that a bout between Lesnar and unbeaten rising star Cain Velasquez is planned for UFC 121 on October 23rd.
In her professional mixed martial arts debut, Danbury, Connecticut native Marianna “The Crushen Russian” Kheyfets dominated Kim “Sugar Free” Couture tonight at XFC 11: “The Next Generation.” Kheyfets dropped Couture and finished the fight with a triangle choke.
Former WEC Featherweight Champion “The California Kid” Urijah Faber has suffered a knee injury in training and has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming WEC 50 card on August 18th. Faber had been scheduled to make his bantamweight debut against Takeya Mizugaki.
For the first time in their UFC careers, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and twin brother Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will compete on the same card at UFC 119. Rodrigo will face Frank Mir for the second time, while Rogerio takes on the unbeaten Ryan “Darth” Bader. MMAFighting.com and MMAWeekly.com were first to report on the fights, respectively.
The two remaining opening-round bouts for Bellator’s 115-pound women’s tournament have been confirmed for Bellator Fighting Championships 25. Jessica Pene will take on Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto, while Lisa Ward faces Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly. MMAjunkie.com was first to report on both fights, which will take place on August 19th.