Women's MMA - Biggest Week in Women's MMA Recap

Welcome to the Fightergirls column on Women Talk Sports brought to you by your source for women’s mma gear and clothing Fightergirls.com. Here is the news for this week.

Miesha Tate defeats Hitomi Akano Courtesy Ester Lin/Strikeforce

It wasn’t pretty, but #10 ranked Miesha Tate is now second in line for the 135 pound title.

Tate defeated Maiju Kujala and #6 ranked Hitomi Akano to win the inaugural Strikeforce Women’s 135 pound tournament this past Friday night in Phoenix.

The 2 three minute rounds seemed inadequate for the fighters to really showcase their skills, and go full out to get a win. Bad reffing by the Arizona State Athletic commission and the substitution of the ten second knock by the ten second whistle confused fighters. However, the fighters did their best to showcase their skills, and three more Strikeforce newbies are now in the public eye.

Strikeforce 135 pound champion Sarah Kaufman said that her next opponent is former 145 title contender Marloes Coenen, and is hoping to fight her in either October or November. The winner of that championship match will face Tate.

For complete result, please go to my previous post here:

http://www.womentalksports.com/items/read/652/637652

FCF Tournament champ Shayna Baszler

“The Queen of Spades” is ready to rock hardcore in Strikeforce once again.

The #3 ranked 135 pounded Shayna Baszler announced Friday shortly after the conclusion of the 135 pound Strikeforce tournament that she had been re-signed to the organization.

Baszler stated on her twitter -

“Good fights tonight. 2 bad 4 those girls that I’m back in the mix….they r all just bodies”

Her good friend and #1 ranked 125 pound fighter Tara LaRosa drove the point home.

“Shayna Baszler says that she is signed with StrikeForce!”

Baszler earned the right to re-sign with Strikeforce courtesy of her Freestyle Cage Fighting tournament win this past June. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said in a recent interview with MMARising.com that Baszler would also be in contention for a 135 pound title shot. 

The last time we saw Baszler in Strikeforce was June of last year, when she lost to champion Sarah Kaufman. Since then, Baszler has been on a three fight win streak.

It is not known when or where her first fight back will be or who she will be facing. 

MMA Fighter Erin Toughill

Erin Toughill will be her first appearance in a year outside of Strikeforce - and outside the United States.

Toughill will be facing Chinese fighter Bao Yu Dan at Martial Combat 9 in Singapore Sept. 15, which will be televised on ESPN Asia. The match will be at 155 pounds.

Toughill had asked Strikeforce and Shana Olsen to either postpone their 145 pound contenders’ bout, or make the match a catchweight bout of 150, something that Olsen refused. A war of words started between the two on Facebook, which got the attention of several mma websites.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Toughill to secure a fight outside the organization first before he would allow her to compete with their company. There is still a bit of controversy as Olsen had stated that the bout would have to be at 145 pounds, something that Coker has yet to verify.

Toughill is considered the top contender for Cyborg Santos’s 145 title, and is expected to be getting a title shot when she returns to Strikeforce.

Jessica Aguilar defeats Lynn Alvarez Courtesy Tom Hill

The biggest women’s tournament in women’s mma history started this past week with two impressive wins at Bellator 24.

#1 ranked Megumi Fujii proved once again that she is the number one fighter in the division, as she defeated late minute replacement Carla Esparza at :57 seconds of round 2.

In the main event, #7 ranked Jessica Aguilar made her adoptive hometown proud by defeating #9 ranked Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez by arm triangle choke at 4:01 of round one.

Complete results can be found here:

http://www.womentalksports.com/items/read/652/636498/megum-fujii-and-jessica-aguilar-advance-in-bellator-tournament

Megumi Fujii will face the winner of #4 ranked Lisa Ward and #5 ranked 125 pounder Aisling Daly, who will face off at Bellator 26 in Kansas City in two weeks.

Jessica Aguilar faces the winner of #3 ranked 125 pounder Zoila Frausto vs. #5 ranked 115 pounder Jessica Pene at Bellator 25 in Chicago next week.

In other results from this past week

Casey Noland defeats Jenny Trujillo unanimous decisions at Fight for Wrestling in Bakersfield, CA

Michele Gutierrez defeats Cassie Rodish via Unanimous Decision at XFO: Outdoor War 6 in Illinois

and

Jenna Castillo defends her IKF Muay Thai Bantamweight Title against Tiffany Van Soest winning by unanimous decision and Kristina Alvarez def. Katie Toliao unanimous decision for the vacant IKF MTR Womens' Super Lightweight(132.1-137 lbs) West Coast title at the "Fight to the Mansion" at San Mateo Events Center in California.

Good news for Canadians in the Toronto area.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Saturday that the provincial government will officially sanction and regulate the MMA, allowing matches to be fought within the province’s boundaries in 2011. The UFC says it could have cards in the area in two year, with Canadian based promotion Warrior 1 having several cards next year. Tom Wright, director of the UFC's Canadian operations says that even thought the majority of mma fans are males, nearly 40% are females.

Gina Carano on the set of "Haywire"

We have't heard from Gina Carano in about a year, and the rumors are starting again. 

Randy Couture mentioned in an interview over at Cage Potato that he "would be surprised" to see Gina go back to the cage. He also stated that Gina hasn't been in the gym for 9 months, and Randy hasn't been in contact with her since then. 

However, Scott Coker said today on Ariel Helwani's podcast that he was just in touch with Gina, who is doing reshoots for her movie, and said he will get back to her in a few months to talk about a comeback match. 

In matches this week –

Tannaya Hantelman vs. Anna "Smiles” Barone and 
Shannon Ludlow vs. Jenn Ricker at  Wreck MMA: Bad Intentions in Gatineau, QC, Canada

And

Kristin "Barbie" Molina vs. Amanda Lavoy at the IFC in Michigan. 

That is all for now. Please check out Fightergirls.com for all your women’s mma news and interviews. Plus follow us on twitter @Fightergirls with the most up to the minute breaking news stories in women’s mma. 

Also check out the Fightergirls Store for all your mma gear and clothing, now featuring a line of women's and men's shorts. We also carry RevGear, Everlast, and Cleto Reyes boxing and mma gear.

Until next week.

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• Martial Arts, MMA