Former UFC women’s strawweight champ Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza made a triumphant return to the Octagon and picked up a pivotal win tonight at UFC 197: “Jones vs St. Preux” in Las Vegas, Nevada. The standout wrestler earned a Unanimous Decision victory over Juliana “Ju Thai” Lima.
Esparza, who took tonight’s fight on short notice, got back in contention for the 115-pound women’s title that she relinquished to Joanna Jędrzejczyk 13 months ago. She used her wrestling skills to keep Lima pinned down on the mat in all three rounds and walked away with a well-deserved victory.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 197: “Jones vs St. Preux.” The event was headlined by a UFC Interim Light Heavyweight Championship bout between former champion Jon “Bones” Jones and Ovince “OSP” St. Preux.
Fan favourite Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig makes her return after a lengthy hiatus and seeks a crucial win on July 23rd at UFC on FOX 20 in Chicago, Illinois. The hometown star, who has not fought since April 2015, is set to battle Hawaiian prospect Kailin Curran in strawweight action on the card.
Strawweight standout Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos looks to get back into title contention with a win on June 18th at UFC Fight Night 89: “MacDonald vs Thompson” in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Markos faces off against RFA champion Jocelyn “Lights Out” Jones-Lybarger in a featured matchup.
The Ultimate Fighter 23: “Team Joanna vs Team Claudia” premiered tonight on FOX Sports 1 and TSN. This season’s debut episode included all 16 elimination-round bouts as male light heavyweights and female strawweights began their quests to become TUF 23 champion and earn a UFC contract.
Top-ranked contenders Emi Tomimatsu and Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama will face off for the newly-vacant Deep Jewels Atomweight Championship on June 5th at Deep Jewels 12 in Tokyo, Japan. The 105-pound championship fight was one of seven bouts officially announced for the card earlier today.
Shoot Boxing Women’s Flyweight Champion Rena Kubota extended her winning streak to 16 with a Unanimous Decision victory tonight at Rizin Fighting Federation 1 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. The popular Kubota defeated Chute Boxe representative Cyndi Alves in a 51kg shoot boxing matchup.
TUF 20 finalist “Thug” Rose Namajunas made a strong case for a second shot at UFC gold with her biggest victory to date tonight at UFC on FOX 19: “Teixeira vs Evans” in Tampa, Florida. Namajunas avenged a past loss by edging out Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres in strawweight action.