Bellator Fighting Championships is reportedly planning to hold its first women’s tournament this year. Female boxing champion and undefeated mixed martial artist Elena “Babydoll” Reid stated earlier today that the promotion may begin a 115-pound women’s tournament in August.
Bellator previously announced tentative plans to hold an eight-woman 125-pound tournament that would feature divisional stars Rosi Sexton and Tara LaRosa. With the possible switch to a 115-pound format, Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii is rumoured to be participating.
Heavyweights dominated the mixed martial arts scene in an MMA-rich month of March, with veteran fighters falling victim to rising stars. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir suffered a crushing loss at the hands of Shane Carwin at UFC 111 and Carwin takes a big step up the ranks.
Strikeforce veteran Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto will face another tough test when she returns to action at The Warriors Cage: “Meltdown” on May 16th. The talented kickboxer will square off with hard-hitting striker Michelle “Thundercat” Ould. Both Ould and Frausto confirmed plans for the 125-pound bout earlier this evening.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Bojangles’ Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina tonight with a solid card at UFC Fight Night 21. The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between former two-time UFC title challenger Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian and final PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi.
A middleweight superfight between Hector “Shango” Lombard and former WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo “Ely” Filho is planned for Bellator Fighting Championships 18 on May 13th. The promotion confirmed the news earlier today. Lombard’s Bellator title will not be on the line.
While first hoped to be returning to mixed martial arts in May for Freestyle Cage Fighting, female bantamweight star Amanda Buckner will remained sidelined until this Fall as she continues her recovery after successful ACL surgery. Buckner confirmed the update with MMARising.com on Friday.
Insurance and liability issues continue to create havoc for the city of Vancouver, British Columbia and it appears that a planned UFC event in June will no longer take place in the city. The Canadian Press reported earlier today that UFC 115, tentatively set for June 12th in Vancouver, is likely off and will be moved to Cincinnati, Ohio.
The second round of the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women’s Bantamweight Grand Prix took place last night at FCF 40 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. In a pair of competitive three-round decisions, Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler and Jan “Cuddles” Finney were both victorious.