Former Deep champion Hisae Watanabe was fortunate to escape with a Majority Draw in a competitive atomweight matchup on Sunday night at Vale Tudo Japan: “VTJ In Osaka” in Osaka, Japan. Watanabe faced off against 19-year-old South Korean prospect Jeong Eun Park in the co-main event.

Sunday’s bout appeared to belong to Park, who kept Watanabe on the defensive with a varied arsenal of kicks and quick punching combinations. Watanabe’s best success came in the form of right hooks, and a brief knockdown late in round one was enough to even the fight on two cards.

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Following a pair of close decision defeats, Cortney “Cast Iron” Casey seeks her first Octagon victory on July 13th at UFC Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Casey is set to battle once-beaten Romanian prospect Cristina “Barbie” Stanciu in strawweight action on the preliminary card.

UFC officials announced the fight this past weekend. Casey came up just short in competitive UFC bouts against Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood and Seo Hee Ham this past year. Stanciu put on a strong showing in her April UFC debut, but dropped a narrow decision to Maryna “The Iron Woman” Moroz.

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Hometown fan favourite Jessica “Evil” Eye faces a must-win situation when she competes in front of a partisan crowd on September 10th at UFC 203: “Miocic vs Overeem” in Cleveland, Ohio. Eye is expected to face off against Bethe “Pitbull” Correia in a bantamweight showdown on the card.

Globo.com first reported on plans for the matchup earlier this month. Eye has dropped three straight fights inside the Octagon including a decision loss to Sara McMann this past month. Former UFC title challenger Correia also seeks redemption after suffering her second consecutive defeat in April.

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Following an 11-month hiatus from competition, Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood made a triumphant return to the Octagon tonight at UFC Fight Night 89: “MacDonald vs Thompson.” Calderwood stopped former strawweight title challenger Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau in round three of a flyweight bout.

Tonight’s performance was arguably the best of Calderwood’s career. She floored Létourneau with a spinning back elbow in round one and finished her with a kick to the body in the final round. Earlier tonight, Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos earned a key win over Jocelyn “Lights Out” Jones-Lybarger.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada tonight for UFC Fight Night 89: “MacDonald vs Thompson.” The event was headlined by a welterweight contender’s bout between Rory “Red King” MacDonald and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.

In tonight’s co-main event, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone took on Patrick “The Predator” Côté at 170 pounds. Steve “The Boss” Bosse battled Sean “The Real OC” O’Connell and Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau met Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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Veteran contender Kate Jackson capped off her team’s remarkable run through the quarterfinals with a competitive decision victory during tonight’s ninth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 23: “Team Joanna vs Team Claudia.” Jackson defeated Team Joanna’s Ashley Yoder in a close two-round fight.

Jackson’s win moved Team Claudia to a 7-1 final tally over Team Joanna in the quarterfinal round. Her ground and pound and a late offensive onslaught on the feet were just enough to propel her to a narrow Unanimous Decision victory. Following the fight, all four semi-final matchups were announced.

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Former UFC strawweight title challenger “Thug” Rose Namajunas seeks her fourth straight victory when she steps back inside the Octagon on July 30th at UFC 201: “Lawler vs Woodley” in Atlanta, Georgia. Namajunas faces unbeaten standout Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a top contender’s bout.

UFC officials confirmed the matchup on Monday evening following an initial report from ESPN. Namajunas recently avenged a loss by edging out Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres in a rematch at UFC on FOX 19. Kowalkiewicz has posted back-to-back decision victories since signing with the UFC.

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Former Jewels champion Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama captured another title on Sunday afternoon at Deep Jewels 12 in Tokyo, Japan. Sugiyama edged out Emi Tomimatsu in the three-round main event to become Deep Jewels Atomweight Champion in front of a capacity crowd at Shinjuku FACE.

Sunday’s win capped off a run of redemption for Sugiyama, who struggled after losing her Jewels Featherweight Queen Championship in 2013. Also at Deep Jewels 12, Saori “Shooting Star” Ishioka earned a first-round finish in the co-main event, and 17-year-old Nori Date upset Yuko “Amiba” Oya.

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