As a result of an injury sustained in his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship defence against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will undergo surgery on his hand. The procedure will prevent Machida from facing Rua at UFC 108 next year in a rematch from their controversial UFC 104 meeting last weekend.

Public outcry followed in the hours and days after the pair’s first meeting, as Machida was awarded with a highly controversial Unanimous Decision that most observers felt should have gone to Rua.

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The return of Vale Tudo Japan resulted in an excellent event that featured legends, current champions and future stars. In the main event, former PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi earned a hard-fought five-round decision over reigning King of the Cage Lightweight Champion Tony “Lionheart” Hervey.

In the co-main event, Shooto Lightweight Champion “Lion” Takeshi Inoue stopped former champion Alexandre Franca “Pequeno” Nogueira in the fourth round of a five-round non-title bout.

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Following conflicting reports throughout the morning, American Top Team has officially confirmed that top welterweight contender Thiago “Pitbull” Alves has suffered a torn knee ligament in training. He will be unable to compete in a rematch with Jon Fitch at UFC 107 and a replacement opponent for Fitch is being sought.

Alves was defeated by Fitch in the pair’s first meeting at UFC Fight Night 5 in June of 2006 and aimed to avenge the loss, but will have to wait until next year to get a second shot at Fitch.

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Strikeforce’s upcoming “Fedor vs Rogers” card on November 7th will still feature a women’s bout after all, as highly-ranked contender Roxanne Modafferi has stepped in to replace an ailing Erin Toughill and will face Dutch standout Marloes Coenen in a rematch from their 2007 battle.

Modafferi, who regularly competes at 135 pounds, earned a Split Decision victory over Coenen in the 2007 meeting and became K-GRACE Tournament Champion in the process. She will look to pick up her second victory over Coenen in her Strikeforce debut.

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Mere hours after the cancellation of the top contender’s bout between Sarah Kaufman and Takayo Hashi, a medical issue has forced Erin Toughill to withdraw from her title eliminator bout against Marloes Coenen, which was set to be a part of the Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Rogers” card on November 7th.

Details surrounding Toughill’s withdrawal have not been released, but the cause is said to be due to an “undisclosed medical condition.” There has been no word as to whether Coenen will still compete on the card, but the lack of top challengers makes her participation unlikely.

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With just over three weeks until the event, a highly-anticipated women’s bout between undefeated Canadian Sarah Kaufman and top Japanese contender Takayo Hashi has been removed from the November 20th Strikeforce Challengers 5 card. The fight may be rescheduled for 2010.

Kaufman confirmed speculation that she would no longer be facing Hashi at the event earlier today. The bantamweight bout was conspicuously absent from the fight card when Strikeforce released their revamped website design early yesterday, which sparked rumours that the fight was off.

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Unable to shake off an ongoing illness, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar has withdrawn from his upcoming UFC 106 title defence against top contender Shane Carwin. The fight has been tentatively rescheduled for UFC 108 on January 2, 2010.

A light heavyweight rematch between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will now headline the UFC 106 card, which takes place on November 21st. The co-main event features the promotional debut of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who takes on rising star Luiz Cane.

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Keeping her perfect professional record intact, Elena “Babydoll” Reid rose to 4-0-0 in mixed martial arts with a third-round stoppage of Masako Yoshida, a Japanese veteran of 36 fights, at Extreme Beatdown 5 on Saturday night in New Town, North Dakota.

Reid, a former WIBA and IFBA Flyweight Champion in boxing, has excelled since debuting in MMA in late 2007. With the victory over Yoshida, she captured her first title in mixed martial arts by becoming the first Extreme Beatdown Women’s Flyweight Champion.

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