Two female boxers were looking for the Olympic dream, but only one represented their country at 75 kg.

“Last Woman Standing” documents two of the best amateur boxers on the planet in Canada’s Mary Spenser and Ariane Fortin as they seeked to become Olympic gold medalists. Even though the two became fast friends on the amateur boxing circuit, circumstances beyond both ladies’ control would put their friendship on hold.

The documentary isn’t as much about the friendly rivalry of the two, but how circumstances aided one and hurt the other. The pressure of one being in the limelight with the hopes of a nation on her shoulders, while the other feeling slighted by what she felt was an unjust system and trying to find a way to make her Olympic dream come true despite the adversity.

The documentary also alludes to the unfairness in women’s Olympic boxing of only having three weight classes. Many boxers had to drop or move up in order to fulfill their dreams of being Olympians. The film shows some of the many reasons why 3 weight classes aren’t enough to support the bevy of talent across the globe. (A campaign is underway to add more weight classes in 2016.)

It’s a poignant tale which gives you a sense of why both women are fighters in the truest sense of the word, and the mutual respect both have in a world where you must literally beat your opponent to be the best in the world.

You can watch “Last Woman Standing” now on Amazon and iTunes. You can also purchase it on DVD at ProspectorFilms.ca.

We here at Wombat Sports are encouraging fighters to take up using social media. The innovation has helped make the women’s MMA divisions stronger in countless ways, and other female combat sports are taking the hint.

Most fighters have a Facebook account, which is great. However, some feel a bit inept or lost when it comes to twitter. We notice some barely use their accounts at all even if they have them.

There are many advantages to being on twitter. It tends to more active and real time than facebook. Not to mention it is easier for promotions to push people towards your twitter than your facebook.

Here are a few tips when creating and using your twitter account.

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What’s in a handle? How to pick one…

Sometimes the simplest is the best. Most go by their name (@RondaRousey) or if their name is taken add MMA (@AlexisDavisMMA). You can always have fun with the handle with a nickname like @rowdybec and or @MMAheartless.

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Getting Set-up. Description is key…

In order for people to find you, this is a key step. First name is helpful and so is last. If you don’t want to use your last name, that’s okay.

Make sure your description give some details. Saying your a MMA fighter helps tons. Most put “pro mma fighter 115″ or “ammy bantamweight mma fighter”. Some put their gym, record, ect., which is optional. If you give some description you are more likely to get more followers.

You can link your facebook and personal site as well, and we highly recommend you do so.

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Don’t Think of it as “What do I say in 140 Characters?”

Rather, think of it as the “World’s Largest Chatroom”. The idea is to say something in a sentence or two; be it a thought, an announcement, or reaction to something. Once you say something, people will interact with you once you have some followers.

The beauty of twitter is that even if you are shy, you can find it easy to say something on twitter. Know a lot of female fighters who don’t talk much in person and say a lot on twitter.

The most important think to know is what you say on twitter goes out to the world, so please be mindful of what you tweet. We hear a lot of stories of someone tweeting something stupid and it becoming news an hour later.

Also you can delete tweets. On your twitter page, simply select “delete” under the tweet.

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Getting followers – it’s about who you know at the start…

What do we mean? When you set up your account, it’s important for you to get those people you know that have twitter accounts to let their followers know you are on twitter. We are great at doing so, so make sure to tweet us @WombatSports and we will let the world know you are there.

Twitter is more fun when people can engage in a conversation and having people follow your timeline.

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Follow those you like

The wonderful thing about twitter is access to those who you make like in terms of celebrities, fighters, and friends. Make sure to follow them. Interaction is the basis for this social media form, and fighters especially are active with a lot of their followers. This is why it is important for fighters to get a twitter in the first place – gaining a fan base.

You can follow us @wombatsports & @wmmanews.

We also keep a solid list of fighters twitters here if you want to see who else to follow.

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Tweet Often – Doesn’t Mean Always

One of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to be active on twitter for hours a day. You don’t really. Once or twice a day is fine, even if it’s just to say “hi” or let people know how your day was.

The usual busy times for tweeting for MMA fans is during a big MMA card. This is the best time to interact on twitter, and it’s fun.

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Basic Twitter Lingo

Here are the terms you need to know:

Timeline: A list of your tweets and the people you follow’s tweets.

@name: putting the @ sign with a twitter handle in front of a tweet directs the tweet to a certain person. People that follow you and him/her will be able to see it and also appear on your timeline. Putting the @twitterhandle in the middle or end of a tweet will put it out to all followers and “tags” that person in the tweet.

#/”Hashtag”: a way to reference a subject so anyone on twitter can see your comment. e.g. #wmma. You can usually click a hashtag to see if anyone commented on the same topic. If one topic is being discussed more among twitter users, this is called “trending” and twitter will usually list the top ten list of them somewhere.

RT/”Retweet”: someone relisted a tweet from another user. Sometimes you will be asked to retweet something, which you can do so by clicking the arrowed box below the tweet.

#FF/”Follow Friday”: people recommended to follow on twitter.

DM/D/”Direct Message” – Putting “D” or “DM” before a tweet will private message someone without going out to the world.

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When in Doubt, Link Facebook to your Twitter

…or your instragram. Many people simply use this instead of tweeting because they don’t like the limiting 140 characters.

Here is step by step instructions how to do that.

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Don’t be Scared to Ask Questions

Any questions, just tweet us or facebook us.

Cariaco vs. Rojas

Miscellaneous News

In Pro MMA action on Thursday in Venezuela at SFC 13, Maria Cariaco defeated Paola Rojas by unanimous decision.

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In ammy MMA action Friday, Devon Estes submitted Katie Taylor in 22 seconds.

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In boxing Thursday, Sayda Mosquera defeated Maria Andrea Miranda by KO round 1 in  Panama City, Panama.

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Cyborg Justino has stated she will make the drop to bantamweight in the summer and looks to fight Lauren Murphy for the Invicta 135 title. If she is successful, Cyborg will try a run at the UFC for her dream match with Ronda Rousey.

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Rachael Cummins is looking for her third straight victory as she takes on Tyra Parker at BAMMA USA March 28 in Commerce, CA. Cummins announced the fight Thursday.

Cummins (2-1) is coming off an armbar submission over Michele Gutierrez and is coming off back to back armbar wins. Parker (3-4) is coming off a split decision loss to Kristi Lopez in January. She also has an armbar win over Gutierrez.

Cummins will be on the Wombat Sports podcast Sunday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est.

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Cage Warriors announced a women’s bout for their debut in Copenhagen, Denmark March 22.

Sweden’s Lina Akhtar Lansberg will make her promotional debut when she takes on England’s Emma Delaney in a bantamweight contest. Lansberg (1-1) is coming off a win over L.J. Adams, while Delaney (0-1) is coming off a split decsion loss to Laura Howarth.

The match will stream on MMAJunkie.com March 22.

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Undefeated Ukrainian strawweight Iryna Shaparenko looks for her 6th win as she takes on Poland’s Kamila Porczyk at KSW 26 in  Warsaw, Poland March 22.

Shaparenko has won four of her 5 matches by submission. Porczyk is coming off her pro MMA debut with a first round finish.

No word on if this will be streamed.

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England’s Juta Steel will make her MMA debut as she will face  Lithuanian Akvile Vitkauskaite at WCMMA 14 March 15th in London, England. The semi-pro bout will take place at 55 kg/121 lbs.

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A few changes on the upcoming Virago FC event in Williamsberg, KY.

• Maddy Simmons is out of her match  Brianna Lynch with due to a medical suspension from her last fight.
• Added to a card is a featherweight title between  Allison Ainley and Jessica Ehrnreiter.
• Also on the card, Lisa Reed, Raven Farley, Ariel Duncan, Amanda Benjamin, Tonya Greenlee, Hope Halava, and Kendra Wilson will be in action.

We will hopefully have a complete list of fights next week.

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Former Invicta strawweight champ Carla Esparza and World Series of Fighting signee Ashlee Evans-Smith will be hosting a female pankration clinic March 22 in Santa Ana, CA. First 50 girls ages 7-17 will get in the clinic for free.

More info at Fightleague.org.

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Jihn Yu Frye and Amber Stautzenberger will joins UFC fighters Will Campuzano and Ryan Benoit in a series of seminars March 9 in Coppell, TX. The event will raise funds for “Hope the Silent Voices”

Among the seminars include self-defense, nutrition, and conditioning. The event is $75 and you can get more info at WillCampuzano.com.

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Gina Carano stopped by Lotus Club BJJ to put on a gi and grapple. Carano’s new movie “In the Blood” will hit theathers April 4th. You can watch the trailer here.

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Rumors

Jocelyn Lybarger stated she will be on Invicta 8 to face a yet to be named opponent at 125.

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Former UFC fighter Sheila Gaff stated she is moving back to flyweight in hopes of trying to sign to a major promotion.

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Expect a match announcement from InvictaFC vet Raquel Paaluhi next week.

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Featherweight Muay Thai fighter Hatice Ozyurt stated in an interview with Awakening Females she plans on concentrating more on MMA this year. She is currently 1-2 in MMA.

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Scheduled Fights

Rousey and McMann

Pro MMA

Two female bout are set for UFC 170 in Las Vegas on Saturday

Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey looks to defend her title for the third time as she takes on Sara McMann. Both made weight at 135.

This will not only be the first time two Olympic medalists vie for a UFC title, but only the second time in the UFC two undefeated fighters battle for a belt. Olympic judo medalists Rousey did a 56 day turnaround for the bout, tied for the fastest title back to back defences in UFC history. She looks to continue her armbar submission streak intact, while the Olympic wrestling silver medalists McMann looks for the upset and gain gold.

This will be the main event of the ppv portion of the card.

Davis and Eye

The featured bout on the prelims will see two likely contenders battle to see who maybe next in line. #2 Unified ranked Alexis Davis will face #4 ranked Jessica Eye. Davis (135) and Eye (136) both made weight.

Davis (15-5) is on a four fight win streak with wins over Shayna Baszler and Liz Carmouche. Eye (10-1-1) is on an eight fight unbeaten streak.

The fight will air on Fox Sports 1.

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A pro lightweight title match is set for Saturday.

Katharina Albinus will take on Fruzsina Nagy for the No Compromises MMA 155 strap in Breman, Germany, which will stream for free on the Ground and Pound Germany’s website.

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At King of the Cage in Scottsdale, AZ, Jillian Lybarger will take on Jenny Liou in what will be Lybarger’s pro debut.

Lybarger (5-5 ammy) won four of her last five, including a TKO win over Stephanie Gonzalez at Tuff-n-uff this past November.

Liou (1-0) is coming off a spectacular pro debut, upsetting InvictaFC signee Rachael Ostovich.

In an amateur featherweight contest, Genesia Williams will take on Arianne Christensen in what will be both fighter’s MMA debuts.

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In other pro bouts:

• At MMA Challengers 9 in Katowice, Poland, Weronika Zygmunt takes on Magdalena Smorova
• Elizabeth Phillips faces Rachael Swatez at Conquest of the Cage in Spokane, WA
• Kailin Curran will battle Yoo Jin Jung at PXC in Guam. The match will stream on PXC’s Livestream channel.

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Ammy MMA

In amateur MMA action:

• In a pair of matches at Belts of Honorious in Austin, TX, Montana Stewart takes on Kat Roy and Fatima Mallett faces Sarah Boyd
• At XFO in Chicago, IL, Ligia Bredicean dukes it out with Natalie Barczyk
• In a pair of bouts at Test of Wills 3 in Austin, TX Bianca Rodriguez faces Bebe Laced and Brittany Anne Robertson takes on Stephanie Builderback
• Jamie Driver battles Bridget McEliece at CFFC in King of Prussia, PA
• In Columbia, South Carolina at Caged Choas, Dinah Berry dukes it out with Annie DeCrescente
• In a pair of bouts at ICON in Austin, Texas, Brittany Robertson faces Stephanie Builderback and Bianca Rodriguez takes on Laurie Ashby
• Andrea Craig battles Mallory Gellner at Honor Fights 3 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

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Courtesy LaPrimeradePuebla.com

Boxing

Mariana Juarez is looking to defend WBC International super flyweight title for the second time as she faces  WBO/WIBF flyweight champion Melissa McMorrow in Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.

Juarez (38-7-3) won her title this past July in a rematch with Riyo Togo. Since then, she successfully defend the belt this past October.

McMorrow (9-3) won her flyweight titles in 2012 and is on a three fight win streak.

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In other boxing action:

• In Buenos Aires, Argentina Fernanda Soledad Alegre faces Marisol Reyes (118)
• Ana Lozanotakes on Paulina Cardona in Caracas, Venezuela

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Shoot Boxing

Three shoot boxing matches are set for Tokyo.

• Rena Kubota vs. Rena Kubota
• Mio Tsumura, vs. Akari “Eneos” Nakamura
•  Ai Takahashi vs. Miyumi Takahashi.

Shevchenko

Miscellaneous News

In MMA action Wednesday, Valentina Shevchenko defeated Hellen Bastos by TKO round 2 at FFC in Peru.

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In MMA action Friday morning, Kailin Curran defeated Yoo Jin Jung by unanimous decision at PXC in Guam.

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In boxing action Thursday in Niagara Falls, New York, Michelle Cook defeated Ivana Coleman by unanimous decision.

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Strawweight prospect Brianna VanBuren looks to make a statement as she faces InvictaFC vet Lacey Schuckman at Rogue Fights April 12 in Redding, CA. VanBuren announced the fight Thursday.

VanBuren (2-1) is coming off an unanimous decision over Patricia Vidonic this past January. After a pro debut first round KO, VanBuren looked impressive in a loss to current XFC champion Stephanie Eggink.

Schuckman (9-7) is coming off a decsion loss to Amber Stautzenberger after back to back wins.

No word on if this will be streamed.

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XFC announced it’s second Brazilian card March 15 in  Sao Paulo, Brazil. The co-main event will feature a rematch between Aline Serio and Kalindra Faria.

Serio (7-4) has won four of her last five fight since her decision loss to Faria in 2012 at Pink Fights; with two finishes.

Faria (12-3) is on an eight fight win streak, finishes her last five opponents.

The match will stream for free on XFCMMA.com March 15.

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Added to the RFA preliminary card March 7th, Janie Konyek is fighting Erin Smith in an amateur lightweight battle.

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Anne Merkt is looking for her third win as she takes on Aitek Emadi at Resepct FC 11 April 5 in Dormagen, Germany.

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April 12 at the Arena 2 Combat in Goiania, Brazil, long time martial artist Jackeline Sales Ferreira Leite will make her pro debut against Naiara Guerreira.

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Ronda Rousey will be busy in March and April as she will be back filming movies.

Rousey has stated she will be acting in the “Entourage” move is in March, but word came Thursday “The Fast and the Furious 7″ filming will resume in April 1 in Atlanta.

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Rumors

Dutch Muay Thai fighter Denise Kielholtz is planning to make the transition to MMA this year.

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Scheduled Fights

Costigan & Cabello courtesy Cage Warriors/Dolly Crew

Pro MMA

Undefeated atomweight Catherine Costigan looks to make it four in a row as she will take on Spain’s Irene Cabello (1-1) at Cage Warriors in Dublin, Ireland. Both Cabello (105.8 lbs) and Costigan (105.1 lbs) made weight.

Ireland’s Costigan made her Cage Warriors debut this past New Years eve, getting a third round rear naked choke over France’s Morgane Delagnau.

Cabello will be making her debut at atomweight after getting her first pro win this past May with a first armbar at Super Fight League in India.

The match will stream on Cage Warrior’s facebook page Saturday at 11:45 a.m. pst/2:45 p.m. est.

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Undefeated fighter Alexis Dufresne will battle a returning Kim Couture at RC MMA in Mexico City, Mexico Friday night.

Dufresne (4-0) has finished all of her fights in the first round with two TKOs and 2 submissions.

Couture (3-7) is coming off a two year absence due to injury. She is looking to kick start her career.

This will stream for free on RC MMA Youtube Friday at  8:30 pm pst, 11:30 p.m. est.

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Amateur prospect Jessica Zomcik will be dropping to bantamweight for her pro debut as she takes on Summer Bradshaw at the debut of Driven MMA in Canton, Ohio.

Zomcik (9-3 amateur) recently won the Tuff-n-uff featherweight tournament and won the 2013 WMMA Press Award for amatuer fighter of the year.

Bradshaw (0-1) was undefeated as an amateur but is coming off a decision loss to Brittney Elkin.

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On other pro MMA action:

• At Legion Combat 18 in Torrington, WY, Sharice Davids faces Rosa Acevedo
• Elizabeth Phillips takes on Rachael Swatez at Conquest of the Cage in Spokane, WA
• In a pair of bouts at Xtreme Kombat in Mexico City, Mexico, Anely Jimenez faces Tania Pereda and Wendy Arellano battles Karina Gonzalez.

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Ammy MMA

In amateur MMA action:

• In a pair of bouts at CNY Fights in Utica, NY, Cassandra Durant takes on Jen Dibarri, and Jody Curtiss faces Xi Lau
• Brieta Carpenter battles Jordan Raulston at Ultimate Reno Combat in Reno, NV, which will stream on GoFightLive.tv for $12
• At World Fighting Federation in Tuscan, AZ, Nicole Upshaw dukes it out with Tracy Cortez (145)
• Katlyn Chookagian takes on Valerie Aspaas at XCC in Philadelphia, PA
• In Kansas City, KS at TitanFC , Hannah Zeciri faces Florina Moeller
• At Breakthrough MMA in Daytona Beach, Fl, Jeanette DeMarigny battles Amy Sica
• Ellis Hampson dukes it out with Ashley Griffiths at Olympian MMA in Liverpool, England
• In Glasgow, Scotland at On Top 7, Charlotte Park takes on Cristiana Theodoli
• At Havoc MMA: Havoc for Heroes in Collierville, Tennessee, Sara Ayaz faces Shawna Tyler
• Jenna Fox battles Katie Mosley at Central Illinois Throwdown in Peoria, IL

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Munoz & Graf

Boxing

WBC super flyweight champion Zulina Munoz is looking to continue her 24 fight unbeaten streak as she defends her title against Alesia Graf in Merida, Yucatán, Mexico.

Munoz (40-1-2) will be defending the belt for the fourth time and is coming off a win over Marisa Johanna Portillo.

Graf (26-3) is the current WBF super bantamweight champion, and won 6 of her past eight fights.

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In Flemington, Victoria, Australia, Diana Prazak will defend her WBC super featherweight title for the first time as she takes on Shannon O’Connell.

Prazak (12-2) got the KO over Frida Wallberg to win the title last June. She lost to Holly Holm in December 2012, which snapped an 11 fight win streak.

O’Connell (8-2) is the current WBF featherweight champion, having KOed Gabisile Tshabalala this past June for the vacant title.

—–

Undefeated WBC lightweight champion Erica Anabella Farias looks to defend her title for the 11th time as she faces Maria Eugenia Lopez in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Faris (18-0) has nine KOs to her credit and is coming off a decision win over Mary McGee.

Lopez (8-7-2) is coming off a win over Silvia Fernanda Zacarias.

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In Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, Christina Hammer will defend her WBF/WBO middleweight titles against Jessica Balogun.

Hammer (16-0) has yet to taste defeat since her debut in 2009, and will defend both titles for the 10th time. 

Balogun (23-2) is moving up in weight for the title after competing at welterweight. She is coming off a KO over Daniela David this past November.

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In other boxing matches:

• Monica Gentili face Beata Bodi – vacant Italy female lightweight title in Lazio, Italy
• In San Diego, California, Kenia Enriquez takes on Noemi Bosques
• Soledad del Valle Frias battles Maria Magdalena Rivera in San Luis, Argentina
• In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Jelena Mrdjenovich dukes it out with Fatuma Zarika
• In a pair of bouts in Morelos, Mexico. Silvia Torres faces Karina Gallardo and Mireya Hernandez takes on Penelope Gonzalez
• Marianne Marston battles Hana Horakova in London, United Kingdom
• In a pair of bouts in Norcross, Georgia, Nicole Woods takes on Melissa Hernandez, and Karie Contreras faces Racquel Bailey

Pro MMA

Costigan Cabello Courtesy Dolly Clew

One of Europe’s top atomweight prospects Catherine Costigan stays undefeated, running into her toughest challenge to date with Spain’s Irene Cabello at Cage Warriors in Dublin, Ireland.

Costigan (4-0) used her striking early on and was able to stuff a few takedowns. Both used the clinch to exchange elbows and knees.

The second round say Cabello open up Costigan with knees and elbows in the clinch, with Costigan getting the takedown. Cabello worked the triangle choke for most of the round, with Costigan gaining top position as the bell sounded.

Costigan again gained the striking advantage in the third round, getting a slam takedown. Cabello tried for a guillotine, but Costigan fended it off and took top position until the bell.

In the end, Costigan got the split decision win. Cabello suffers her first loss at 105, but looked impressive in her atomweight debut.

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Zomcik Bradshaw Courtesy Driven MMA

Amateur fighter of the Year Jessica Zomcik made a successful debut as a pro getting the armbar over Summer Bradshaw at Driven MMA in Canton, Ohio.

Zomcik and Bradshaw traded early, with Zomcik getting the upper hand. Bradshaw clinched against the cage, and Zomcik pulled guard. Zomcik tried for an armbar, but was defended by Bradshaw. Zomchik re-adjusted and was able to get the tap at 3:17 in the first.

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In what was a mismatch this weekend, undefeated Alexis Dufresne defeated Kim Couture by submission due to strikes at 0:39 of round 1 at RC MMA in Mexico City, Mexico.

Dufresne immediately took down the much smaller Couture easily and gained mount. Couture tapped after some ground and pound in 39 seconds.

In what was supposed to be a 150 pound catch weight, Couture told us post fight that Dufresne was at 170 when she fought, and Couture was around 150. There were no weigh-ins so it was basically an open weight contest.

Couture is looking to change the match to an exhibition.

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In other pro action:

• At Xtreme Kombat in Mexico City, Mexico, Tania Pereda defeated Anely Jimenez by unanimous decision
• Rosa Acevedo defeated Sharice Davids by unanimous decision  at Legion Combat 18 in Torrington, WY.
• At Conquest of the Cage in Spokane, WA, Elizabeth Phillips gets the TKO over Rachael Swatez in round 2

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Ammy MMA

Flyweight prospect Katlyn Chookagian reamins undefeated as she defeated Valerie Aspaas by split decision.at XCC in Philadelphia, PA. Chookagian has won six straight.

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In other amateur fights:

• At World Fighting Federation in Tuscan, AZ, Tracy Cortez defeated Nicole Upshaw by unanimous decision
• Jeanette DeMarigny submitted Amy Sica by rear naked choke at 4:45 of round 2 at Breakthrough MMA in Daytona Beach, Fl
• In Liverpool, England at Olympian MMA, Ellis Hampson got the TKO over Ashley Griffiths at 2:47 in round 2
• At Central Illinois Throwdown in Peoria, IL, Katie Mosley submitted Jenna Fox rear naked choke in round 2
• Choli Nedero got the TKO over Victoria Heffron at 2:08 of round 3 at WCFL ijn Tampa, Florida
• At CNY Fights in Utica, NY Cassandra Durant sumitted Jen Dibarri by armbar at 2:09 in round 3
• In Kansas City, KS at TitanFC,  Hannah Zeciri defeated Florina Moeller by unanimous decision

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Munoz vs. Gaf Courtesy WBAN

Boxing

WBC super flyweight  champion Zulina Munoz keeps her 27 fight unbeaten streak alive getting the technical decision over  Alesia Graf in Merida, Yucatán, Mexico.

In what as a back and forth battle, an accidental headbutt in thrid exacerbated cuts on both boxer’s forehead. Another headbutt in the fifth caused to much blood for both fighters and the referee asked it to go to the judges. Munoz was a head on the score cards and gets the nod.

Munoz improves to 41-1-2 and remains champion.

You can watch the fight here. 

In other action on the card, Isabel Millan gets the TKO over Guadalupe Rodriguez in round 3

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Diana Prazak retains her WBC super featherweight title with a TKO over Shannon O’Connell in round 5 in Flemington, Victoria, Australia.

Prazak dropped O’Connell twice in round two and the ref saw enough at 1:56 of round 5.

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In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Erica Anabella Farias got the unimous decision win over Maria Eugenia Lopez to retain the WBC lightweight title. The judges had it 98-91 on all cards.

You can watch the fight here.

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In Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, WBF/WBO middleweight champion Christina Hammer stays undefeated, getting the unanimous decision over Jessica Balogun.

Hammer shut out Balogun and improves to 17-0.

You can watch the match here.

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In other boxing action:

• In a pair of bouts in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Jelena Mrdjenovich defeated Fatuma Zarika by unanimous decision, and Sheena Kaine defeated Angel Anderson by unanimous decision
• Melissa Hernandez defeated Nicole Woods by majority decision  in Norcross, Georgia

Miscellaneous news

Taylor

In pro MMA action Thursday, Danielle Taylor makes a successful pro debut as she defeated  Maia Stephenson by unanimous decision at King of the Cage in Highland, CA.

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In ammy MMA action on Friday at RFA in Lincoln, Nebraska:

• Alyce Roen submitted Stephanie Watts by triangle round 2
• Erin Smith defeated Janie Konyek by unanimous decision

Also Friday in pro action at Talent Draft 1 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mariana Leonardo defeats Pamela Rivelles via TKO at :35 of round 2.

In amateur action on the card, Juliana Velasquez got the rear naked choke over Lucelia Souza at 1:57 of round 2.

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In two boxing title matches Friday night:

• In Tucuman, Argentina, Cecilia Sofia Mena was crowned the new WBC Latino featherweight champion, defeating Antonina Ayala Vazquez by unanimous decision to win the vacant title
• Tenkai Tsunami got the 7th round TKO win over Honey Mae to win the vacant OPBF bantamweight title in Tokyo, Japan

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Tuff-n-uff will start a strawweight tournament April 11 in Las Vegas and the stakes have never been higher. The promotion announced Friday the winner will receive an InvictaFC contract.

The participants are already set and it looks to be a multiple card process to crown a tournament champion. We will have more about the tournament next week.

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RFA announce on their preliminary stream that it plans on opening three weight classes (125, 135, 145) in both the amateur and pro ranks. It also promised to have at least one pro and one ammy female fight on each of their cards in the future.

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XFC flyweight champion Pearl Gonzalez will return to her hometown of Chicago to fight Kelly Warren at XFO 50.

Gonzalez (2-1) has back to back armbar finishes, with her last one gaining her the XFC title in October. Warren (3-5) is looking to snap a five fight losing streak.

The match joins Fallon Fox versus Heather Bassett on the card. The event is not expected to stream unless the arena sells out.

We will have Pearl Gonzalez on the Wombat Sports podcast Sunday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est.

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DEEP-JEWELS announced they are going ton start doing pay-per-views of their events on UStream. This means greater access to fans in other countries including the US. No word on when this will start.

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Paraguay’s Pamela Boveda will look for her second pro win as she takes on MMA debuter Brazilian Elen Torres at Rhino Fight Club in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay April 26.

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Congratulations to Kyra Gracie. The top female BJJ black belt is pregnant with her first child.

—–

Rumors

One of the top flyweight prospects who just got her first pro win last month is expected to sign with Invicta next week.

—–

Invicta is looking to shore up their atomweight division with some of the best 105ers around, so expect some of the top 15 to be signed shortly.

—–

Inoue

Mizuki Inoue’s manager Shu Hirata states he is hoping to sign the 19 year old to the UFC.

InvictaFC vet Inoue (7-2) has made waves as she defeated TUF 20 signee Bec Hyatt at InvictaFC 6. A major reason why she wasn’t considered for “The Ultimate Fighter 20″ is she was in the middle of the DEEP-JEWELS tournament at the time. Since she lost in the finals due to missing weight, her dance card is open.

More than likely, Inoue will forego trying out for TUF and fight for the vacant Invicta strawweight title this year. After the dust settles on TUF, we could see Inoue signed in the UFC in 2015.

—–

Cat Zingano mentioned she is open to fighting Cyborg Justino if offered the fight. She also confirmed the summer timeline for a possible return and looks to take the title match with UFC champion Ronda Rousey then.

—-

Multi-time ADCC grappling champion and BJJ blackbelt Gabi Garcia is going to make her MMA debut in August according to an interview with Combate.com.

Considered the #1 BJJ competitor over 60 kg. Gracia, however, has bit of a hurdle. She is planning on fighting at 185 pounds, which is lacking depth at the moment.

—–

18 year old MMA prodigy Shino VanHoose maybe back in the cage as soon as April. She last fought in 2012 at DEEP-JEWELS at the age of 16. After training in Japan for most of her career, she has moved to Idaho.

—–

Brittany Dugas is expected to announce her next match for King of the Cage in Monday on the ProWMMANow podcast. It will be in April in Wisconsin, but she is keeping the opponent tight lipped until then.

—–

After her win at Cage Warriors last week, Catherine Costigan will be heading to Holland to train with Lucia Rijker and Marloes Coenen.

—–

Ireland’s Ais “The Bash” Daly is currently on a tour of the U.S. training in different parts of the country.  She was in Portland, Oregon this past week, training and doing a few seminars.

—–

Japanese atomweight standout Celine Haga has training out of Jackson’s MMA for the past few weeks. No word on how long she will be there.

—–

Scheduled Fights

Markos & House Courtesy Pennography

Pro MMA

Randa Markos is looking to get back on the winning track as she will take on  Lynnell House at Provincial FC 2 in London, Ontario, Canada Saturday.

Markos (3-1) is a five year veteran of the sport, and won her first three pro fights until losing a decision to Justine Kish in January. Markos won her first pro bouts with back to back armbar submissions.

House (2-0) is looking for her third straight pro win, having finished her previous two opponents in the first round.

—–

JEWELS vet Takayo Hashi is returning after a two year absence from the sport to take on Kim Ji-Yeo at Road FC in Seoul, Korea.

Hashi (14-4) snapped a three fight losing streak with a win over current InvictaFC signee Rozanne Modafferi. Hasi was on a eight fight win streak before losing to Sarah Kaufman in a title match for then Strikeforce 135 title.

Ji-Yeo is coming off her pro debut, fighting Shizuka Sugiyama to a draw.

——

In the other pro MMA this weekend at Collision Fight in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Débora Ferreira will take on Betina Baino

—–

Ammy MMA

Virago FC will make it’s debut Saturday with an all female card in  Williamsberg, KY.

Four matches have been officially announced for this card.

• Jessica Ehrnreiter vs. Allison Ainley – 145 title
• Sarah Cook vs. Anna Abrams
• Sarah Swain vs. Dominique Berry
• Septien Johnson vs. Mary Kate Hayes

Also expected to compete is Brianna Lynch, Amanda Benjamin, Tanya Greenlee, Raven Farley, Hope Halava, and Desiree Wilson.

Follow Wombat Sports on twitter for results.

—–

Ignite MMA in Amarillo, TX will feature four female bouts Saturday.

• Mercedes Chavez vs. Trinity Davis (135)
• Angel Jones vs. Ruby Diaz (115)
• Sanaz Khamisi vs. Jianna Denizard (115)
• Bianca Rodriguez vs. Vanessa Grimes (115)

—–

In other ammy MMA action Saturday:

• At V3 Fights in Memphis, TN, Andrea Lee faces Jamie Milanowski
• Chelsea McCoy takes on Gina Petron at Revolution Figtht Series – Winchester, VA
• In Evansville, IN at HooknShoot Danielle Ternet battles Alexis Ragsdale
• In a pair of bouts at Cage Kings 2 in La Junta, CO, Nayleen Schmidt faces Cheri Muraski and Tiffany Whatley-Mata takes on Sandra Jaqez
• At Hardrock MMA in Somerset, Kentucky, Taylor Brown battles Evva Johnson and Kerri Jenkins squares off with Joanna Bess

——

Boxing

Undefeated Maria Vega looks to gain her first pro title as she takes on Linda Laura Lecca for the vacant WBA Fedelatin super bantamweight title in Lima, Peru.

Vega (7-0) is a five year vet of the sport, and has finished four of her seven opponents.

Lecca (8-2-1) is looking to recover from a title loss this past January at super flyweight, moving up two weight classes. Lecca had won five straight before the loss in January.

—–

In other boxing action Saturday:

• In Sofia, Bulgaria Desislava Lazarova takes on Violeta Angelova
• Annie Mazerolle faces Marva Dash in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
• In Indre, France, Elodie Bouchlaka battles Jasmina Nadj
• Bibi Ondoua dukes it out with Ala Moussa Edine in Creutzwald, Moselle, France
• In Nord, France, Wendy Gervois squares off with Claudia Ferenci
• Angelique Duchemin takes on Marianna Gulyas in Thuir, Pyrénées-Orientales, France

Markos Courtesy Randi Lotsberg

Pro MMA

Randa Markos recovered from her first loss in remarkable fashion, submitting Lynnell House by armbar at 1:57 of round 1 at Provincial FC 2 in London, Ontario, Canada.

Markos (4-1) gave House her first professional loss and gains the initial PFC strawweight title.

——-

There was a rare draw at ROAD FC in Korea this past weekend. Takayo Hashi saw her first draw after a two year absence from the sport. Kim Ji-Yeo gets her second straight draw in her career.

——-

Débora Ferreira got her second pro win, getting the TKO over Betina Baino at 4:21 round 2 at Collision Fight - Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

—–

Ammy MMA

The all female amateur promotion Virago FC made their debut in Williamsberg, KY over the weekend with eight female bouts.

In the main event, Allison Ainley took home the inaugural VFC featherweight title with a 61 second TKO over Jessica Ehrnreiter. 

In other bouts on the card:

• Sarah Cook def. Anna Abrams by TKO 1:47 round 1
• Dominique Berry def. Sarah Swain by split decision
• Amanda Benjamin def. Tanya Greenlee by TKO 1:58 round 1
• Septien Johnson def. Mary Kate Hayes by TKO 0:47 round 1 (135)
• Hope Halava vs. Kendra Wilson by unanimous decision
• Desiree Wilson def. Raven Farley by TKO 0:58 round 1

——

At Hardrock MMA in Somerset, Kentucky, another contender for KO of the Year happened as Joanna Bess was able to get a spinning back elbow KO over Kerri Jenkins at 0:17 of round 3.

You can watch the KO here.

In the other female bout on the card, Evva Johnson got the 34 second TKO over Taylor Brown to win the ammy 145 title.

You can watch the match here.

—–

In other amateur action:

• In a pair of bouts at Cage Kings in La Junta, CO, Cheri Muraski defeated Nayleen Schmidt by TKO round 1 and Sandra Jaqez defeated Tiffany Whatley-Mata by TKO round 3
• Andrea Lee defeated Ashley Samples by submission due to strikesat 1:12 round 1 to gain the ammy 125 title at V3 Fights in Memphis, TN

—–

Boxing

Linda Laura Lecca gained her first professional title, defeating Maria Vega by unanimous decision to win the vacant WBA Fedelatin super bantamweight title in Lima, Peru. Lecca improves to 9-2-1.

——

In Osaka, Japan, Nana Yoshikawa claims the first ever OPBF female light flyweight title defeating Krikanok Island by TKO round 1. Yoshikawa remains undefeated at 3-0.

—–

In other boxing matches:

• In Sofia, Bulgaria, Desislava Lazarova defeated Violeta Angelova by unanimous decision
• Bibi Ondoua defeated Ala Moussa Edine by unanimous decision in Creutzwald, Moselle, France

Young defeats Johnston

Miscellaneous News

In pro MMA action from Wednesday, Michelle Young defeated Jennifer Johnston by rear naked choke at Alaska Fight Championships in Anchorage.

—–

In Tuesday in boxng action, Saemi Hanagata got the 5th round TKO over Satomi Nishimura to win  the vacant OPBF mini-flyweight title in  Tokyo, Japan.

—–

In boxing in Podstrana, Croatia on Thursday, Manuela Zulj defeated Ana Boras by points.

—–

Two matches have been announce for Cage Warriors 67 in  Swansea, Wales April 12.

Undefeated bantamweight and teen prodigy Agnieszka Niedźwiedź will look for her 6th straight win as she takes on CWFC debuter Gemma Hewitt. Poland’s Niedźwiedź (5-0) finished her first four opponents before winning a decsion over Kerry Hughes in her CWFC debut. Hewiit (1-0) will make her bantamweight debut, coming off a pro debut win over Chloe Hinchliffe this past November.

The other bout sees two CWFC debuters as England’s Kate Jackson taking on Spain’s Monica Gaitan in a flyweight bout. Jackson (4-2) is looking to rebound from a TKO loss last May. Gaitan (1-0) made her pro MMA debut last October getting a unanimous decision win.

Both matches will be stream April 12, with Niedźwiedź versus Hewitt on MMAJunkie.com and Jackson versus Gaitan on Cage Warrior’s facebook.

—–

Thursday Sherilyn Lim came in seven pounds overweight for her possible bout with Ann Osman at OneFC on Friday morning. Even though Lim attempted to lose the weight, she was very dehydrated and came in 5 pounds over. The ,match was scrapped.

—–

Iniong

Yamaguchi

Former Valkyrie champion Mei Yamaguchi will make her much anticipated atomweight debut at  PXC 43 in  Pasig City, Philippines March 29. She will face Philippine fighter Gina Iniong.

Yamaguchi (11-6-1) is celebrating her 7th year in MMA and has faced some of the best strawweights on the planet. She is coming off a split decision loss to Patricia Vidonic in her PXC debut. Yamguchi has notable wins over Emi Fujino and Mika Nagano.

Iniong (2-1) debuted for PXC last November, getting a TKO win.

The match will stream on the PXC website for $15.

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UFC champion Ronda Rousey is looking to split from her current management company according to an article by Sherdog.com.

Rousey has gotten legal representation to get out of her contract with Fight Tribe Management, with her attorney stating that the contract won’t hold up under California law. No word on why Rousey wants to part with the company.

The company only handles her fight career, and doesn’t handle her booming acting career. Fight Tribe has asked for arbitration to come to a resolution over the contract. If the arbitration doesn’t work, they could see themselves in court.

More on this story as it develops.

Lacroix

——

On the podcast Sunday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est, we will talk to Melanie Lacroix who is coming off a long absence from the sport to face Brooksie Bayard at BAMMA USA March 28th.

You can listen to the podcast here on Sunday.

——

Rumors

UFC president Dana White stated during a press scrum this week he is going to meet with Holly Holm this week to possibly get her into the UFC. According to an interview with Holm’s manager on Sherdog.com, he is asking the UFC for a title fight and a six figure contract. We will see how that goes.

——

White also stated The Ultimate Fighter 20 tryouts are still a go, but still on no date announced.

——

Ronda Rousey stated she would be open to facing Gina Carano for the UFC title right away because she feels she earned it for all she has done to help the sport. She also stated she would be open to face Carano at a catchweight of 140. We await Cyborg’s response to this.

——

We should have an announcement about the upcoming Tuff-n-uff strawweight tournament in the next few days. The four participants have been selected and the winner will get an Invicta contract.

——

Expect at least one more signing to Invicta to be announced next week. RFA is also expended more signings in the next few weeks.

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Expect XFC to make some announcements soon about a possibly ammy card in the U.S.

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Scheduled matches

Pennington & Andrade

Pro MMA

Two up and coming bantamweight Jessica Andrade and Raquel Pennington will battle on the UFC 171 televised prelims. Both made weight Friday.

Andrade got her first UFC win over veteran fighter Rosi Sexton, after stumbling in her pro debut against Liz Carmouche. Pennington lost in the semi-finals of “The Ultimate Fighter” season 18 and got her first official UFC win over Roxanne Modafferi.

The match will air on Fox Sports 2 Saturday.

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Faria & Serio Courtesy Wayne Camargo/RedeTV

Also on Saturday, XFC Intentional will feature a strawweight bouts Saturday on their live stream. Kalindra Faria will take on Aline Serio in a rematch of their 2012 encounter. Faria won the first fight by unanimous decision at flyweight. Both fighters made weight Friday.

Faria (12-3-1) is making her strawweight debut and is on an eight fight win streak, finishing her last six. Serio (7-4) has gone 4-1 since her loss to Faria and will also make her strawweight debut.

The match will be the co-main event and will stream for free on XFCMMA.com.

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In other pro action:

• At PLMMA 29 in Poland, Lena Tkhorevska faces Anna Moldavchuk
• In a pair of bouts at Victory Iron Girls in Brazil, Gisele Moreira battles Kessiny Mara and
• Helaine Ribeiro takes on Karine Silva
• Deise Rocha fights Priscila de Souza at Gladiator CF in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil

—–

McLeod and Wells

Ammy MMA

Flyweight Sarah McLeod is looking for her third straight win as she takes on Rebecca Wells at VictoryFC in Ralston, Nebraska. Both fighter make weight.

McLeod is coming off a year and a half absence from the cage. She won 3 of her last four bouts, with a submission win in her last match over Alexandria Stobbe. Wells has only lost by decision and has a win by submission.

——

In other ammy bouts:

• At Gladiators of the Cage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jaime Chesney takes on Christina Cherkes
• Katy Collins battles Katherine Farrow at ShoFights in Branson, MO. The fight will stream on GoFightLive.tv for $15.
• In Colorado Springs, CO at NMEF, Selina Valdez-Montoya faces Lauren Metcalf

—–

Boxing

Undefeated Catherine Phiri is looking for her first world title as she takes on Pia Mazelanik for the vacant WBC Silver bantamweight title in Lusaka, Zambia.

Phiri (7-0) has finished her last two opponents, and won the vacant African Boxing Union female bantamweight title in September last year.

Mazelanik (13-5-1) got a TKO in her last bout, and won four of her last 6.

—–

On other boxing matches:

• At Hauts-de-Seine, France, Maiva Hamadouche faces. Floarea Lihet
• Mikayla Nebel takes on Christina Fuentes Hamilton Township, New Jersey
• In a pair of bouts in Tucuman, Argentina, Guadalupe Maria Antonia Maldonado dukes it out with Soledad del Valle Frias and Leonela Paola Yudica Andino battles Vanesa Lorena Taborda
• Irma Sanchez faces Yazmin Ortega in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico
• In Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, Joselyn Arroyo Ruiz takes on Leidis Martinez
• Ewa Piatkowska dukes it out with Antonela Begonja in Arlamow, Poland
• In Sopron, Hungary, Alexandra Gorog battles Csilla Nemedi

Andrade vs. Pennington Courtesy UFC

Pro MMA

Jessica Andrade and Raquel Pennington went to war in what was a razor this split decision for Andrade at UFC 171 in Dallas, TX.

Andrade used her striking and takedowns early on to control the fight, but Pennington pushed her aggressive striking in the latter part of the fight, getting a guillotine attempt in before the end of the second round.

After an exciting third round, two of the 3 judges scored the fight for Andrade, who improves to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the UFC.

——–

Kalindra Faria increases her win streak to 9 as she defeated Aline Serio by unanimous decision at XFC in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Faria (13-3) made her strawweight debut in the rematch with Serio, getting the upper hand in striking and takedowns in the first two rounds. Serio would rally back in round 3, but a late takedown sealed Faria’s decision win.

—–

In other pro MMA bouts:

• At Gladiator CF in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, Deise de Souza  defeated Priscila de Souza by unanimous decision
• Lena Tkhorevska submitted Anna Moldavchuk by rear naked choke at 0:38 round 1 at PLMMA 29 in Poland to become atomweight champion
• In two pro fights at Victory Iron Girls 1 in Brazil, Gisele Moreira submitted Kessiny Mara armbar at 2:12 of round 2 and Karine Silva KOed Helaine Ribeiro at 4:03 of round 1. In an amteur bout, Jaqueline Santana submitted Claudia Silva by armbar at 3:57 in round 1

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Wells vs. McLeod Courtesy Chavo photography

Ammy MMA

In ammy MMA action:

• At VFC in Ralston, Nebraska, Sarah McLeod defeated Rebecca Wells by unanimous decision. 
• Jaime Chesney submitted Christina Cherkes by rear naked choke in round 1 at Gladiators of the Cage – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• In Branson, MO at ShoFights, Katy Collins got the TKO over Katherine Farrow in 55 seconds of round 1
• Kelsey Johnson TKOs Candice Thomas in round 2 at Combat Fights Inc. - Aberdeen, SD

—–

Boxing

Catherine Phiri gains her first world title getting the third round KO over Pia Mazelanik to win the vacant WBC Silver bantamweight title in Lusaka, Zambia.

Phiri improves to 8-0 and gets her second straight KO. She has put out the challenge to the WBC World champ Susie Ramadan after the fight.

—–

In other boxing action:

• Maureen Shea defeated Nohime Dennisson by unanimous decision in Oxnard, California
• In a pair of bouts in Tucuman, Argentina, Guadalupe Maria Antonia Maldonado defeated Soledad del Valle Frias by unanimous decision and Leonela Paola Yudica Andino defeated Vanesa Lorena Taborda by unanimous decision
• In Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Yazmin Ortega defeated Irma Sanchez by unanimous decision
• Joselyn Arroyo Ruiz got the KO over Leidis Martinez in round 2 in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
• In Arlamow, Poland, Ewa Piatkowska KOs Antonela Begonja in round 1
• Csilla Nemedi gets the TKO over Alexandra Gorog in round 1 in Sopron, Hungary

Miscellaneous News

In boxing action Thursday in Stockholm, Sweden, Mikaela Lauren defeated Esther Mashiya by unanimous decision to win the interim WIBA and the UBO & WPBF light middleweight titles.

Cummins

Strawweight Ashley Cummins has re-signed to Invicta to a 4 fight deal.

The undefeated amateur fighter is 3-2 as a pro with back to back losses to “Ultimate Fighter 20″ signees Joanne Calderwood and Emily Kagan respectfully. The match with Kagan was a razor thin split decision loss.

With the signing, Cummins will not be trying out for TUF 20.

Nguyen

In other signing news, XFC expands their strawweight division as they sign Andy Nguyen to a deal.

The 14 fight vet has been competing since 2010 and found some success in her amateur career. Having fought at high as 135, Nguyen recently has been fighting at flyweight. She intends on dropping to 115 for her XFC debut.

Before that, she will fight Ashley Hancock in an amateur bout at XFE in Greenville, SC April 12.

We will have Nguyen on the podcast Sunday at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est. You can listen live here.

ADCC World grappling champion Gabi Garcia has tested positive for a banned substance, but won’t sustain any punishment besides losing her IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu in 2013.

In a letter released by the USADA, the organization stated Garcia tested positive for Clomiphene in June of last year, a drug that prohibits estrogen production and increases natural testosterone production. The drug is usually used for treating infertility in women.

The USADA found “Garcia had not acted negligently and was not at fault for the positive test.”

Undefeated Pannie Kianzad will return to action May 3 as the featherweight will take on Annalisa Bucci at Superior Challenge X in Helsingborg, Sweden.

Kianzad (4-0) is coming off a decision win over Milana Dudieva this past October. Bucci (6-2) is on a four fight win streak.

Congratulations to our friends over at Women’s MMA Round-up on their 1 millionth view. You can watch this hilarious video of the Round-up’s list of WMMA fan problems here. Enjoy.

Rumors

Carano

Fox Sports did an interview with Gina Carano this past week and the MMA pioneer stated she is open to fighting again “if the circumstances were right.” She went on to express she would need a while to dedicate to fight full fight camp seeing she hasn’t been in training in a while. This means she would have to pass up upcoming projects, which doesn’t seen to be stopping anytime soon.

You can watch a new clip of her fighting in her new movie “In the Blood” here. It opens April 4th.

The undefeated Rin Nakai set to fight in May 11 at Pancrase in Tokyo, Japan. This will be the first time Nakai will compete in the cage since 2010.

Nakai (15-0-1) got her biggest win to date with a majority decision win over Tara LaRosa a year ago.

No word on an opponent.

Scheduled Fights

Pro MMA

Iniong & Yamaguchi

Former Valkyrie strawweight champion Mei Yamaguchi will take on Gina Iniong at PXC 43 in Pasig, Philippines Saturday. Iniong missed weight by two pounds and the two will fight at a 107 catchweight.

Yamaguchi (11-6-1) has faced the best of the best at strawweight including wins over Yuka Tsjui and Mika Nagano. She was supposed to make her atomweight debut in the match.

Iniong (2-1) is in for the toughest fight of her career. The hometown fight return to MMA after a four year absence to get a first round TKO over Nathalie Heidel this past November.

The fight will stream as a part of the free preliminary fights on PXC’s Ustream channel Saturday morning at 8 a.m. est/5 a.m. pst.

MMA Super Heroes will hold an one night strawweight tournament Sunday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In the first semi-final, Roberta Marreta will take on Michele Angelo, while Bruna Wing battles Renata Baldan in the second semi-final. The winners will face each other in the main event.

In a reserve bout, Luciana Treze faces Graziele Riccota.

In two non-tournament bouts:

• Kalindra Faria faces Laura Balin
• Herica Tiburcio battles Aline Sattelmayer

You can watch the event here at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est Sunday.

XFC International will have their third card this weekend with a pair of strawweight tournament semi-finals:

• Vanessa Guimaraes vs Marcela Yineris
• Gloria Bravo vs Vanessa Melo

Both matches will stream for free Saturday night on XFCMMA.com at 8:30 pst/11:30 est.

BAMMA USA will feature two female bouts on their card Friday night.

Tuff-n-uff champion Kyra Batara will make her pro debut as she faces fellow debuter Mia Nassari. Both Batara and Nassari came in under the 110 pound catchweight at 109.8.

In a bantamweight battle, Brooksie Bayard (133) and Melanie LeCroix (135.6) made weight.

Both fights will stream on GoFightLive.tv for $15 at 7 p.m pst/10 p.m. est.

In other pro action:

• In a pair of bouts at Fatality Arena 6 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, InvictaFC vet Vanessa Porto takes on Ana Maria India, and Aline Serio faces Bianca Daimoni
• Mariah Prussia battles Brandis Lafrombois at Max Fights 19 in Fargo, ND
• Unified MMA 18 in Edmintoin, Canada sees Kris Pomerleau fighting Rachael Swatez, and Diana Atkin dukes it out with Michelle House
• In Santa Fe, NM at Triple A MMA, Nikki Lowe faces Natalie Roy.  In an amateur bout Lindsay Jones takes on Michelle Williamson
• Jen Aniano battles Holly Cline at Extreme Combat Challenge in Muncie, Indiana.
• At Shooto Finland in Lahti, Finland, Yana Lyashko dukes it out with Vuokko Katainen

Ammy MMA

In amateur MMA action:

• In a pair of bouts at Caged Warriors 3 in Houma, Louisiana, Wendy Simmons faces Cat Generio and Madison Dodd takes on Faith Charmros (115)
• Melana Smith battles Kathy Zolorzano at Spar Star in Inglewood, CA
• In a pair of bouts at Cowboy Extreme Fighting in San Antonio, Texas, Fatima Mallett fights Laurie Ashby, while Stephanie Builderback dukes it out with Dominique Gallegher-Gonzales
• At BFL in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, Elyse Stevenson faces Amanda Pack (125)
• Mariah Smith takes on Michaela Seitter at Wright Charity Fights in Jacksonville, NC
• At United Cage Fights in Merrionette Park, Illinois, Debra Dunkel-Bartecki dukes it out with Shantara Profit
• In San Diego at Epic Fighting, Roesha Hightower faces Maria Dominguez and Alyssa Garcia battles Tushara Veerella
• At MMA Berlin in Germany, Alina Rath fights Lisa Gralla
• Stephanie Lapointe dukes it out with Laura Drennan at Fight League in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
• At CCE in Pueblo, Colorado, Justine Estrada faces Jen Pomante
• Corrie Ward battles Madison Depiero at WFF in Chandler, Arizona

Boxing

Kuehne Charmie

WBO/WIBF/WBF super featherweight champion Ramona Kuehne looks to defend her titles for the 5th time as she takes on Gina Chamie in Brandenburg, Germany.

Kuehne (21-1) is on a six fight win streak and has finished 3 of her last six. Chamie (8-0) is the former WBC Youth Lightweight champ and is looking for her first major title. She has finished half of her fights.

The match will stream on MyVideo.de Friday at 11 a.m. pst/2 p.m. est.

In other boxing matches this weekend:

• In Buenos Aires, Argentina Friday, Carolina Marcela Gutierrez Gaite and Mayra Alejandra Gomez will battle for the interim WBO bantamweight title
• WBO super bantamweight champion Marcela Eliana Acuna will defend her title against Estrella Valverde in Cordoba, Argentina. Also on the card, Yesica Patricia Marcos dukes it out with Silvia Fernanda Zacarias
• In Buenos Aires, Argentina Saturday, Debora Anahi Dionicius defends her IBF super flyweight title against Neisi Torres. In addition, Norma Elizabeth Diaz Caucota fights Alejandra Soledad Morales, Alicia Machaca battles Vanesa del Valle Calderon, and Julieta Cardozo fights Paola Gamarra
• Areti Mastrodouka takes on Claudia Ferenci in Athans, Greece
• In Nyon, Switzerland, Pasa Malagic faces Sandra Zekic

Pro MMA

Faria vs. Balin

Brazil saw 11 female fights this weekend with the strawweights in all but one.

We start with a jam packed card at MMA Super Heroes in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In the main event, Kalindra Faria (14-3-1) earns her 10th straight victory with a rear naked choke over Laura Balin. Faria was dominant in round 1 controlling Balin on the ground and continued control in round two, getting the rear naked choke to earn her second win in two weeks.

InvictaFC signee Herica Tiburcio (8-2) used her superior wrestling to outpoint Aline Sattelmayer to take the unanimous decision victory. Tirburcio have several huge takedowns during the match, and had some solid submission attempts throughout.

Balad

The undercard featured the MMA Super Heroes Strawweight Grand Prix, with Renata Baldan make an impactful pro debut and winning her first title.

Baldan would battle Bruna Wing in the semi-finals in what was a war on the feet. Baldan’s more accurate strikes gave her the edge and would get the unanimous decision to put her in the finals.

The other semi-final would see Michele Angelo get a devastating KO over Roberta Pereira da Silva Gomes. After a solid first round, Angelo, a right hand would drop Gomes to prompt a walk off KO in round 2.

In the finals, Baldan and Angelo started out in a slugfest, which saw Baldan taking the upperhand. Baldan would finish off Angelo with a series of knees to be crowned the strawweight champion.

In a reserve tournament bout on the card, Graziele Ricotta and Luciana Treze fought to a majority draw.

Meanwnile in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a pair of bouts happened at Fatality Arena 6.

InvictaFC’s Vanessa Porto (17-6) had little problems with Ana Maria India in her bamtamweight battle. The #2 ranked 125er on the planet was able to outstrike Maria in a rematch from their 2006 battle. Maria tried to takedown Porto but was easily thwarted. Porto would take an unanimous decision.

In a strawweight match, Aline Serio was flawless against last minute replacement Mayara Aguiar. Serio was set to fight Bianca Daimoni but Daimoni had dropped out only hours before the match.

Serio’s striking was just too much for Aguiar, and it took 60 seconds for Serio to get the TKO victory.

Courtesy Pinoy Cage News

Phillipina fighter Gina Iniong picked up her 3rd win as she got the split decision over veteran fighter Mei Yamaguchi at Pacific Xtreme Fighting.

Iniong (3-1) started quick with punches, which forced Yamguchi to clinch and Yamaguchi started to knee Iniong’s thigh. Iniong would reverse a takedown attempt by take top position. Yamaguchi would secure the armbar on Iniong from bottom, with Iniong trying the slam out of it several times. Iniong would finally fight free of the armbar and the first round ends.

Second round saw Yamaguhci get the takedown early and get back control. Iniong escaped and got it back to the feet, but Yamaguchi got another takedown and landed some ground and pound before Iniong fought her way back to her feet. Yamaguchi would continually attack Iniong’s thigh while hitting some punches to the face that caused Iniong’s nose to bleed. Iniong would get a throw over Yamaguchi and pin her against the cage. Yamaguchi would fight through and get to her feet to end the round strong with punches to Iniong.

The final stanza say a battle on the cage in the clinch. Yamaguchi would try to get a takedown, but Iniong would reverse and get some striking before a scramble to the feet. Yamaguchi would get a takedown and get some ground and pound as time expired.

One judge gave it to Yamaguchi 29-28, while two judges gave the fight to Iniong 29-28 and 30-27.

Yamaguchi intends to appeal the decision.

In other pro action:

• In a pair of strawweight tournament bouts at XFC in Sao Paulo, Brazil,  Vanessa Guimaraes defeated Marcela Yineris by split decision and Vanessa Melo defeated Gloria Bravo by unanimous decision
• At BAMMA in Commerce, CA, Kyra Batara submitted Misha Nassiri by armbar round 1 and Melanie Lacroix defeated Brooksie Bayard by unanimous decision (135)
• Diana Atkin got the TKO over Michelle House by TKO in round 1 at Unity MMA in Edmonton, Canada
• At Rumble On The River on Tulsa, OK, Erin McDougall defeated Jaymee Jones by unanimous decision
• At Max Fights 19 in Fargo, ND, Mariah Prussia defeated Brandis Lafrombois by TKO 0:27 round 1
• Holly Cline defeated Jen Aniano by unanimous decision at Extreme Combat Challenge – Muncie, Indiana
• At Shooto Finland in Lahti, Vuokko Katainen got the first round TKO over Yana Lyashko
• Natalie Roy defeated Nikki Lowe by TKO 1:40 round 1 at Triple A MMA - Santa Fe, NM. In an amateur bout, Lindsay Jones defeated Michelle Williamson by unanimous decision
• In China at Kunlun Fights, Jin Tang defeated Song Xiaoqing by TKO 2:15 round 2.

Ammy MMA

Mallett – Courtesy TXMMA.com/Mike Calimars

In amateur action:

• In a pair of bouts at Epic Fighting in San Diego, CA, Maria Dominguez defeated Roesha Hightower by unanimous decision and Alyssa Garcia defeated Tushara Veerella by unanimous decision
• At United Cage Fights in Merrionette Park, Illinois Debra Dunkel-Bartecki got the TKO in 17 seconds over Shantara Profit
• In a pair of bouts at Caged Warriors 3 in Houma, Louisiana, Jamie Blanton go the TKO over Cammie Hoover in 22 seconds, and Ashley Milligan submitted Faith Charfauros guillotine in 58 seconds
• Katie Vanderhoff defeated Christina Adams by unanimous decision at IT Fight series – Findlay, OH
• At CCE in Pueblo, CO, Angela Hancock defeated Shawna Tyler by TKO 0:41 round 1
• In a pair of fights at Cowboy Extreme Fighting in San Antonio, Texas, Fatima Mallett submitted Laurie Ashby by triangle round 2, and Dominique Gallegher-Gonzales defeatred Stephanie Builderback by decision
• Elyse Stevenson submitted Amanda Pack anaconda choke) round 3 at BFL in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada
• In Shock ‘n’ Awe in Portsmouth, England, Molly McCann defeated Ameesha Bhudia by TKO 2:01 round 1
• Corrie Ward defeated Madison Depiero by TKO round 2 at WFF in Chandler, Arizona

Boxing

Dionicius vs. Torres

A stacked card in Buenos Aires, Argentina happened over the weekend with four female bouts.

Debora Anahi Dionicius successful defended her IBF super flyweight title getting the 4th round TKO over Neisi Torres. Dionicius goes 16-0.

In other action:

• Alejandra Soledad Morales def. Norma Elizabeth Diaz Caucota by unanimous decision  (118)
• Vanesa del Valle Calderon def. Alicia Machaca by points  (126)
• Julieta Cardozo def. Paola Gamarra by unanimous decision (118)

In boxing action this weekend:

• In Brandenburg, Germany, Ramona Kuehne retains her WBO/WIBF/WBF super featherweight title by defeating Gina Chamie by unanimous decision
• Mayra Alejandra Gomez defeated Carolina Marcela Gutierrez Gaite by split decision to win the interim WBO bantamweight title in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• In a pair of bouts in Cordoba, Argentina, WBO super bantamweight champion Marcela Eliana Acuna defeats Estrella Valverde by TKO round 6 and Yesica Patricia Marcos def. Silvia Fernanda Zacarias by unanimous decision
• In Puy-de-Dôme, France, Farida El Hadrati got the TKO in round 2 over Cindy Bonhiver to win the vacant France light welterweight title
• Elfi Philipps and Najat Hasnouni fought to a draw in Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
• In Athens, Greece, Areti Mastrodouka defeated Claudia Ferenci by unanimous decision
• Pasa Malagic defeated Sandra Zekic by TKO round 2 in Nyon, Switzerland

Julaton

In what has become a solid trend, another world class boxer has decided to give the cage a try.

Former WBO and IBA Super Bantamweight boxing champ Ana Julaton has signed to Asia’s OneFC promotion and will make her debut as a MMA fighter May 2 in Manila, Philippines.

Julaton (13-4-1) has been in Vegas for the past year training boxing, but had started to pick up MMA when she had time. She originally started in Bok-Fu, a striking martial art, when she was a kid. She turned to boxing years later.

Her last boxing bout saw her get a majority decision win over Perla Hernandez in Mexico. Julaton states she will do both boxing and MMA, expressing she wants to stay busy.

The Filipino-American has been a solid draw in the Philippines in boxing, and OneFC is hoping it will translate when she enters the cage.

No word on who her opponent will be on the card or at what weight Jualaton will be competing.

The card also featured India’s Jeet Toshi taking on Filipina fighter Jujeath Nagaowa on the undercard, which will stream for free on the OneFC website.

Miscellaneous News

We are happy to announce Intense Cage Fighting will be holding an all female card on May 9th in Great Falls, MT. The card will feature a four woman tournament to crown the first ever ICF flyweight champion.

Wombat Sports will be giving you complete coverage of the event including interviews, previews, and live results as it happens.

Stay tuned!

Tiburcio

The new Unified rankings are out with only one change in the strawweight top 10.  With her win this past weekend,  InvictaFC signee Herica Tiburcio has entered into the list, taking the 10 spot. She bumps Bec Hyatt to #12.

You can read the complete April 2014 Unified rankings here.

Paige Van Zant has signed to the UFC directly and won’t be a part of the Ultimate Fighter.

The now 20 year old is one year shy of the 21 year old age limit due to alcohol being available in the house.

There are still unconfirmed reports that the Brazilians, Claudia Gadelha and Juliana Lima, will also be signed directly to the UFC and forego TUF 20, because of the language barrier.

UFC champion Ronda Rousey has gotten her way and will part with her management, at least partly.

Through arbitration, the California State Athletic Commission has released Rousey from a three year deal she made with Fight Tribe Management. However, this only bans Fight Tribe from getting fees from Rousey’s fight purses. Outside projects including her acting career, modeling, and promotional gigs are still in effect, but Rousey can fight that part of the contract in the California Superior Court; which her attorney Steven Bash intends on doing.

Two female fights are scheduled for Lappeenranta Fight Night 10 in Finland May 17. Vuokko Katainen will face Julia Borisova and Suvi Salmimies will take on a fighter to be determained.

Amateur prospect and WMMA Press Award winner Susie Wyatt will be back in action April 9th as she face Ronnie Lawrence at Fight Hard MMA in St. Louis April 19. Wyatt (7-3) has only been stopped once in her career. Lawerence is currently undefeated at 6-0 and has finished all her opponents.

Merrill

On the Wombat Sports podcast at 1 p.m. pst/4 p.m. est, we will have amateur fighter Carissa Merrill, who will be a part of an historic half female and half male card in Utah.

You can listen here live on Sunday.

Rumors

Gina Carano stated on “The Arsenio Hall Show” this week she will be meet with UFC president Dana White next week to talk about a possible comeback.

You can watch her appearance here.

According to Holly Holm’s coach Mike Winkeljohn, Holly Holm’s management will try to go back to the bargaining table with the UFC after her match this weekend at Legacy. He says Holm is opening to fight InvictaFC featherweight champion Cyborg Justino and Holm’s management is looking to do a pay-per-view event if that happens.

Scheduled Fights

Pro MMA

Werner & Holm

Holly Holm will seek to get her first MMA title as she takes on Brazil’s Julie Werner at Legacy Fighting for their vacant bantamweight title in Albuquerque, NM which will air on AXS TV Friday night. Both fighters came on weight.

Holm (6-0) has knocked out five of her six opponents, going the distance in her last match against Angela Hayes in December

Julie Werner (7-3) is on a five fight win streak with her only losses to Vanessa Porto.

Pacheco & Silveira

Undefeated Brazilian bantamweight Larissa Pacheco is looking for her 10th straight win as she faces Liziane Silveira at Jungle Fights 68 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Pacheco (9-0) has finished all her fights, with 5 submissions and 4 KOs. She is looking to sign with the UFC.

Silveira (2-0) is looking for the upset, with two first round wins of her own.

Glena Avila is looking to snap a two fight losing streak as she faces former amateur champion Katie Howard at Rumble at the Roseland in Portland, Oregon

Avila (2-2) got back to back armbar wins to start her pro career, and lost back to back decisions.

Howard (1-0) is coming off a decision win over Miriam Cardoso Cerqueira in February.

In other pro bouts:

• At IRFA 6 in Sweden, Iman Darabi faces Veera Nykänen. This will stream live and free here at 9 a.m. pst/Noon est Saturday.
• In a pair of bouts at Arena Fight Night 3 in Brazil, Amanda Torres takes on Lucia Senna, and Paula Baack battles Mayara Ferreira Aguiar.
• Anne Merkt fights Aitek Emadi at RespectFC 11 in Germany
• At Exclusive Fights IV in Wasilków, Poland, Barbara Nalepka faces Katarzyna Jakubczak. This will stream live and free here at 9 a.m. pst/Noon est Saturday.
• At Cabo Fight Champioship in Pernambuco, Brazil, Carol Javali battles Elaine Albuquerque
• Seo Hee Ham faces Shino VanHoose at Road FC in Seoul, South Korea
• At ProFC 53 in Oblast, Russia, Annalisa Bucci takes on Milana Dudieva. This will stream for $10 at Epicentre.tv.

—–

Ammy MMA

In ammy MMA action:

• In a pair of bouts at Premire FC in Agawam, Massachusetts, Sarah Payant faces Sarah Jacobson and Jessy Miele takes on Pam Sorenson
• Devaney Clayton battles Bianca Rodriguez at XFC Louisiana – Ponchatoula, Louisiana
• In Dunfermline, Scotland at Art of Combat, Helen Copus fights Tracey McFarlane
• At Slugfest in Witkowo, Poland, Małgorzata Smaczniak faces Zuzanna Zygmuńska
• Shauna Dicintio takes on Kirsten Scott at Heroes Combat League in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
• At No Limit Fighting in Madera, California Dania Lopez battles Mayra Palestino (205)
• Beth Wright fights Danielle Ternet at Midwest Fight Series in Indianapolis, Indiana
• At AOL MMA in Plant City, Florida, Cheyanne Vlismas faces Letrail Solomon

Boxing

Maria Elena Maderna will look to defend her WBO lightweight title for the second time as she faces Dalia Vasarhelyi in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Maderna (11-8) won 7 of her past 8 fights, gaining the title last June. She defeated Diana Ayala by unanimous decision in her first title defense in December.

Vasarhelyi (7-4) is on a three fight win streak and is coming off a first round TKO over Veronika Hornyak last month.

In San Diego, California, Kenia Enriquez and Jolene Blackshear will battle for the vacant NABF light flyweight title.

The undefeated Enriquez (10-0) has five KOs to her credit, and is coming off an unimous decsion win over Noemi Bosques.

Blackshear (8-4) has won four of her past 6 fights and is coming off an unanimous decision loss to Maria Suarez.

In other boxing action:

• In Lombardia, Italy, Anita Torti and Monica Gentili will fight for the vacant Italy lightweight title
• Victoria Noelia Bustos faces Natalia Vanesa del Valle Aguirre in Santa Fe, Argentina
• In Loir-et-Cher, France, Bilitis Gaucher takes on Laura Godbillon
• Jesica Espinal battles Johana Garcia in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
• In Chihuahua, Mexico, Ibeth Zamora Silva dukes it out with Judith Rodriguez
• Zuseth Hoyte fights Iliana Bonilla in Santiago, Panama

Courtesy Sherdog

Pro MMA

Holly Holm got her first piece of MMA gold this past Friday, but not without injury.

The undefeated striking phenom took home the initial Legacy 135 title in her hometown of Albuquerque, NM with a fifth round TKO over Brazilian standout Julie Werner.

Holm (7-0) would control most of the match in the center of the cage with her kickboxing, with Werner trying to work against the fence with knees. Holm broke her arm due to a blocked headkick in the first round, which wasn’t known to anyone besides Holm at the time.

Holm continued her offence in round two, almost finishing the fight with liver kicks to Werner. Rounds three and four saw Werner being the aggressor, but Holm’s punching was just too fast and was able to dodge most of Werner’s punches.

A head kick would drop Werner in round five, but it would a few punches on the ground would be needed to make the ref stop the contest at 1:50.

Holm stated she doesn’t have a timeline on a return as she is weighing her rehab options.

—-

Courtesy Super Lutas

Unbeaten bantamweight Larissa Moreira Pacheco continues to prove to be the top prospect not signed to a major promotion, getting a triangle choke submission win over Liziane Silveira at Jungle Fights in Brazil. The action packed fight which could be a contender for “Fight of the Year”.

In the first round, Pacheco and Silveira exchanged knees in the clinch early, as they were separated and Pacheco got the takedown. and transitioned to mount, securing an armbar. Silveira  powerbomed her way out, getting some ground and pound before Pacheco tried for a heel hook. They fought their way back up to the feet. Pacheco landed a knee that dropped Silveira right before the bell.

Both stated a striking war in the second round, with Pacheco’s accuracy battling Silveira’s power. Silveira would get a knee to the face of Pacheco, but Pacheco would fight through it. Pacheco got a takedown as the round ended.

Third round saw Pacheco get the body lock takedown on Silveira and would settle into a half guard. Pacheco landed some ground and pound and would be swept by Silveira, who would get some ground and pound of her own. Pacheco secured a triangle from bottom at the 2:25 for the tap.

Pacheco wins her 10th fight, none going the distance.

In another pro bout on the card, Mariana Leonardo submitted Edlaine França by armbar round 2.

—–

Milana Dudieva put herself back on the bantamweight map as she defeated Daria Chibisova to gain her second straight win.

Dudieva (10-3) had gotten the takedown and fought off an armbar and got the heel hook for the tap at 3:34 of round one.

—–

DEEP-JEWELS champ Seo Hee Ham made a successful homecoming getting a two round decision over fellow JEWELS vet Shino Van Hoose at RoadFC in Seoul, Korea. The #3 ranked Ham was dominate as expected, but VanHoose looked much improved throughout.

—–

In other pro bouts:

• At Rumble at the Roseland in Portland, Oregon, Glena Avila defeated Katie Howard by split decision
• In a pair of bouts at Arena Fight Night 3 in Brazil, Amanda Torres defeated Lucia Senna and Paula Baack defeated Mayara Ferreira Aguiar, both by unanimous decision 
• Iman Darabi def. Veera Nykänen by unanimous decision at IRFA 6 in Sweden
• At RespectFC 11 in Germany, Aitek Emadi defeated Anne Merkt by unanimous decision
• In Wasilków, Poland at Exclusive Fight, Barbara Nalepka submitted Katarzyna Jakubczak by guillotine in 20 seconds.
• Elaine Albuquerque defeated Carol Javali by unanimous decision at Cabo Fight Championship in Pernambuco, Brazil

——

Ammy MMA

Howard and Avila Courtesy Paul Nelson

In ammy MMA action this weekend:

• At the Midwest Fight Series in Indianapolis, Indiana, Danielle Ternet got the TKO over Beth Wright at 1:45 of Round 1
• Sarah Payant defeated Sarah Jacobson by unanimous decision at Premire FC in Agawam, Massachusetts
• In Dunfermline, Scotland at Art of Combat,  Helen Copus got the TKO over Tracey McFarlane at 1:12 of round 1
• At Slugfest in Witkowo, Poland, Małgorzata Smaczniak defeated Zuzanna Zygmuńska by unanimous decision
• Mayra Palestino defeated Dania Lopez by unanimous decision at No Limit Fighting in Madera, California
• At AOL MMA in Plant City, Florida, Letrail Solomon submitted Cheyanne Vlismas by guillotine at 1:02 round 2 to win the 105 title

—–

Boxing

Courtesy Noti Fight

Maria Elena Maderna successfully defended her WBO lightweight title for the second time defeating Dalia Vasarhelyi in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Maderna (12-8-3) was able to get the TKO in round 3 and earned her third straight win.

—–

Kenia Enriquez earns her first boxing title, getting a 7th round TKO over Jolene Blackshear to win the vacant NABF light flyweight title in  San Diego, CA.

Enriquez (11-0) has gotten six KOs in her career and recently handed Noemi Bosques her first loss.

—–

Former WBC youth boxing title holder Mayela Perez gained her first major title as she defeated Alejandra Lopez by unanimous decision to win the vacant WBC Silver minimumweight title in Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico.

The former WBC Youth Super Flyweight and Minimumweight champ came back after a majority draw last year.

——

In other pro boxing matches:

• In Santa Fe, Argentina, Natalia Vanesa del Valle Aguirre defeated Victoria Noelia Bustos by unanimous decision
• Jesica Espinal got the TKO over Johana Garcia in round 2 at Tegucigalpa, Honduras
• In Chihuahua, Mexico, Ibeth Zamora Silva defeated Judith Rodriguez by unanimous decision
• Iliana Bonilla defeated Zuseth Hoyte by unaimous decision in Santiago, Panama
• In a pair of bouts in Slaska, Poland, Klaudia Szymczak got the TKO over Diana Borodka in round 1, and Karina Kopinska defeated Gabriella Roman by unanimous decision 
• Angela Marciales defeated Angie Barca by unanimous decision in Barranquilla, Colombia
• In Lombardia, Italy, Anita Torti defeated Monica Gentili by split decision

Miscellaneous News

In MMA action Wednesday at OFC 2 in Brazil, Bruna Vargas defeated Rafaela Garcia via Unanimous Decision and Carolina Karasek defeats Nanda Gadea via TKO in round 1.

On Thursday, Rosy Duarte defeated Cristina Araujo via Armbar in round 1 at OxMMA in Brazil.

Also Thursday, Latravia Pierce defeated Kim Colbert by points in boxing in Houston, TX.

A second match has been announced for the upcoming Intense Cage Fighting’s all female card May 9th in Great Falls, MT.

JJ Aldrich (6-3) will take on Yvonne Alameda (2-1) in a strawweight amateur bout. The match joins Cassie Robb versus Liz McCarthy on the card.

We will have more fight announcements in the coming weeks and will be covering the event live May 9.

Muay Thai fighter Angela Hill will make her long awaited pro MMA debut April 26 as she will face Stephanie Skinner at USFFC 18 in Winston Salem, North Carolina April 26.

Hill made her pro Muay Thai debut last year for Lion Fights getting an unanimous decision win. Skinner (2-4) is coming off a win over Margaret Bloom in 2012.

It will be streamed on GFL.TV for $10.

XFC International tryouts have been announced for May 10th in Osasco SP, Brazil. They are looking for both male and female fighters. More details can be found here.

After over a year of no Ultimate Women’s Challenge drama, the show’s producer Lyle Howry is suing the fighters because they “leaked secrets and results from the show.”

The show will never see the light of day due to the production company not paying anyone including the fighters and crew, with the latter having “lost a solid portion of the footage”. The fighters lobbied the state of Utah for the fight results from the show to be made public so they can add it to their records.

You can read the complete story behind the fiasco here.

Rumors

Gina Carano met with Dana White Wednesday night to possibly talk  a match with Ronda Rousey. White confirmed the meeting did happen, but was tight lipped on what went down.

Holly Holm has decided to get surgery on her broken arm, with no exact timeline on when she will return.

As for her future, Holm’s manager was tight lipped about a rumored match between Holm and Cyborg Justino, but did state they invited Cyborg to Holm’s Legacy match last week.

The Legacy matchmaker stated during an interview this week that an European promoter has offered $250,000 for a boxing match between Holm and WBA/WBC/WBO Welterweight champ Cecilia Brækhus. Holm stated she was interested in fighting Brækhus in boxing this fall in Vegas.

Scheduled Fights

Courtesy RFA

Pro MMA

InvictaFC vet Jocelyn Lybarger hopes for her third pro win as she takes on Rosa Acevedo at RFA 14 in Cheyenne, WY which will air on AXS TV. Both Lybarger (119.4) and Acevedo (119.6) came in on weight for their 120 catchweight bout.

Lybarger (2-1) won her pro debut at Invicta in 2012, and a year later would get a 27 second submission win over Jessica Armstrong-Kennett. She is coming off a loss to Sarah Alpar by unanimous decision last July.

Acevedo (1-0) won her pro MMA debut last month against Sharice Davids. She went 4-2 as an amateur.

Niedzwiedz & Hewitt Courtest Cage Warriors/Dolly Clew

Bantamweight prospect Agnieszka Niedzwiedz will look for her 6th straight win as she faces Gemma Hewitt at Cage Warriors in Swansea, Wales. Niedzwiedz (135.4) and Hewitt (134.1) both came in on weight.

Poland’s Niedzwiedz (5-0) has finished all but one of her opponents, getting a unanimous decision in her Cage Warriors debut this past December over Kerry Hughes.

England’s Hewott (1-0) got a TKO in her pro debut against Chloe Hinchliffe this past November.

The match will be streamed live and free in MMAJunkie.com at 4pm ET/1pm PT.

Marina Shafir will make her long awaited pro MMA debut as she faces Chandra Engel at Choas at the Casino in Inglewood, California.

Shafir went undefeated as an amateur 5-0 with all wins by submission. Good friend and training partner of Ronda Rousey, she has won all but one fight by armbar.

Engel lost in her pro debut against InvictaFC vet Marciea Allen. She went 9-8 as an amateur with five by submission.

In other pro bouts:

• At Rouge Fights in Redding, PA, Brianna VanBuren takes on Katie Klimansky
• Naiara Guerreira battles Jackeline Sales Ferreira Leite at Arena Combat in Brazil
• At Rolim Fight Combat 2 in Rolim de Moura, Brazil, Rosangela dos Santos faces Fabrina Vanessa
• In Austrailia at FWC 17, Arlene Blencowe fights Kenani Mangakahia. In an amateur bout, Janay Harding takes on Megan Anderson 

Moyle & Denizard Courtesy Ultra Vista/Tuff-n-uff

Ammy MMA

The Tuff-n-uff strawweight tournament starts Friday night with two semi-final bouts. All fighters made weight. (Click the links to read interviewers for the fighters):

• Jianna Denizard vs. Jamie Moyle
• Molly Wren-Holmes vs. Laura Uyeda

In a non-tournament strawweight bout, Jennifer Chareunvong takes on Alenna Nilsen.

The fights will stream on GoFightLive.tv for $10.

In other ammy bouts:

• At Kaged Kombat FC in Saratoga Springs, New York, Paige Matheson takes on Heather Lefevre
• Andy Nguyen faces Ashley Hancock at XFE in Greenville, South Carolina
• At A-Town Throwdown in Austin, Minnesota, Christina Jobe battles Natalie Madej
• Michelle Brunson fights Elisa Marrugo at Dragon’s Tail in Tyler, Texas

Boxing

Gabriela Bouvier will defend her IBF flyweight title for the first time taking on Carolina Alvarez in Maldonado, Uruguay.

Bouvier (11-4) has won back to back fights and won the title this past October. Alvarez (11-5) is coming off a TKO win over Basilia Mancilla this past December.

Paola Gabriela Casalinuovo and Yajaira Hernandez will battle for the vacant IBF light middleweight title in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Casalinuovo (10-0) has finished all her opponets, having yet to see a third round. Hernandez (15-5) has 9 KOs to her credit and has won four of her last 5.

In another bout on the card, Paola Benavidez will face Guadalupe Maria Antonia Maldonado.

Sofia, Bulgaria will have six female bouts on a packed card Sunday:

• Galina Gumliiska vs. Kremena Petkova (135)
• Teodora Bacheva vs. Svetla Taskova (112)
• Tzvetalina Konstantinova vs. Dilyana Todorova (118)
• Djuliana Nikolova vs. Elena Bolrachova (135)
• Borislava Goranova vs. Lubka Asenova (147)
• Djuliana Nikolova vs. Elena Bolrachova (135)

In other pro boxing matches:

• In a pair of bouts in San Luis, Argentina, Yohana Belen Alfonzo and Maria Eugenia Lopez will fight for the vacant Argentina (FAB) super featherweight title, and Soledad del Valle Frias takes on Vanesa Lorena Taborda.
• Marie Riederer faces Veronika Hornyak in Berlin, Germany
• In a trio of bouts in Tijuana, Mexico, Katia Gutierrez fighters Brenda Flores, Sandra Robles faces Paloma Lopez, and Tania Enriquez dukes it out with Diana Gonzalez
• Dionna Brooks battles Latashia Burton in Cut Off, Louisiana

Julaton

Saber

After signing a multi-fight contract for OneFC, boxing champion Ana Julaton is ready to make her first steps into the cage as she will take on Egypt’s Aya Saeid Saber at their May 2nd event in Manila, Philippines. The match was made official Monday.

Julaton (13-4-1 boxing) is the former WBO Super Bantamweight and IBA Super Bantamweight World Champion and has won 3 of her last five fights. She has been making the transition to MMA since late last year, and will be considered the hometown favorite due to her Filipina heritage.

Egypt’s Saber (1-3 MMA) is a vet of India’s Super Fight League and started her MMA career in 2012. She won her debut by decision.

“Aya Saber is an experienced MMA warrior and champion in kickboxing. I know she will bring her very best on May 2nd,” Julaton stated in a press release. “I’m training for my ONE FC homecoming fight in Manila harder than ever before and what gives me strength through my ups and downs are the hearts of my Kababayon all over.”

“I am excited and honored to be the first female mixed martial artist from Egypt to compete in ONE FC,” Saber commented. “I can’t wait to get into the cage and beat Ana and make my fight team and family proud. Unlike Ana, I am not new to MMA. Be careful Ana, you are entering my world. I’m coming!”

The fight joins Fillipina Jujeath Nagaowa versus India’s Jeet Toshi on the card.

The event will stream in the U.S. on OneFC.com for $10 May 2.

Pro MMA

World Class Judoka Marina Shafir was successful in her pro debut this past weekend, taking on last minute opponent Chandra Engel by armbar at Chaos at the Casino 4 in Inglewood, CA.

Shafir got the takedown early, and tried for the armbar, but she got tangled in the ring ropes. After adjusting position, she was able to get the armbar on the second attempt for her first pro win.

You can watch the fight here.

WMMA Round-up did an interview post fight with Shafir, which can be seen here.

Courtesy Dao of Cat Fighter

Jocelyn Lybarger gets her third win with a unanimous decision over  Rosa Acevedo at RFA 14 in Cheyenne, WY. Lybarger threatened a rear naked choke at the end of round 1 which Acevedo fought off. It was Lybarger’s striking in rounds 2 & 3 that sealed the deal and the win.

Undefeated Polish fighter Agnieszka Niedzwiedz gains her sixth win getting the triangle submission over Gemma Hewitt at Cage Warriors 67 in Swansea, Wales.

Courtesy Dolly Clew/Cage Warriors

The two started to exchanged strikes early and eventually clinched against the cage. Niedzwiedz tried to throw Heweitt but Niedzwiedz was just able to muscle her down landing in Hewitt’s guard. Niedzwiedz tried to get some ground and pound as Hewitt slips to her hip. Niedzwiedz adjusts and slaps an armbar from bottom. Niedzwiedz then transitioned to the triangle for the tap in the first round.

You can watch the fight here.

In other pro bouts:

• At Rouge Fights in Redding, PA, Brianna VanBuren defeated Katie Klimansky by TKO round 1
• Naiara Guerreira got the TKO over Jackeline Sales Ferreira Leite in round 2 at  Arena Combat in Brazil
• At Rolim Fight Combat 2 in Rolim de Moura, Brazil, Rosangela dos Santos defeated Fabrina Vanessa by split decision
• Mariana Morais submitted Mariana Santos by armlock round 1 at Circuito Talent de MMA 8 in Brazil.
• At Araguatins Fight Night in Brazil, Polyana Vianna defeated Thais by TKO in round 1
• Debi Studer submitted Mara Romero guillotine round 2 at MAX FC in Switzerland
• At Fighters World Cup in Australia, Arlene Blencowe submitted Kenani Mangakahia by triangle at 4:04 of round 3. In an amateur bout, Megan Anderson defeated Janay Harding by unanimous decision.

Ammy MMA

Tuff-n-uff kicked off their strawweight tournament in Las Vegas, NV this weeken, with the winner being signed to Invicta.

In the first semi-final, Molly Wren-Holmes defeated Laura Uyeda by unanimous decision. In what was mainly a striking battle, both fighters saw some damage, but it was Holmes who got the higher scoring shots. You can watch the fight here.

Moyle & Denizad

The second semi-finals saw Jamie Moyle get the TKO over Jianna Denizard at 2:36 of round 2. Moyle used her wrestling to stifle Denizard, and would ultimately get the mount and TKO in round 2 for the win. You can watch the fight here.

Holmes and Moyle will square off in the finals on the May 2 card at the Cox Arena in Las Vegas.

In a non-tournament bout, Alenna Nilsen defeated Jennifer Chareunvong by split decision

In other ammy bouts:

• At Kaged Kombat FC in Saratoga Springs, New York, Paige Matheson defeated Heather Lefevre by unanimous decision
• Ashley Hancock got the TKO over Andy Nguyen by TKO round 2 at XFE in Greenville, South Carolina
• At A-Town Throwdown in Austin, Minnesota, Christina Jobe defeated Chelsi Westdorp by unanimous decision
• Elisa Marrugo defeated Michelle Brunson by split decision at Dragon’s Tail in Tyler, Texas
• At Budo Fights in Bend, OR, Anna Symonds submitted Laura Wallace by rear naked choke round 1
• Sarah Click got the TKO knee to the body over Shannon Harney in 46 seconds at CFX in Boston, MA

Boxing

Paola Gabriela Casalinuovo wins her first world title as she defeated Yajaira Hernandez by TKO round 7 to win the vacant IBF light middleweight title in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Casalinuovo remains undefeated at 11-0.

Also on the card, Paola Benavidez defeated Guadalupe Maria Antonia Maldonado by unanimous decision.

Gabriela Bouvier retains her IBF flyweight title by defeating Carolina Alvarez by unanimous decision in Maldonado, Uruguay. Bouvier improves to 12-4-1 and extends her win streak to three.

In other boxing bouts:

• In a pair of bouts in San Luis, Argentina, Yohana Belen Alfonzo defeated Maria Eugenia Lopez by unanimous decision to win the vacant Argentina (FAB) super featherweight title, and Vanesa Lorena Taborda defeated Soledad del Valle Frias by points 
• Marie Riederer knocked out Veronika Hornyak in round 1 in Berlin, Germany
• In a trio of bouts in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Katia Gutierrez defeated Brenda Flores, Sandra Robles defeated Paloma Lopez, and Tania Enriquez defeated Diana Gonzalez; all by by unanimous decision 
• Marianna Gulyas defeated Agnes Draxler by points in Šturovo, Slovakia
• In a trio of bouts in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Yamila Esther Reynoso defeated Pamela Diaz by TKO round 2, Csilla Nemedi got the TKO over Anita Kosics in round 1, and Alexandra Gorog fights Klaudia Vigh to a draw 
• Latashia Burton defeated Dionna Brooks by points in Cut Off, Louisiana
• In Aube, France, Anne Sophie Da Costa defeated Maria Rosa Tabbuso by points
• In a pair of fights in Quintana Roo, Mexico, Anabel Ortiz defeated Ivoon Rosas by unanimous decision, and Arely Valente and Maria Salinas fight to a draw 
• Sofia, Bulgaria had four female bouts. Kremena Petkova defeated Galina Gumliiska by unanimous decision, Teodora Bacheva defeated Svetla Taskova by split decision, Tzvetalina Konstantinova defeated Dilyana Todorova by split decision, Borislava Goranova defeated Lubka Asenova by unanimous decision, and Djuliana Nikolova and Elena Bolrachova fight to a draw.

Miscellaneous News

In pro MMA action from Friday night, Lacey Schuckman submitted Melissa Meyers by rear naked choke 1:35 round 1 at Fight to Win MMA in Denver.

In Shoot Boxing in Tokyo, Japan, Rena Kubota defeated Seo Hee Im by KO (Standing Guillotine Choke) 2:50 round one, and Ai Takahashi defeated Matsukuma Kikukawa by TKO 2:04 round one.

Kankaanpaa

Three female bouts are set for Finland May 17th, and an Invicta vet will co-main event the card.

Invicta strawweight title contender Katja Kankaanpää will fight in her home country as she takes on Ukrainian Alyona Rassohyna.

Kankaanpää (8-1-1) is coming off her first pro loss to UFC sognee Joanne Calderwood. She has notable wins over Aisling Daly and Mei Yamaguchi.

Rassohyna (8-2) is coming off four straight first round armbars and will be the first time she will fight in northern Europe.

Finnish standout Suvi Salmimies will look to impress as she takes on Yana Lyashko of Russia. The third match will feature Vuokko Katainen taking on Julia Borisova.

Fox

HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumble” will feature a story about transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox. It will include an interview with the first woman to beat Fox, Ashlee Evans-Smith.

The show will air Tuesday.

You can watch a preview here.

Andria Wawro will return to action June 6 as she will take on Jessy Miele at Reality Fighting 52 in the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.

One to the top featherweight prospects, Wawro (2-1 pro) won three of her 4 matches as an amateur. He last pro bout was last year with a unanimous decision win over Cassie Crisano.

Meile will make her pro debut after having her first and only amateur bout in 2009. The BJJ purple belt has traned in fighting for 8 years.

The fight will most likely be streamed on Go Fight Live for $10.

Universal Sports Network will be broadcasting the finals of the “US Open” freestyle wrestling tournament Saturday night in Vegas.

Here are the list of the finals:

• Alyssa Lampe vs. Victoria Anthony (48 kg/105.5 lbs.)
• Katherine Fulp-Allen vs. Whitney Conder (53 kg/112.25 lbs.)
• Helen Maroulis vs. Sarah Hildebrandt (55 kg/121 lbs.)
• Alli Ragan vs. Trinity Griffin (58 kg/128 lbs.)
• Jennifer Page vs. Jenna Burkert (60 kg/132 lbs.)
• Randi Miller vs. Veronica Carlson (69 kg/152 lbs.)
• Jackie Cataline vs. Iris Smith (75 kg/165 lbs.)

The matches will air starting at 7 p.m. pst/10 p.m. est.

Julaton

On Sunday at noon pst/3 p.m. est, we will talk to boxing champ Ana Julaton, who will make her MMA debut against Aya Saeid Saber at OneFC in the Philippines.

You can listen live here Sunday.

Rumors

A Brazilian website is reporting the World Series of Fight is looking to book Cyborg Justino versus Holly Holm for sometime next year.

Justino is currently sign with Invicta, and she is at the end of her contract after her next match. InvictaFC president Shannon Knapp has told us that Justino will defend her 145 title against India Gomes in June.

As of now, Justino’s management has stated they are not interested in signing with the WSOF anytime soon.

Speaking of Invicta, Knapp is expected to make an announcement next week about the June event and a possible tv deal.

Should be noted the Fox and the UFC not only recognized InvictaFC in their graphics and commentary Wednesday, but they also used Invicta footage to pump up the fight between Sarah Kaufman and Leslie Smith. UFC and Fox never does this…

According to Dana White, Ronda Rousey requested to defend her title on the July 5th card. White noted that Cat Zingano was still dealing with “personal issues” and was the reason she wasn’t available. Miesha Tate stated this week she is picking Rousey to win over challenger Alexis Davis. Liz Carmouche refused to pick.

White also mentioned he is working on getting the Strikeforce fights on Fightpass. Due to a provision in their Strikeforce deal with Showtime, they aren’t allowed to air the complete fights anywhere. They would also need to edit sponsors out of the fights.

Scheduled Fights

Pro MMA

Fox will air it’s first female bout on national broadcast television as Miesha Tate and Liz Carmouche will face off in the co-main event on the “UFC on Fox 11″ card in Orlando, FL. Both Tate (135.5) and Carmouche (135) made weight.

Both coming off losses, a win will get the one of them back in the title hunt.

The match will air on Fox Saturday night.

In other pro bouts:

• At Kansas Fighting Alliance in Kansas City, MO, Trisha Clark takes on Amanda LaVoy
• Crystal Stevens faces Rebecca Ruth at ShamrockFC in St. Louis, MO

Ammy MMA

Steelfist will have seven amateur bouts plus one pro bout in Salt Lake City, Utah.

• Rachel Kemker vs. Killastina Matatohi (pro heavyweight)
• Rianne Whiting vs. Danielle Donaldson (ammy 135 title)
• Charlene Donahue vs. Krystal Larson (150)
• Brenda Enriquez vs. Carissa Merrill (120)
• Buffy Ogden vs. Morghan Filler (145)
• Becca Cater vs. Jennifer Snyder (125)
• Jessica Bergstrom vs. Deane Dorn (195)
• Palen Cornell vs. Ambur Madsen (125)

Watch the @WombatSports twitter feed for up to the minute results.

Lawrence & Wyatt

In other amateur bouts:

• At Fight Hard MMA in St. Charles, MO, Susie Wyatt faces Ronni Lawrence
• Kelly Wisecarver takes on Kayla Kipp at EAC in Fredericktown, Ohio
• In Absolute Action MMA in Williamstown, Kentucky, Kia Peppard battles Desiree Wilson (135)
• Jennifer Darr fights Stephanie Alba at NFC in Duluth, Georgia
• In UFA in Denver, CO, Selina Valdez-Montoya faces Latrisha Breidenbach

Boxing

Erica Anabella Farias will defend her WBC lightweight title against Delfine Persoon Sunday in West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.

Farias (19-0) is looking for her 20th win and her 9th defense of her title. Persoon (28-1) is looking to put a fourth belt around her waste, as she is the current WIBF, WBF, and WIBA lightweight champion.

In a pair of bouts Buenos Aires, Argentina, Julieta Andrea Cardozo faces Maria Cecilia Roman and Alicia Monica Machaca battles Laura Soledad Griffa 

Pro MMA

Miesha Tate has gotten her first UFC, defeating Liz Carmouche at UFC on Fox 11 in Orlando, Florida Saturday by unanimous decision.

Tate (14-5) looked a little sluggish in the first round, with Carmouche controlling the takedown and grappling game. Tate warmed up more in the second with her striking, despite getting taken down again by Carmouche and stifled on the mat.

Tate pushed forward in round 3, getting a takedown of her own and taking side control. Tate threatened with several chokes throughout the round, with Carmouche surviving a tight rear naked choke.

In the end, the judges gave Tate the nod 29-28 all.

Carmouche suffered a wrist injury and is on medical suspension until a doctor clears her. Tate is clear and a possible rumored fight Sarah Kaufman in a rematch in June ahead of her.

In other pro bouts:

• At Kansas Fighting Allaince in  Kansas City, MO, Trisha Clark def. Amanda LaVoy by submission (armbar) 4:44 round 1
• Rebecca Ruth defeated Crystal Stevens by TKO round 1 at ShamrockFC in St. Louis, MO
• At Fight to Win in Denver, CO, Lacey Schuckman submitted Melissa Meyers by rear naked choke at 1:35 round 1. In an amateur bout, Mallory Martin submitted Nekah Dmitreyva by armbar round 2

Ammy MMA

Bergstrom vs. Dorn Courtesy Amanda Lynn/Steelfist

Steelfist Cage Fights in Salt Lake City, UT had an action packed set of female bouts this past weekend. In the only female pro bout on the card, Killastina Matatohi got the TKO over Rachel Kemker in round 1.

The amateur card saw:

• Rianne Whiting  defeating Danielle Donaldson by TKO round 2 to win the ammy 135 title
• Charlene Donahue defeating Krystal Larson by TKO (retirement) round 2
• Brenda Enriquez submitting Carissa Merrill by rear naked choke in round 1
• Buffy Ogden defeated Morghan Filler by TKO round 2
• Jennifer Snyder defeated Becca Cater by TKO (retirement) round 2
• Jessica Bergstrom defeated Deane Dorn by TKO round 1
• Ambur Madsen defeated Palen Cornell by TKO round 1

In other amateur bouts:

• At MMA Finnish Championships, Tina Lähdemäki defeated Suvi Salmimies by TKO round 1
• Ronni Lawrence defeated Susie Wyatt by unanimous decision at Fight Hard MMA in St. Charles, MO
• At EAC in Fredericktown, Ohio, Kayla Kipp defeated Kelly Wisecarver by TKO 1:26 round 1
• Jennifer Darr defeated Stephanie Alba by decision at Wild Bill Fight Night in Duluth, Georgia
• At Capital City Cage Fights in Lansing, MI, Angela Jennings defeated Brittney Wellington by TKO round 1 to win the ammy 125 title.
• Selina Valdez-Montoya defeated Latrisha Breidenbach by TKO (retirement) round 1 at UFA in Denver, CO
• At Battle at the Bay in Anacortes, Washington, Shawn Dee Solosabal and Brittany Simms fight to a majority draw

Courtesy gva.be

Boxing

Delfine Persoon has now four belts around her waste.

The WIBF, WBF, & WIBA lightweight champ defeated WBC champ Erica Anabella Farias in West-Vlaanderen, Belgium to become the #1 lightweight boxer on the planet.

You can watch the fight here.

On other boxing bouts:

• In a pair of fights in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Laura Soledad Griffa defeated Alicia Monica Machaca by unanimous decision, and Julieta Andrea Cardozo defeated Maria Cecilia Roman by unanimous decision 
• Karina Rodriguez defeated Yolanda Segura by TKO (retirement) round 6 in Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico

In order to promote women’s boxing and honor its pioneers, the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame has been established.

Starting this year, the IWBHF’s mission is to give the highest honor to female boxers (retired), and men and women who work outside the ring that have significantly attributed to the promotion and development of the sport. In addition one of our long range goals are to have the IWBHF be at a permanent site in the future.

The nomination committee is headed by Sue Fox of WBAN.com, the best site for female boxing on the web.

Seven female boxers will have the honor of being in the first class.

Martin

Rijker

Christy Martin – Pioneer in the women’s boxing realm, the former World Champion was the first to headline a pay per view boxing event and broke the glass ceiling, co-main evening an HBO boxing event. Her battle with Mia St. John was the largest female boxing match to be watched live. She also the first female boxer to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Lucia Rijker – Retiring undefeated, the Dutchwoman is two sport world champion (boxing and kickboxing) and has finished all but 3 opponents. Her striking prowess has gave her a reputation in temrs of training other female fighters not only in boxing but MMA. Rijker helped train UFC champ Ronda Rousey in her striking. Rijker also was feature in many films, including 2004′s “Million Dollar Baby”.

Jo-Ann Verhaegen - One of the two women to be the first to box on national television in 1954, Verhaegen won an eight round decision over Barbara Buttrick, being the first to defeat her.

Barbara Buttrick – The other fighter that made history in 1954, she went 30-1-1 as a boxer with her only loss to Verhaegen. She would retire in 1960, but would fight a few times in 1977 before finally calling it a career.

Dr. Christy Halbert – The former pugilist is best known for being one of the top advocates for women’s boxing. Halbert lead the charge to get women’s boxing into the Olympics and saw her campaign a success in 2012 as Team USA’s head coach. Dr. Halbert also runs the Boxing Resource Center which is a non-profit organization helping boxers gain the training they need, and research in all aspects of the sport.

Regina Halmich – The German fighter was one of the first to help grow boxing in Europe. A three division champion, Halmich went 54-1-1 in her career 13 year career. She retired as the WIBF flyweight champion in 2007.

Bonnie Canino – With a 16 year career in striking sport spanning the 80′s and 90′s, the former featherweight boxing and kickboxing world champion went 15-4 in the boxing arena.

The ceremony will be held July 10th in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Mor information can be found at Iwbhf.com.