Henry Cejudo

The UFC’s final network television event of the year takes place Saturday, as UFC on FOX 13 takes place at Phoenix’s U.S. Airways Center.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos (16-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) returns to the octagon from a career-long layoff in the main event and will look to remind the world why he’s No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA heavyweight rankings when he meets No. 8 Stipe Miocic (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC).

The four-fight main card features eight fighters with a combined 82 UFC appearances (69 victories). Each have already achieved some notable feats inside the octagon, but will looks to add to their resumes on the FOX platform.

Check below for 90 pre-fight facts about UFC on FOX 13.

Main event

Junior Dos Santos

Dos Santos returns to the octagon after a 419-day layoff, his longest break from competition dating back to his July 2006 debut.

Dos Santos’ seven knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for the third most in divisional history behind champion Cain Velasquez (nine) and Andrei Arlovski (eight).

Dos Santos’ 11 knockdowns landed in UFC heavyweight competition are the most in divisional history and fifth overall in company history.

Dos Santos has landed 585 significant strikes in UFC heavyweight competition, tied with Tim Sylvia for the most in divisional history.

Dos Santos’ takedown defense rate of 76.2 percent is the third highest among active heavyweights behind Arlovski (88.4 percent) and Mark Hunt (85.3 percent).

Stipe Miocic

Miocic’s three-fight UFC winning streak is the fourth longest active streak in the heavyweight division behind interim champ Fabricio Werdum (five), Arlovski (five) and Velasquez (four).

Miocic’s averages 5.26 significant strikes per minute of fighting, the third highest rate in heavyweight history behind Velasquez (6.21) and Alistair Overeem (5.63).

Miocic’s significant strike defense rate of 64.2 percent ranks fourth in heavyweight history behind Jon Madsen (81.4 percent), Matt Mitrione (66.8 percent) and Arlovski (64.9 percent).

Miocic lands 42.9 percent of his takedown attempts, the fourth highest accuracy rate among active heavyweights.

Miocic is one of four fighters in modern UFC heavyweight history to record two knockout victories in less than one minute each. He accomplished the feat against Fabio Maldonado at the TUF Brazil 3 Finale and Philip De Fries at UFC on FUEL TV 1.

Co-main event

Rafael dos Anjos

Rafael dos Anjos (22-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) is 7-1 in his past eight UFC appearances with the lone defeat in that stretch coming to USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie’s No. 3-ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Dos Anjos will compete in his 17th UFC lightweight bout, tied for the fourth most appearances in divisional history behind Gleison Tibau (22), Melvin Guillard (20) and Yves Edwards (20).

Dos Anjos’ 11 victories in UFC lightweight competition are tied for the fourth most in divisional history behind Tibau (15), Jim Miller (13) and Donald Cerrone (12).

Dos Anjos has attempted 12 submissions during his UFC career. Of those, nine were either armbar or shoulder locks. Those nine armbar or shoulder lock attempts are the fourth most in UFC history.

Dos Anjos has earned four his past six UFC victories by decision. He has earned six of his 11 wins with the promotion overall by taking his opponent the distance.

Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz (17-9 MMA, 12-7 UFC) returns to the octagon after a 378-day layoff, his longest break from competition dating back to his October 2004 debut.

Diaz has earned eight stoppage victories in UFC lightweight competition, tied for the third most in divisional history behind Joe Lauzon (10) and B.J. Penn (nine).

Diaz’s 11 stoppage victories in UFC/WEC lightweight competition are the second most in combined divisional history behind Cerrone (12).

Diaz’s 238 significant strikes landed against Cerrone at UFC 141 stand as the single-fight UFC record.

Diaz’s seven submission victories in UFC lightweight competition are tied for the most in divisional history. His nine submission wins in UFC/WEC lightweight competition are the most in the combined history of the weight class.

Diaz’s eight submission victories are tied with Kenny Florian and Frank Mir for the most by any fighter in modern UFC history.

Diaz has attempted 21 submissions in UFC lightweight competition, the fourth most in divisional history behind Miller (31), Lauzon (26) and Hermes Franca (22).

Diaz is one of two modern era fighters to earn four consecutive UFC submission victories. Demian Maia is the other to accomplish the feat, and he extended his streak to five.

Diaz has been awarded 10 fight-night bonuses in his UFC lightweight career, tied for second most in divisional history behind Lauzon (13).

Diaz’s 11 post-fight bonuses are the third most in UFC history behind Lauzon (13) and Anderson Silva (12).

Remaining main card

Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem (37-14, 2-3 UFC) enters the event with just one victory in his past four UFC appearances.

Overeem has suffered nine career losses by knockout, the most of any active UFC fighter.

Overeem has finished his opponent in all but three of his 37 victories. Of his 15 career knockout wins, 11 have stemmed from either a kick or knee strike.

Overeem averages 5.63 strikes landed per minute of fighting, the second highest rate in heavyweight history behind Velasquez (6.21).

Overeem’s strike differential rate of +3.85 in UFC heavyweight competition is the second highest in divisional history behind Velasquez (+4.52).

Overeem absorbs just 1.78 significant strikes per minute of fighting, the second lowest rate among active heavyweights behind Velasquez (1.69).

Overeem enjoys a career takedown defense proficiency of 76 percent (UFC average is 59 percent). Since his departure from PRIDE in 2007, he’s successfully defended 21 of his opponents’ 24 takedown attempts.

Overeem has been on the losing end of the third and fourth largest statistical comeback finishes in UFC heavyweight history. He out-landed Antonio Silva by 30 significant strikes before being knocked out at UFC 156 and out-landed Travis Browne by 27 significant strikes before his demise at UFC Fight Night 26.

Stefan Struve

Stefan Struve (25-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC), 26, is the second youngest active fighter in the UFC heavyweight division behind 23-year-old Viktor Pesta.

Struve will compete in his 14th UFC heavyweight bout, the fifth most of any fighter in divisional history behind Mir (23), Cheick Kongo (18), Gabriel Gonzaga (18) and Arlovski (16).

Struve’s eight finishes in heavyweight competition are tied for the fifth most in divisional history behind Mir (11), Gonzaga (11), Arlovski (10) and Velasquez (nine).

Struve’s four submission victories in heavyweight competition are tied with Gonzaga for the second most in divisional history behind Mir (eight).

Struve has attempted 19 submissions in UFC heavyweight competition, the second most in divisional history behind Mir (21). His 3.5 submission attempts per 15 minutes of fighting are the most in divisional history.

Struve has been awarded five fight-night bonuses in his UFC career, the second most of any heavyweight in company history behind Nelson (six).

Struve has suffered all four of his UFC losses by knockout.

Matt Mitrione

Matt Mitrione (8-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) is one of two active UFC fighters to have fought all of his professional bouts with the organization. Welterweight Amir Sadollah is the other.

Mitrione is 3-3 in his past six fights after starting his UFC career on a 5-0 run.

Mitrione’s seven knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for the third most in divisional history behind Velasquez (nine) and Arlovski (eight).

Mitrione’s seven knockdowns landed in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for the fourth most among active heavyweights behind Dos Santos (11), Velasquez (nine) and Arlovski (eight).

Mitrione’s significant strike defense rate of 66.7 percent is the second in UFC heavyweight history and highest among active fighters in the division. His 50.7 percent significant strike accuracy rates third best among active heavyweights.

Gabriel Gonzaga

Gabriel Gonzaga (16-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) will compete in his 19th UFC heavyweight bout, the second most appearances in divisional history behind Mir (23).

Gonzaga’s average fight time of 5:41 in UFC heavyweight competition is shortest among active fighters and fourth shortest in divisional history.

Gonzaga’s 11 victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for the third most in divisional history behind Mir (14) and Arlovski (12).

Gonzaga’s 11 stoppage victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied with Mir for the most in divisional history.

Gonzaga’s seven knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for the fourth most in divisional history behind Velasquez (nine), Dos Santos (eight) and Arlovski (eight).

Gonzaga’s 17-second knockout of Dave Herman at UFC 162 stands as the third fastest knockout in UFC heavyweight history.

Gonzaga’s four submission victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied for the second most in divisional history behind Mir (eight).

Gonzaga has attempted 10 submissions in UFC heavyweight competition, tied for the third most in divisional history behind Mir (21) and Struve (19).

Preliminary card

John Moraga

John Moraga (14-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will compete in his seventh UFC flyweight bout, tied for the third most appearances in divisional history behind champion Demetrious Johnson (eight) and Joseph Benavidez (eight).

Moraga has alternated wins and losses over his past five UFC appearances.

Moraga’s three stoppage victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for the third most in divisional history behind Benavidez (four) and John Lineker (four).

Moraga’s two submission victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied with Johnson for the most in divisional history.

Moraga is one of 12 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from standing elbow strikes. He accomplished the feat against Ulysses Gomez at UFC on FOX 4.

Moraga was the first fighter in UFC flyweight history to be stopped between rounds when John Dodson defeated him by TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at UFC Fight Night 42.

Willie Gates (11-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut on a five-fight winning streak. He earned all of those victories by first-round stoppage.

Gates’ debut bout will mark his sixth fight of 2014. He last competed on November 6th.

Claudia Gadelha (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned the first victory in UFC strawweight history when she defeated Tina Lahdemaki at UFC Fight Night 45.

Gadelha has yet to suffer a pro loss dating back to her July 2008 debut.

Ben Saunders (17-6-2 MMA, 5-3 UFC) earned the first omoplata submission finish in UFC history when he defeated Chris Heatherly at UFC Fight Night 49.

Saunders’ omoplata finish was just the second in the combined history of UFC, WEC, Strikeforce and PRIDE. Shane Del Rosario was the other to accomplish the feat.

Joe Riggs (40-14 MMA, 4-4 UFC) returns to the UFC for the first time since a December 2006 knockout loss to Diego Sanchez. “Diesel” went 15-6 in his time away from the organization.

Riggs enters the event on a six-fight winning streak, tied for the second longest run of victories in his career behind an eight-fight streak in 2004.

Riggs’ average fight time of 5:51 in UFC welterweight bouts is the second shortest in divisional history behind Erick Silva (5:22).

Jamie Varner

Jamie Varner (21-10-1 MMA, 3-5 UFC) enters the event on a three-fight UFC losing streak. He has not earned a victory since December 2012.

Varner completes 63.9 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC lightweight competition, the highest rate among active fighters and second highest in divisional history behind B.J. Penn (66.7 percent).

Varner was on the losing end of the third largest statistical comeback in UFC history. “The Worm” out-landed Lauzon by 38 significant strikes at UFC on FOX 4 before being submitted in the third round. The greatest single-fight comeback belongs to Anderson Silva, who came back from a deficit of 60 significant strikes to submit Chael Sonnen in the fifth round at UFC 117.

Ed Herman

Ed Herman (22-10 MMA, 9-6 UFC) will compete in his 17th UFC middleweight bout, tied for the third most appearances in divisional history behind Chris Leben (22) and Yushin Okami (18).

Herman has completed 30 takedowns in UFC middleweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind Chael Sonnen (35).

Herman’s four submission victories in UFC middleweight competition are tied for the third most in divisional history behind Rousimar Palhares (five) and Maia (five).

Herman has attempted 13 submissions in UFC middleweight competition, the second most among active fighters behind Nate Marquardt (14).

Herman has been awarded five fight-night bonuses in his UFC career, the third most of any middleweight in company history behind A. Silva (10) and Leben (six).

Derek Brunson (12-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is 3-3 in his past six professional bouts.

Brunson’s 48-second submission of Brian Houston at UFC Fight Night 31 stands as the fourth fastest submission in UFC middleweight history.

Joe Ellenberger(15-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is one of 16 pairs of siblings to have fought under the UFC banner. His twin brother, Jake, is a 13-fight veteran of the organization.

Dustin Kimura (11-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has alternated wins and losses throughout his four-fight UFC career.

Henry Cejudo (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will become the third Olympic gold medalist to enter the octagon, joining Kevin Jackson and Mark Schultz. He accomplished the feat in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 games.

Cejudo will become the first Olympic gold medalist to fight in the UFC since the organization was purchased by parent company Zuffa.

For more on UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

FightMetric (www.fightmetric.com) research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript (www.twitter.com/mjcflipdascript).

Carla Esparza, Dave Sholler and Rose Namajunas

Tonight the UFC opens a new chapter as women’s MMA gets headliner status for the first time without the presence of bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. The strawweights quietly made the their debut earlier this year in the octagon, of course, but the conclusion of “The Ultimate Fighter 20″ opens up the talent pool after the reality show reoriented the pecking order of fighters.

“TUF 20’s” finalists, former Invicta FC champ Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas serve as the main event for The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale, which takes place at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas (the card airs on FOX Sports 1 following a pair of UFC Fight Pass prelims). In case you’ve been living under a rock, the fight’s winner will sb crowned the latest titleholder, bringing to 10 the roster of champions within the promotion.

Then, on Saturday, the men top the marquee for UFC on FOX 13, which features a pair of pivotal bouts in the heavyweight and lightweight divisions (the main card airs on FOX following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass). Ex-champ Junior dos Santos meets Stipe Miocic in a fight that could queue up the next contender to champ Cain Velasquez’s belt after interim titleholder Fabricio Werdum attempts to unify the title. Additionally, the winner of the Rafael dos Anjos vs. Nate Diaz co-headliner is on the short list to fight lightweight champ Anthony Pettis.

It’s the last weekend of the year to feature a UFC doubleheader, and surprisingly, the cards have been relatively unaltered by the injuries that racked events earlier this year. But maybe that makes sense with this weekend’s fighters struggling to get to the top rather than maintain position.

The ladies of the strawweight division will still have to prove they’re capable of pulling their weight in the UFC almost two years after Rousey brought women into the octagon. It’s going to be a slow build, judging by the ratings garnered by “TUF 20,” but it’s a commendable step in bringing more of the world’s best fighters to the table. If the UFC is able to cultivate even one more star from the show, it’s a good thing for business.

The heavyweights, meanwhile, are simply forging on after Velasquez put the division on pause with yet another injury. The UFC expects him to return in March, but Dos Santos or Miocic could get the title shot pretty quickly if there are any more delays. And with Pettis lacking a current contender, Diaz or dos Anjos could easily be promoted.

It’s a good weekend of fights considering some of the uneven offerings this year. Here are 10 reasons to watch The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale and UFC on FOX 13:

1. Straw woman argument

Carla Esparza

TUF 20 Finale: “TUF 20″ finalist Namajunas (2-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) surpassed expectations and then some on the reality show, beating two opponents with more experienced – and finishing them no less. Fellow finalist and No. 1 seed Esparza (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) lived up to expectations, meanwhile, but the real question headed into the final is how the weight of those affect her against the underdog Namajunas, when professional records are on the line.

In the real world, prior to the “TUF” bubble, it was Esparza who burned up the circuit in the all-female Invicta FC promotion while Namajunas appeared overmatched against Tecia Torres, who twice lost in the “TUF 20″ tournament. Namajunas is a different fighter than when she first stepped in the house; that much is for sure. But is she different and ultimately competent enough to overcome Esparza’s experience and skillset?

The other question lingering is whether the winner of Saturday’s bout can be considered the best in the world at 115 pounds. There are plenty of fans (and a ranking panel or two) who think WSOF’s Jessica Aguilar holds that distinction. Until she steps into the octagon, there will be a lot of academic arguments made that the jury is still out.

2. Bangers and mash

Stipe Miocic

UFC on FOX 13: Ex-heavyweight champ Dos Santos (16-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has been out of our lives for far too long, recovering from a brutal fight with champ Velasquez and a broken hand that sacked his mid-year return. With two losses to Mr. Metro, the heavy-hanged slugger is undoubtedly stuck in the role of gatekeeper unless interim strap-holder Fabricio Werdum captures the title or Velasquez’s long-running injury problems finally cost him the undisputed belt.

Miocic (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is the first invader to repel, and he brings a few interesting problems to solve: technical hands and strong wrestling. Can Dos Santos hold his spot in line? We’ll get a good idea when Miocic takes a stiff punch from “Cigano,” if he dares to risk one.

3. Who’s the phoenix?

Jeremy Stephens

TUF 20 Finale: Featherweights Jeremy Stephens (23-10 MMA, 10-8 UFC) and Charles Oliveira (18-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) are two veterans who’ve shown a ton of potential over the years, and yet, they’ve never been able to break into contention.

Stephens had the chance in June against Cub Swanson, and Oliveira had it this past year against ex-champ Frankie Edgar. It’s fitting, then, they meet each other to see who stays closer to the fringe.

They’re both younger than 30 despite being a little long in the tooth in octagon years. Another good push, and who knows what the winner can pull off.

4. The reluctant and the overeager

Nate Diaz

UFC on FOX 13: Diaz does not want to be here. He hates your schedules and your media events. He can’t stand your virgin nose. He loathes your uniforms – no wait, that was someone else.

Despite all this, lightweight Diaz (17-9 MMA, 12-7 UFC) will mope and mug his way to the octagon against dos Anjos (22-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in a matchup probably more important than he’d like to admit. Rightful contender Khabib Nurmagomedov won’t be ready for a title shot until spring at best, and most likely ditto for the winner of Donald Cerrone vs. Myles Jury. Champ Pettis already wants to fight. The matchup will make easy money for the UFC. Are we under any illusions that Diaz isn’t in the running for a title shot?

The one problem now is dos Anjos. He’s on a tear, having just knocked out ex-champ Benson Henderson in August. His performances mark an athlete who’s at the peak of his career. And combines his wrestling and striking with a speed that could be a real problem for Diaz, who’s like his older brother Nick in his tendency to chip away at opponents until they fall.

It’s a fight in which Diaz can’t afford to slack, point fingers (middle ones especially), or let up. Big things are on the line, and the guy who wants it more is going to get the big opportunity.

5. Striking similarity

K.J. Noons

TUF 20 Finale: Lightweights K.J. Noons (13-7 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Daron Cruickshank (16-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) are birds of a feather in their reliance on fists and feet to win the day inside the octagon.

Noons, a onetime boxer, is tasked with getting inside the unpredictable striking attacks of Cruickshank, who uses his legs far more liberally.

It’s a matchup that could easily produce a knockout, and that’s why it was booked – for our collective violence needs.

6. Heavyweights on the rope

Alistair Overeem

UFC on FOX 13: For Alistair Overeem (37-14 MMA, 2-3 UFC) and Stefan Struve (25-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC), career planning is not the priority. Both heavyweights are just trying to survive in the UFC, let alone map out a title path, though for different reasons.

Overeem is on borrowed time after a loss to Ben Rothwell in September that was his third knockout defeat in four appearances.

Struve, meanwhile, is in the same place as the result of a heart condition that may have contributed to his scratch at UFC 175 and could also one day force an end to his athletic career.

It’s anyone’s guess who’s got more athletic life when they meet in the octagon. Both carry skills that could put away the other. Struve, at 6-11, is a reach nightmare for anybody. Overeem is heavy-handed with solid ground and pound skills. What seems clear is that the loser is headed out of the UFC, and that makes the immediacy of the matchup compelling.

7. Uncrowned ‘TUF’ champs

Randa Markos

TUF 20 Finale: Bantamweights Jessica Penne (11-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Randa Markos (4-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) were early standouts on “TUF 20,” taking out solid competition on the way to the semifinals before respectively running into Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas.

While they might have come up short on the reality show, they are by no means out of the running for a title. In a division that’s still taking shape, the winner of their main-card meeting stands to challenge the champion in the near future. Opportunity is still within their grasp.

8. The missing ‘TUF’ link

Claudia Gadelha

UFC on FOX 13: Weight-cutting concerns scrapped the undefeated Claudia Gadelha (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) from “TUF 20,” leaving unanswered the question of how she would fare against favorite Carla Esparza, who won the Invicta belt after she withdrew from their title fight on short notice. After a rebooking failed, the two were swept up by the UFC.

In the octagon, Gadelha made a successful debut against Tina Lahdemaki while Esparza ran the table on the reality show.

The Brazilian Gadelha could easily become a contender for the title, and we could see how a matchup with Esparza finally plays out (or what Namajunas might have to offer). But only if she’s able to get past Joanna Jedrzejczyk (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who’s already upset one Brazilian in the octagon, Juliana Lima.

9. Mean girls

Bec Rawlings and Heather Jo Clark

TUF 20 Finale: Bantamweight Heather Jo Clark (6-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) walked onto the “TUF 20″ set with one established rival, Felice Herrig, and left with at least two more.

Most obvious among them was Bec Rawlings (5-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who joined up with Angela Magana as Clark’s chief tormentors on the show.

It wasn’t exactly rocket science to pit them against each other, and depending on who’s side you fall, it’s a chance to watch Clark get smashed or Rawlings to get her comeuppance.

10. Cejudo gets do-over

Henry Cejudo

UFC on FOX 13: U.S. Olympic gold-medalist wrestler Henry Cejudo (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) laid an egg in his scheduled UFC debut, falling ill as he tried to make the flyweight limit for a bout with Scott Jorgensen at UFC 177.

Now at his rightful weight class, bantamweight, he looks to make a go of it against Dustin Kimura (11-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in a fight guaranteed to put his wrestling chops on display.

Kimura is no pushover, and Cejudo likely has a short leash with UFC officials. It’s time to deliver.

For more on The Ultimate Fighter Finale 20 and UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

PHOENIX – We’ve seen our fair share of weigh-in scuffles over the years, but the bar might have been re-set on the women’s side of the sport today.

Claudia Gadelha (12-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and Joanna Jedrzejczyk (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meet in a women’s strawweight bout to close out the preliminary card of UFC on FOX 13 on Saturday night at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix.

On Friday at the official weigh-ins, they tried to get things started a day early. The women needed to be separated by UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and site coordinator Burt Watson after butting heads and threatening to take things even further.

Check out the video of the altercation above. Then don’t miss their fight on Saturday, which closes out the FOX Sports 1-broadcast prelims ahead of the main card on FOX.

For more on UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

LAS VEGAS – Although she still has only one UFC bout to her credit, big things appear to be on the horizon for strawweight Claudia Gadelha.

UFC President Dana White said at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale press conference that Gadelha “definitely makes sense” as the first challenger to newly minted champ Carla Esparza if she’s able to defeat Joanna Jedrzejczyk at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 13.

Esparza (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) submitted Rose Namajunas (2-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to claim the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight title at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale. Now, the question is what’s next.

One option, it appears, is Gadelha (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), 26, who was scheduled to join the cast of “The Ultimate Fighter 20.” She was scratched before filming began this summer because she feared she could not repeatedly make the 115-pound limit. The UFC kept her in the fold anyway and in July, she made her pro octagon debut, outpointing Tina Lahdemaki at UFC Fight Night 45.

Undefeated in 12 bouts, Gadelha would have been a favorite on the show, especially opposite Esparza, whom she was twice scheduled to meet under the Invicta FC banner. Gadelha withdrew from a title bout in January 2013 citing a broken nose, and Esparza went on to win the all-women promotion’s inaugural strawweight belt. The two were rescheduled for December of that same year, but Gadelha withdrew after suffering a bacterial infection, and the two were shortly thereafter signed by the UFC.

A fight would be the most competitive bout possible from a rankings standpoint. Gadelha actually is ranked one place above Esparza in the MMARising.com women’s MMA strawweight rankings at No. 2. WSOF fighter Jessica Aguilar holds in the top position.

But of course, Gadelha first needs to get past Jedrzejczyk, which would put her at 2-0 in the octagon. And Esparza’s condition after her title-winning performance against Namajunas.

For complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter Finale 20, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

Claudia Gadelha

Claudia Gadelha said she expected Rose Namajunas to win “The Ultimate Fighter 20″ and claim the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight title on Friday, but now that Carla Esparza instead got the victory, the Brazilian is happy to get her revenge.

Following Friday’s TUF 20 Finale event in Las Vegas, where Esparza (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned a third-round submission victory over Namajunas (2-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the championship headliner, the new 115-pound division finally got its champion.

Then, following the event, UFC President Dana White said a fight between Gadelha (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Esparza “definitely makes sense” – if she can get by Joanna Jedrzejczyk (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) tonight at UFC on FOX 13.

For Gadelha, who closes out tonight’s FOX Sports 1-televised preliminary card in Phoenix, that’s good news. Although she and Esparza have never fought, they have a bit of a history.

Carla Esparza

“I was supposed to face her twice already at Invicta FC,” Gadelha told MMAjunkie. “The first time, I broke my nose before the fight. The second time, I ended up in the hospital with an infection. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but she blamed me for it.

“I want to face her so I can prove that I’m not afraid of her, and that I’m the much better fighter.”

Gadelha was expected to be part of the 16-woman “TUF 20″ tournament. However, she ultimately pulled herself out of consideration due to concerns over her ability to consistently make the 116-pound limit during the show’s grueling filming schedule.

Still, even with the “TUF 20″ conclusion and a belt wrapped around the waist of her rival, the 26-year-old Brazilian said she can’t look too far ahead.

“I think Joanna is a tough adversary,” she said. “I cannot underestimate her or anyone else. It’s not for nothing that they’re in the UFC.

“As far as the belt, I’m not thinking about it. I’m focused on Joanna. … What happens after that, is merely the consequence, though I believe we two are the belt contenders since the girls in the ‘TUF’ house already fought each other. As far as rankings go, I think we two are in the best place to fight for the belt.”

After earning a decision victory over Tina Lahdemaki in her promotional debut back in July, Gadelha said she returned to American Kickboxing Academy in California to supplement her work at Brazil’s famed Nova Uniao camp.

“I spent a month there training,” she said. “I worked with Josh Thomson and Daniel Cormier. The training was very high level.”

With an unbeaten record, which includes eight stoppages in 12 career wins, Gadelha knows an impressive victory tonight over Jedrzejczyk could build some momentum for a 115-pound title shot with Esparza. And if victorious – despite the weight concerns ahead of “TUF 20″ – she said she’s there to stay.

“I had the opportunity to fight at 135 pounds since the time that Strikeforce was around,” she said. “But my coach, Andre Pederneiras, told me that it wasn’t a good decision. Actually, I already fought at bantamweight in the past. I beat Valerie Letourneau, who’s in the UFC right now.

“But I think that weight class is way too heavy for me. I felt the other girls were much bigger since I didn’t have to cut weight. I think I found myself now. I’m in the right weight class for me. I’d like to stay here.”

For complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter Finale 20 and UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

* * * *

MMAjunkie’s Ben Fowlkes recaps Saturday’s TUF 20 Finale main event:

PHOENIX – Joanna Jedrzejczyk (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) threw a major wrench in the UFC’s plans with an upset decision over Claudia Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC).

Jedrzejczyk handed Gadelha her first professional loss and extended her unbeaten streak just one day after UFC President Dana White said Gadelha might challenge for the title with a win.

The women’s strawweight fight was part of today’s UFC on FOX 13 event at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix. It aired on FOX Sports 1 prior to the FOX-televised main card.

The final scores were 29-28 twice for Jedrzejczyk while one judge dissented 29-28 for Gadelha, who was dropped by a stiff uppercut at the end of the first round. Jedrzejczyk did not push for a finish, but consistently resisted Gadelha’s efforts to assert herself on the ground.

Gadelha tired after the damage of the first round and repeatedly pushed to put the fight on the mat. Jedrzejczyk didn’t always manage to stay upright, but she made Gadelha pay when the two traded strikes.

A clash of heads opened a big cut over Gadelha’s left eye, and a doctor’s examination allowed her to recover. She blitzed Jedrzejczyk after the break with punches. Jedrzejczyk, though, stayed tough and traded heavy leather with the Brazilian.

A final exchange saw Gadelha launch a blatantly illegal punch after the bell, as the referee grabbed them both to halt the action, but her infraction drew no punishment. The two clashed on Friday during the event’s weigh-ins and did not congratulate each other following the decision.

Gadelha suffers her first loss in the octagon while Jedrzejczyk improves to 2-0.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 13 results include:

• Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Claudia Gadelha via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• John Moraga def. Willie Gates via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:06
• Ben Saunders def. Joe Riggs via submission (injury) – Round 1, 0:57
• Drew Dober def. Jamie Varner via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:52
• Bryan Barberena def. Joe Ellenberger via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:24
• David Michaud def. Garett Whiteley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Henry Cejudo def. Dustin Kimura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Ian Entwistle def. Anthony Birchak via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:04

For more on UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson contributed to this story from on-site in Phoenix.)

Claudia Gadelha

PHOENIX – According to UFC President Dana White, remorse is the thing that separates Claudia Gadelha from Paul Daley when it comes to after-the-bell punches in the octagon.

White said he was inevitably bombarded on Twitter after Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) launched a punch that was blatantly illegal at the conclusion of her preliminary-card bout with Joanna Jędrzejczyk (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at tonight’s UFC on FOX 13.

“Of course, everybody goes back to Daley,” said White at the post-event presser at Phoenix’s U.S. Airways Arena. “(They wrote), ‘You kicked Daley out for that.”

But the executive defended Gadelha on the basis that she behaved differently in the wake of her misbehavior than Daley, whom White released from contract immediately after he sucker-punched Josh Koscheck at UFC 113.

“The difference is this: When Daley did it to Koscheck, I was in there,” White said. “I went up to Daley, and … he didn’t care. He didn’t give a sh-t. He looked right at me and said he didn’t care.

“As soon as (Gadelha) did it to (Jedrzejczyk), she apologized to her. She said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ and she apologized. Those two had a war, they’re in the heat of battle, and (Jedrzejczyk) landed a kick, the bell rang, and then (Gadelha) hit her with a punch. And then she completely apologized for doing it. Totally different scenario.”

Gadelha’s anger turned to shock when the judges announced a split decision in favor of Jedrzejczyk, who remains undefeated at 8-0. The result appeared to nix the UFC’s plans to book Gadelha in a title bout with recently minted strawweight champion Carla Esparza, who won the title with a win on “The Ultimate Fighter 20.

Esparza and Gadelha were twice scheduled to meet under the Invicta FC banner and might have clashed on “TUF,” but Esparza withdrew from the reality show over concerns she could not repeatedly make the 115-pound limit.

Jedrzejczyk’s career is now on the upswing, but Gadelha won’t suffer any punishment for her post-fight punch unless the Arizona Boxing and MMA Commission, which oversaw tonight’s event, decides to pursue the matter.

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

PHOENIX – After Carla Esparza became the first women’s strawweight champion in UFC history on Friday night, Dana White admitted much was riding on a key 115-pound fight on Saturday’s card.

White said after Esparza beat Rose Namajunas at the TUF 20 Finale in Las Vegas that a win for Claudia Gadelha at UFC on FOX 13 over Joanna Jedrzejczyk likely would get Gadelha the first crack at Esparza’s new belt.

There was just one problem. Jedrzejczyk had a little something to say about that. In a close fight that had some contentious scoring, at least with how fans seemed to react, Jedrzejczyk (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) upset Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on Saturday at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix.

The split decision kept Jedrzejczyk unbeaten and handed Gadelha her first loss. But more importantly for the Polish fighter, it appears she not only kept Gadelha from a title shot, but she took that shot right out of her pocket and put it into her own.

After Jedrzejczyk’s win to close out the prelims, she joined UFC President Dana White at his table cageside for the main card, and at the post-event news conference, White said Jedrzejczyk, now 2-0 in the UFC, likely fights for a title next.

“I love the way this girl fights. I love her striking,” White said. That was one of those fights that, people were asking me if I thought she won. I’ve got no problem with her winning, and if they raised Claudia’s hand, I’d have no problem with it. That’s how close that fight was. It was a super close fight. And yeah, we hung out and watched (the main card) tonight – and yeah, she’s probably going to get the next shot.”

The Jedrzejczyk-Gadelha fight had some bad blood going in. The weigh-in between the two got heated and resulted in the two being separated. And after their fight, there was some extracurricular activity after the final bell.

But there’s little doubt Jedrzejczyk stopped thinking about both incidents after she learned her next fight likely will be for the UFC’s new strawweight strap.

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

While it take intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage can play a role, as well.

See what the fighters from Saturday’s UFC on FOX 13 event in Phoenix chose as their backing tracks.

* * * *

Ian Entwistle def. Anthony Birchak via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:04
Recap:

Ian Entwistle: “Wake Me Up” by Avicii

Anthony Birchak: “Seven Nation Army (The Glitch Mob Remix)” by White Stripes

Henry Cejudo def. Dustin Kimura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Henry Cejudo: “Vivir Mi Vida” by Marc Anthony

Dustin Kimura: “Hot Boy” by Bobby Shmurda

David Michaud def. Garett Whiteley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

David Michaud: “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift

Garrett Whiteley: “Bad Meets Evil” by Eminem

Bryan Barberena def. Joe Ellenberger via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:24

Bryan Barberena: “Jump Around” by House of Pain

Joe Ellenberger: “Beautiful Day” by U2

Drew Dober def. Jamie Varner via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:52

Drew Dober: “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry

Jamie Varner: “Remember the Name” by Fort Minor

Ben Saunders def. Joe Riggs via submission (injury) – Round 1, 0:57

Ben Saunders: “Grew Up a Screwup” by Ludacris

Joe Riggs: “Cinderella Man” by Eminem

John Moraga def. Willie Gates via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:06

John Moraga: “Thuggish Ruggish Bone” by Bones, Thugs & Harmony

Willie Gates: “Who Gon’ Stop Me” by Jay-Z and Kanye West

Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Claudia Gadelha via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Joanna Jedrzejczyk: “Przejmij Ster w Swoje Dlonie” by Rena Gosc Gutek

Claudia Gadelha: “Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys

Matt Mitrione def. Gabriel Gonzaga via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:59

Matt Mitrione: “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Gabriel Gonzaga: “Mother” by Danzig

Alistair Overeem def. Stefan Struve via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:13

Alistair Overeem: “Get the Groove Back”

Stefan Struve: “Cryin’ Like a B-tch” by Godsmack

Rafael dos Anjos def. Nate Diaz via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

Rafael dos Anjos: “O Grito de um Guerreiro” by MC Sapao

Nate Diaz: “Hellrazor” by 2Pac

Junior Dos Santos def. Stipe Miocic via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)

Junior dos Santos: “Gonna Fly Now” by Bill Conti

Stipe Miocic: “D3MONS” by Machine Gun Kelly feat. DMX

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

* * * *

Junior Dos Santos and Stipe Miocic

The UFC’s final network-televised event of the year took place Saturday, and fans at Phoenix’s U.S. Airways Center had the opportunity to witness a historic UFC on FOX 13 main event.

Former UFC champion Junior dos Santos (17-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and top contender Stipe Miocic (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) collided in a back-and-forth brawl that set a new divisional record for most significant strikes landed.

The 12-bout card saw five first-round finishes, with four ending in less than two minutes.

Plenty of footnotes came out of the UFC’s latest offering on FOX. Check out 50 post-fight facts about UFC on FOX 13.

General

Dana White

UFC on FOX 13 was the first UFC event in Arizona.

Dos Santos, Miocic, Matt Mitrione and Ian Entwistle earned $50,000 UFC on FOX 13 fight-night bonuses.

UFC on FOX 13 drew an announced attendance of 15,300 for a live gate of $1.5 million.

Betting favorites went 8-4 on the card.

Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 2:02:25.

Main card

Junior Dos Santos and Stipe Miocic

Dos Santos and Miocic combined for 222 significant strikes landed, a new single-fight UFC heavyweight record. Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva, who combined for 202 at UFC Fight Night 33, held the previous record.

Dos Santos’ 123 significant strikes landed were the third most in a UFC heavyweight fight. Tim Sylvia, who landed 139 against Wesley Correira at UFC 39, holds the individual record.

Dos Santos has landed 708 significant strikes in UFC heavyweight competition, the most in divisional history.

Dos Santos earned his 11th UFC heavyweight victory and tied three fighters for the third most wins in divisional history behind Frank Mir (14) and Andrei Arlovski (12).

Dos Santos landed the 12th knockdown of his UFC career and tied Lyoto Machida for the fourth most knockdowns in company history behind Anderson Silva (17), Chuck Liddell (14) and Melvin Guillard (13).

Dos Santos earned his first decision victory since July 11, 2011 – a span of 1,251 days (more than three years) and six fights.

Dos Santos successfully defended 17 of 18 takedown attempts, boosting his career takedown defense rate to 80.2 percent, the third highest in divisional history behind Arlovski (88.4 percent) and Mark Hunt (85.3 percent).

Dos Santos was awarded the fifth fight-night bonus of his UFC career, which is tied for the second most in divisional history behind Roy Nelson (six).

Miocic suffered the first decision loss of his career.

Rafael dos Anjos

Rafael dos Anjos (23-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC) earned his 12th UFC lightweight victory and tied Donald Cerrone for the third most in divisional history behind Gleison Tibau (13) and Jim Miller (13).

Dos Anjos improved to 8-1 in his past nine UFC appearances with the lone defeat in that stretch coming to Khabib Nurmagomedov, who’s ranked No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings.

Dos Anjos has earned five of his past seven UFC victories by decision. He has earned seven of his 12 wins with the promotion by taking his opponent the distance.

Dos Anjos’ five successful guard passes tied a personal best in his 17-fight UFC career.

Nate Diaz (17-10 MMA, 12-8 UFC) fell to 4-5 in his past nine UFC fights. He has just one victory in his past four bouts.

Diaz has suffered eight of his 10 career losses by decision.

Alistair Overeem (38-14 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has earned two of his three UFC victories by first-round knockout.

Alistair Overeem

Overeem averages 5.45 strikes landed per minute of fighting, the second highest rate in heavyweight history behind Velasquez (6.21).

Overeem’s strike differential rate of +3.81 in UFC heavyweight competition is the second highest in divisional history behind Velasquez (+4.52).

Overeem absorbs just 1.64 significant strikes per minute of fighting, the second lowest rate among active heavyweights behind Velasquez (1.69).

Stefan Struve (25-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC) is on the first two-fight losing streak of his career.

Struve was held to less than five significant strikes in a fight for the fifth time in his UFC career.

Struve has suffered all five of his UFC losses by knockout.

Mitrione (9-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) has earned eight of his nine career victories by knockout.

Mitrione’s eight knockout victories in UFC heavyweight competition are tied with Arlovski for the second most in divisional history behind Velasquez (nine).

Mitrione’s eight knockdowns landed in UFC heavyweight competition are tied with Arlovski for the third most among active heavyweights behind Dos Santos (12) and Velasquez (nine).

Gabriel Gonzaga (16-9 MMA, 11-8 UFC) has suffered seven of his nine career losses by knockout.

Preliminary card

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Joanna Jedrzejczyk (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) became the first fighter in history to earn two UFC women’s strawweight victories.

Jedrzejczyk has earned five of her eight career victories by decision. That includes both of her UFC wins.

Claudia Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had her 12-fight winning streak snapped and suffered the first defeat of her career.

John Moraga (16-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) earned his fifth UFC flyweight victory and tied John Lineker for the third most wins in divisional history behind champion Demetrious Johnson (seven) and Joseph Benavidez (six).

Moraga’s four stoppage victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied with Benavidez and Lineker for the most in divisional history.

Moraga’s three submission victories in UFC flyweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Ed Herman (22-10 MMA, 9-6 UFC) vs. Derek Brunson (12-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) was scratched from the event due to Brunson’s stomach illness.

Ben Saunders

Ben Saunders (18-6-2 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has earned both of his victories since his UFC return by submission.

Joe Riggs (40-15 MMA, 4-5 UFC) has suffered 13 of his 15 career losses by stoppage.

Jamie Varner (21-11-1 MMA, 3-6 UFC) announced his MMA retirement following his first-round submission loss to Drew Dober (15-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC).

Varner fell to 2-5 since he returned to the UFC in May 2012. “C-4” retired on the first four-fight losing streak of his 34-fight career.

Bryan Barberena (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned eight of his 10 career victories by knockout.

Joe Ellenberger (15-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

Henry Cejudo (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned his past three victories by decision after stopping his opponent inside the distance in his first four pro contests.

Entwistle (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned all of his career victories by some form of stoppage.

Entwistle has earned seven of his nine career victories by submission.

Entwistle’s 63-second heel-hook submission victory is the sixth fast submission finish of its kind in UFC history.

Anthony Birchak (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) suffered his first submission loss since Sept. 24, 2011 – a span of 1,176 days (more than three years) and six fights. Birchak has suffered both of his career losses by submission.

For more on UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

FightMetric (www.fightmetric.com) research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript (www.twitter.com/mjcflipdascript).

Claudia Gadelha

UFC strawweight Claudia Gadelha won’t be punished for punching Joanna Jedrzejczyk after the bell at this past Saturday’s UFC on FOX 13, according to the Arizona Boxing and MMA Commission.

ABMC Executive Director Matthew Valenzuela told MMAjunkie that Gadelha’s immediate apology – and Jedrzejczyk’s win – likely saved her from administrative action after the event at U.S. Airways Arena in Phoenix.

“(Jedrzejczyk) wasn’t hurt by anything (Gadelha) did,” Valenzuela said. “She won the fight. It was still wrong, but at the same time, there was nothing stated to myself that came back from the UFC.”

Valenzuela said he’d seen much more egregious behavior at previous events regulated by the commission and echoed UFC President Dana White, who said following the event that Gadelha’s behavior was mitigated by her apology immediately after the illegal blow.

Although some fans compared Gadelha to Paul Daley, who was cut by the UFC following a suckerpunch of Josh Koscheck after their fight at UFC 113, White said the situations were different.

“As soon as (Gadelha) did it to (Jedrzejczyk), she apologized to her,” White said. “She said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ and she apologized. Those two had a war, they’re in the heat of battle, and (Jedrzejczyk) landed a kick, the bell rang, and then (Gadelha) hit her with a punch. And then she completely apologized for doing it. Totally different scenario.”

Gadelha was handed her first professional loss when judges ruled Jedrzejczyk the winner via split decision. The pair fought a highly competitive bout with Jedrzejczyk dropping the Brazilian in the first round and Gadelha bleeding from a cut opened by an accidental headbutt.

Jedrzejczyk (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) now may get the title shot targeted for Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), according to White.

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

Nate Diaz

In this week’s Twitter Mailbag, we’ll talk a look at the lawsuit filed against the UFC this week, as well as the future prospects for everyone from Nate Diaz to Renan Barao to Henry Cejudo to Rory MacDonald.

Got a question of your own? Send it off to @BenFowlkesMMA. If I use it, we can even be Twitter friends. You know, sort of.

If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s an expert on antitrust law. I have a few friends who are lawyers though, so I asked them to look at the lawsuit against the UFC. You know what they said? They said they’re super busy being lawyers, so I should leave them alone and go back to watching GIFs of sweet takedowns on the Internet. I did that for a while. Then I went and read this interesting breakdown of the lawsuit by Michael McCann at Sports Illustrated.

The big takeaway? Actually winning the lawsuit would be tough, and likely take many years, but the plaintiffs don’t necessarily have to win in court in order for this to be worthwhile:

“If Le’s complaint can advance past Zuffa’s motion to dismiss, a judge would likely order pretrial discovery. This could force Zuffa to reveal sensitive information about fighters’ salaries and UFC contracts and potentially help fighters negotiate better pay. The risk of pretrial discovery might also motivate the UFC to offer Le an attractive settlement that, if accepted, would increase fighters’ pay.”

That point about pre-trial discovery is important because, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the UFC is pretty into secrecy, especially on financial matters. It doesn’t want us knowing anything, aside from the occasional brag about how much it thinks it’s worth. Without knowing how much the UFC takes in each year, and without a full and accurate accounting of what it pays out to fighters, it’s almost impossible to say whether fighters are getting a fair cut. If a court forces Zuffa to open up its books for examination, that could be painful. It could even be something the company would be willing to pay to avoid. And that, in itself, would tell us something.

I’m guessing “doormen” is your own personal version of “gatekeepers,” and you are not asking if I think Lyoto Machida will eventually be forced to take a job as a literal doorman at some fancy Manhattan apartment building (though that would make a great sitcom; think about it, Fight Pass). And while I don’t think any of the fighters you mentioned are yet doomed to any specific fate, to some extent it might already be happening.

Look at Machida. He fights C.B. Dollaway in the main event of UFC Fight Night 58 this weekend. It’s a forgotten card, sandwiched between two blockbuster ones, and it goes down early in the morning in Brazil. If Machida beats Dollaway, it means next to nothing. We expect him to win that fight. It won’t earn him another title shot, or even nudge him much closer. It will just tell us that both Machida and Dollaway are who we thought they were. It’s a pass-or-fail test for Dollaway, who might be looking at his last best chance to be somebody in this division, and in the meantime it keeps Machida away from the potential contenders that the UFC might have an actual interest in pushing. He’s the worst type of gatekeeper, from the UFC’s perspective, because there might not be anyone in the 185-pound class right now who can slip by him.

Is that such a bad place to end up? I don’t think so. Machida’s fight with champion Chris Weidman was a fun one, and I wouldn’t mind seeing them run that back eventually, once we’re out of other ideas. Like Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar and Junior Dos Santos, Machida is still on the list as one of the best in his division. He’s just going to have to wait his turn before he gets another chance to prove he’s the very best.

Henry Cejudo did look pretty great in his long-awaited UFC debut, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. He has yet to prove that he can make flyweight for a UFC bout, though he does seem pretty set on trying. It seems too risky and too soon to book him in a flyweight eliminator fight. It also seems a little unnecessary for him to put so much pressure on himself to make that drop.

I mean, sure, I get it. Flyweight is a wide open division right now. If you can win a couple in a row, and if you have any personality whatsoever, you could be fighting for the belt in a heartbeat. But what will Cejudo give up just to get down there? He looked pretty solid as a bantamweight on Saturday. Whatever that was, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it.

First of all, mad props for throwing in Bildungsroman (psst, everybody else: it’s basically a coming-of-age story, like “Catcher in the Rye” or some crap). To answer your question, it’s tough to say for sure, since the Nate Diaz story is still being written, but at the moment it feels a lot like a Greek tragedy.

Our protagonist starts off well enough. He follows his older brother into the wilderness of MMA, earns many victories, wins a season of “The Ultimate Fighter” before that distinction starts to become meaningless, even earns a title shot. But then the flaws start to show. His hubris (demanding a new contract after his buddy Gilbert Melendez got one) angers the gods (you know who), and he is punished with a fight against Rafael dos Anjos, for which he is clearly not 100 percent, but still must show up and “get paid.”

But even while suffering his beating, he remains defiant to the end. That defiance is both the source of his strength and a fatal flaw. It unravels him even as it propels him on toward his own self-destruction, flashing the double-birds as he goes, his face growing older and heavier with the scar tissue of every advancing year. For “great words of haughty men exact in retribution blows as great, and in old age teach wisdom.”

That’s actually a really good point. For whatever reason – lack of popularity, our short attention spans, the gradual way that one UFC event bleeds into the next – there are some fighters whose brains we don’t think to worry about. Gabriel Gonzaga showed up and got knocked out at a UFC event last weekend, you say? Sounds about right. Then we move on with our day.

I’m kind of torn on the idea of calling for a fighter to retire. After talking to different people for this story, I started to realize that sometimes the formula we use to determine who should quit, when, and why, is a little too simplistic. We think it’s just about finances or about belts. We think that when it gets too dangerous, they should stop. We conveniently ignore the fact that it was always too dangerous, and that most fighters knew that, but they accepted the risks anyway for reasons that might only make sense to them. We get so caught up thinking about the outcome, we don’t consider the possibility that, for many fighters, the process is the whole point. They aren’t in it so they can make enough money to stop. They’re in it to be in it.

But then, everybody has to stop eventually. And your brain can only take so much, regardless of how much fun you’re having. In that sense, I think my friend Danny Downes is right to compare being a fighter to being a drug addict. You know that what you’re doing is destructive, and you know you’ll have to quit some day. At the same time, there’s a reason you got into this in the first place. With what will you fill the void once this part of your life is over? Whether we’re talking about Gonzaga or Chuck Liddell, I think sometimes those of us on the outside assume this is an easier question than it really is.

Really? Because I do. This wasn’t Paul Daley walking over to Josh Koscheck well after the fight had ended and trying to sucker punch him like some drunken football hooligan in a Nottingham pub. What we saw between Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk was a striking exchange that went right up until the horn … and then a little past it. Was Gadelha wrong to throw that punch? Absolutely. But she seemed appropriately apologetic afterward, and it was close enough to the end of the fight that you could argue it was more reflex than malice. Male or female, they’re still fighters trying to hurt each other in there. Sometimes the switch doesn’t get turned off exactly when it should, but it’s a forgivable sin in this instance, especially when the sinner asks forgiveness with a recognizable remorse and sincerity.

Interesting question, but I need more information about my hypothetical situation. First, did I pay attention in school? Did I earn an actual degree that might count for something (no offense, Anthropology majors) in the actual world? Do I have options, in other words?

Because brother, if you have the choice to do anything but fight in a cage for money, and if you don’t feel like you absolutely must fight in a cage for money, you’d probably be better off doing something else. Even if you don’t have many good options career-wise outside of MMA, this had still better be something you feel compelled to do. Otherwise, you’re in trouble.

I remember Daniel Cormier telling me about a job he had selling ad space for a local news channel in Oklahoma. This was after his wrestling career was over, after the debacle at the Olympic Games in Beijing, but before he started MMA. He sat in an office and worked the phone, sleeping on his lunch breaks and playing in an adult softball league after work. Most nights he drank. “I was miserable,” he said, as if he’d just described a job rowing one of those ships from “Ben-Hur.” It didn’t sound so awful to me, but for him leaving that life and starting a career in MMA was like waking up from a bad dream. It helped that he was also really, really good at this.

Point is, this isn’t something you should do unless you feel like you absolutely have to do it. It’s too hard, the risks are too great, and the rewards, at least for the vast majority of fighters, are too meager. I’m reminded of something Xtreme Couture head coach Robert Follis said to me recently, when explaining why he doesn’t recruit anyone to be a fighter:

“I almost try to push them away to see if they really want to do it,” Follis said. “To me, fighting isn’t something someone should be encouraged to do. They should have a burning desire to do it. I’m not going to tell you that you should fight. You tell me why you want to do it.”

That’s possible, though I still think the idea of the UFC has a stronger hold on the imaginations of fighters than does Bellator. No one who isn’t already employed by Bellator is hitting pads in a gym right now, dreaming of being Bellator champ some day. Even if we get to a point where the rank-and-file fighters in Bellator earn more than those in the UFC, how many fighters think they’re going to be rank-and-file, or stay there forever?

Those are all tempting options, and if you’d forced me to write my letter to MMA Santa a few weeks ago, any or all of those might have made the list. But now? All I want for Christmas is one fight in 2015: Phil “CM Punk” Brooks vs. Nate Diaz.

Would the UFC ever do it? Probably not. Would an athletic commission even sanction it? Almost certainly not. But Mr. Punk wants to try his luck in the big leagues, and Mr. Diaz thinks that’s a joke. Why not let them figure it out among themselves? Brooks has said he might aim for 170 pounds, and Diaz has fought there before. The pro wrassler would have a little bit of a size advantage, and he’d need it. The build-up alone would be worth buying a ticket to.

That’s a fair point, but I can’t bring myself to get too worked up about the idea of Rory MacDonald getting passed over. He already lost to Robbie Lawler once, and his three fights since then have included two underwhelming decision wins and one TKO finish. The top contender spot is his until someone takes it from him, but Lawler and Johny Hendricks do seem to have some unfinished business with the UFC welterweight title right now. I don’t have any problem seeing those two in a rubber match while MacDonald gets a chance to solidify his claim on the next shot. At least it’ll give us a chance to think about something other than his attempt to change his nickname for the third damn time.

By soon you mean this weekend, at UFC Fight Night 58, where Renan Barao will take on Mitch Gagnon in what seems like a bit of a punishment booking following his failure to make the UFC 177 main event rematch with T.J. Dillashaw happen. Gagnon is one of those fighters who’s tougher than most people realize, and the reason they don’t realize it is because they don’t care, possibly because they haven’t ever seen him before. Gagnon’s most recent win over cable guy Roman Salazar marked the first time he’d appeared on the main card of a UFC event in five outings. The fight before that he was opening the show on Fight Pass — and that was him coming off a two-fight win streak.

So yeah, not exactly a blockbuster fight for “The Monster.” If he loses, it’s a catastrophe. If he wins, it’s hard to see a victory over Gagnon being the thing that catapults him back into a title shot. But you can’t keep a good fighter down. Not forever, anyway. Barao beats almost all the bantamweights in the UFC right now, in my opinion, so he’ll get back to the top eventually. It’s just a question of how long it’s going to take.

Carla Esparza

Former Invicta FC strawweight champion Carla Esparza made history once again on Dec. 12 at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in Las Vegas. Esparza submitted fellow “TUF 20″ finalist Rose Namajunas with a rear-naked choke to become the first UFC women’s strawweight champion.

Esparza (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned her spot in the “TUF 20″ final by defeating Angela Hill, Tecia Torres and Jessica Penne in succession during the grueling competition. Namajunas (2-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) advanced to the championship bout with impressive submission wins over Alex Chambers, Joanne Calderwood and Randa Markos.

In the opening 10 minutes, Esparza showcased her much-improved boxing and countered Namajunas’ arsenal of kicks by taking her down on multiple occasions. Esparza dominated round 2 on the mat with vicious ground and pound that had Namajunas in all sorts of trouble before the bell. She took Namajunas back down in round 3 and flattened her out with punches, then locked on a rear-naked choke that forced Namajunas to submit at the 1:26 mark.

The slick submission victory earned Esparza the coveted UFC women’s strawweight title and extended her winning streak to five. She has not lost since June 2011 when she dropped a contentious split decision to current WSOF champion Jessica Aguilar, who holds the No. 1 spot in the women’s strawweight rankings for the time being. Esparza’s next opponent has not been officially confirmed, but she is expected to defend her new title in the coming months.

Esparza’s friend and training partner, former Invicta FC atomweight champion Jessica Penne (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), also picked up a key victory on the TUF 20 Finale main card. Penne edged out Canadian standout Randa Markos (4-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in an entertaining three-round battle that was primarily contested on the ground.

Penne cut Markos below the right eyebrow early in Round 1 and she threatened with numerous submission attempts later on. Markos mounted her and landed some solid ground and pound in Round 2, but Penne came on strong in the final round and she attacked with punches and a rear-naked choke. One judge scored the close fight 29-28 for Markos. The remaining two had it 30-27 and 29-28, respectively, for Penne, who took the split decision win.

Felice Herrig

Earlier on the card, Felice Herrig (10-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) forced veteran Lisa Ellis (15-9 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to submit to an armbar at the 3:05 mark of round 2. Ellis nearly choked Herrig out with a standing guillotine early in round 1, but Herrig survived and rallied in the second round.

Heather Clark (7-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) overcame a torn ACL and posted a unanimous decision victory over rival Bec Rawlings (5-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Clark controlled the first two rounds on the ground with punches and rear-naked choke attempts. Rawlings battled back in round 3, but it was not enough. Scores were 29-28 across the board for Clark, who underwent surgery on her damaged knee following the fight.

In a battle between two of the 115-pound division’s top strikers, Joanne Calderwood (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) kept her perfect professional record intact by outpointing DEEP Jewels featherweight champion Seo Hee Ham (15-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Ham scored with leg kicks and combinations, but Calderwood found her range as the fight progressed and she nearly finished Ham with an arm-triangle choke in round 3. Scores were 30-26 and 30-27 twice for Scotland’s Calderwood.

Highly-touted prospect Tecia Torres (5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned a lopsided unanimous decision win over the outspoken and polarizing Angela Magana (11-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Torres battered Magana with punches and kicks throughout the one-sided fight. She took home the victory with scores of 30-26 and 30-27 twice, and plans to fight her way to a rematch with Esparza for UFC title gold in the future.

On the preliminary card, Aisling Daly (15-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) submitted Alex Chambers (4-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with an armbar at the 4:53 mark of round 1. Daly, who missed weight, put Chambers on the defensive right away and threatened with armbars until she was able to secure the tap.

Angela Hill (2-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) mauled Emily Kagan (3-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with punches, kicks, knees and elbows en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision victory. Scores were 30-27 and 30-26 twice for Hill, who continues to impress fans with her formidable striking skills.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk upsets Claudia Gadelha at UFC on FOX 13

One day after a UFC women’s strawweight champion was crowned at the TUF 20 Finale, Polish standout Joanna Jedrzejczyk made a strong case for a shot at the belt with a huge victory at “UFC on FOX 13: Dos Santos vs. Miocic” in Phoenix. Jedrzejczyk (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) edged out Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Claudia Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a back-and-forth battle.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Gadelha controlled most of round 1 on the ground, but Jedrzejczyk stole the round back by dropping her with a devastating uppercut in the dying seconds. Gadelha took the fight back down to the mat in rounds 2 and 3, but Jedrzejczyk was active from her back and she did more damage with her strikes.

After 15 minutes of action, and late punches from both fighters after the final bell, the bout went to the scorecards. One judge had it 29-28 for Gadelha, but the remaining two both favored Jedrzejczyk’s striking and scored it 29-28 in her favor.

While not yet officially confirmed, Jedrzejczyk will likely be the first woman to challenge Carla Esparza for the newly-established UFC women’s strawweight championship in 2015.

Satomi Takano submits Ga Yeon Song at Road FC 20

Japanese prospect Satomi Takano (4-5) halted a tough three-fight losing skid by scoring her biggest win to date on Dec. 14 at Road Fighting Championship 20 in Seoul, South Korea. Takano put herself in “Submission of the Year” contention by finishing South Korean star Ga Yeon Song (1-1) with an inverted triangle kimura in the Road FC 20 co-feature.

Takano, who was coming off of disappointing losses against some of Japan’s top female talent, was in complete control of the bout with Song from start to finish. After a big exchange of punches on the feet, Takano took Song down and chained together submission attempts until she was able to trap her in an inverted triangle choke and kimura combination. The much-hyped Song could not escape and she tapped out at the 4:28 mark of Round 1.

Julia Budd vs. Talita Nogueira booked for Bellator 133

Following a 4-0 run for Invicta FC, Canadian striker Julia Budd (6-2) is set to make her Bellator debut on Feb. 13 at Bellator 133 in Fresno, Calif. Budd meets undefeated Brazilian finisher Talita Nogueira (6-0) in a featured featherweight bout on the main card.

Budd kicked off her pro MMA career for Strikeforce in late 2010 and went 2-2 against the promotion’s top female talent at 145 pounds including current UFC champion Ronda Rousey. She moved on to Invicta FC and looked to be in line for a featherweight title shot on multiple occasions, but injuries and opponent changes delayed Budd’s journey to the belt. She subsequently signed with Bellator and now looks to hand Nogueira her first defeat. Nogueira has knocked out or submitted all six of her opponents to date including back-to-back submission finishes this past year. Both women last competed on Dec. 7, 2013.

Quick results

Katie Howard (3-3-1) and Kara Kirsh (1-1-1) fought to a majority draw at Hard Knocks Fighting Championship 40 on Dec. 12 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Howard took an early lead on the scorecards with takedowns and clinch control, but an illegal knee in Round 3 cost her a point and resulted in two judges scoring the fight even at 28-28.

Also on the HKFC 40 card, Lindsay Garbatt (1-0) def. Stephanie Essensa (1-1) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). The action-packed fight saw both women score with takedowns, ground and pound and submission attempts. Garbatt nearly finished the bout with a modified rear-naked choke in Round 2, but Essensa held on. The entertaining battle went to the scorecards and Garbatt walked away with a close decision win.

Roxane Teixeira (5-2) def. Daria Chibisova (0-2) via TKO (punches) at the 2:32 mark of Round 2 at “World Warrior Fighting Championship: Cage Encounter 2″ on Dec. 13 in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. Teixeira has racked up four straight victories this year since suffering a close split decision loss in a one-night tournament in February.

Gloria Lemus (1-1) def. Ericka Garcia (0-1) via TKO (punches) in Round 1 at “XFC (Extreme Fighting Combat) 6: The One” on Dec. 13 in Santa Tecla, La Libertad, El Salvador. Lemus rebounded from a decision loss in April with the ground and pound stoppage win.

Aline Sattelmayer (8-6) def. Polyana Viana Mota (4-1) via unanimous decision at Real Fight 12 on Dec. 13 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sattelmayer has won three of her past four fights since dropping a decision to current Invicta FC champion Herica Tiburcio in May. Viana Mota suffered her first defeat in the fight after opening her pro career with four stoppage victories.

Anne Karoline Nascimento (2-2) def. Geisyele Nascimento (0-4) via TKO (punches) at the 59-second mark of Round 1 at Power Fight Extreme 12 on Dec. 13 in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. Anne Karoline has picked up two straight wins this year. Geisyele has suffered first-round stoppage defeats in each of her four pro fights.

Silvana Gomez Juarez (5-0) def. Vanessa Melo (3-4) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at XFC International 8 on Dec. 13 in Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Juarez landed big combinations throughout the bout and dropped Melo on two occasions en route to a well-deserved victory on the scorecards. The Argentinian flyweight remains unbeaten as a pro.

In other action on the XFCi 8 card, Antonia Silvaneide da Silva (4-1) def. Debora Ferreira (4-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Da Silva took Ferreira down in all three rounds and controlled the fight from top position. She moves on to face Poliana Botelho in the finals of XFC’s latest women’s flyweight tournament.

Jenny Liou Shriver (3-1) def. Susy Watson (0-2) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at “Super Fight League 36: America 2″ on Dec. 13 in Tacoma, Wash. Shriver got back on the winning track with the victory following a one-sided decision loss to Jamie Moyle at Invicta FC 9.

Alyssa Krahn (2-0) def. Michelle Howse (0-2) via TKO (elbows) at the 1:08 mark of Round 1 at Unified MMA 21 on Dec. 19 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Hometown fan favorite Krahn earned her second straight victory under the Unified MMA banner. She previously defeated Chaleur Jones in her professional debut at Unified MMA 20 in September.

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best fights from December 1-31. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Fight of the Month” award for December 2014.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Fight of the Month.”

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The Nominees

Sergio Pettis vs. Matt Hobar at UFC 181

Sergio Pettis (12-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) had some anxious moments against a game Matt Hobar (9-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC), but continued to show glimpses of his potential en route to a unanimous decision victory. Pettis was hurt by one of Hobar’s strikes early in the first round, but the youngest brother of UFC champ Anthony Pettis managed to rebound and dice his opponent up with crisp striking combinations for the remainder of the bout.

Sergio Pettis and Matt Hobar

Jessica Penne vs. Randa Markos at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale

In a battle of “The Ultimate Fighter 20” semi-finalists, Jessica Penne (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) outworked Randa Markos (4-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) for a split decision victory in a highly competitive affair. Markos, the Season 20 “TUF” Cinderella story, got the better of Penne on the feet. She was unable to inflict enough damage, though, and ultimately the superior grappling of Penne that led her to victory.

Charles Oliveira vs. Jeremy Stephens at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale

Charles Oliveira (19-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) did just about everything to Jeremy Stephens’ (23-11 MMA, 10-9 UFC) arm but tie it into a bow, and still he couldn’t get a submission finish. Oliveira did, however, get the win via unanimous decision. The struggle to get the submission was entertaining to watch, but Stephens ultimately spent too much time on defense to impress the judges with his offense.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha at UFC on FOX 13

Joanna Jedrzejczyk (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) likely earned the first crack at new UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza when she scored an upset split decision over Claudia Gadelha(12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC). A knockdown her opponent and strong takedown defense was enough for Jedrzejczyk to gain an edge on the scorecards for the victory.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Junior Dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic at UFC on FOX 13

Former UFC champ Junior dos Santos (17-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) returned from a career-long layoff to earn a unanimous decision over top contender Stipe Miocic (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in a brutal, bloody affair. The 25-minute contest saw the two heavyweights throw heavy leather in hopes the other would go down. Surprisingly, though, neither of them did, which brought it to a decision that all three judges saw in Dos Santos’ favor.

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The Winner: Junior Dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic

Heavyweight fights are often over in the blink of an eye. But every now and then, you get something special, something epic.

Dos Santos and Miocic combined for one those most memorable encounters at UFC on FOX 13 in Phoenix, as the two heavyweights sluggers went back and forth for five, five-minute rounds.

Both Dos Santos and Miocic, however, were swollen and bloody by the end of five rounds.

Although two judges’ scorecards reflected a dominant performance for Junior Dos Santos, the ex-champion struggled in early as Miocic took the center of the cage and threw combinations while keeping him off balance with pressure against the cage. Several times, he caught Dos Santos moving backward with right hooks.

However, Dos Santos found his spark in the third frame after he landed a left hook that dropped Miocic. He picked up his volume in subsequent rounds and resisted takedown attempts. In the fourth, he surprised Miocic with a sweep to the mat.

Dos Santos was lighter on his feet in the fifth round as Miocic struggled to keep up. The fighters embraced at the fight’s conclusion, though Miocic appeared shocked at the unanimous call for Dos Santos.

Alexis Davis

Since the inception of its inaugural women’s division in early 2013, the UFC has often faced criticism for a lack of female fights on its cards. In recent weeks, however, UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby has put together seven new bouts that will help to develop new contenders at both 115 and 135 pounds.

In arguably the highest-profile addition, former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman (17-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Alexis Davis (16-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) meet for a third time when they meet at UFC 186 on April 25. The Canadian standouts have faced off twice before, with Kaufman emerging victorious both times. She stopped Davis late in the pair’s first fight in April 2007 and narrowly eked out a majority-decision win in a March 2012 Strikeforce rematch. Kaufman is coming off of her second win over Leslie Smith this past April, while Davis looks to upset Kaufman and get back into title contention following a 16-second loss to champion Ronda Rousey at UFC 175.

Sticking with the bantamweight division, muay Thai world champion Germaine de Randamie (4-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) faces 20-year-old Brazilian rising star Larissa Pacheco (10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC 185 on March 14 in Dallas. De Randamie has not fought since November 2013, when Amanda Nunes stopped her. She had previously won four of five fights and totaled a key victory over Julie Kedzie along the way. Pacheco became Jungle Fight’s women’s bantamweight champion in late 2013 by stopping current Invicta FC star Irene Aldana, but her UFC debut in September ended in a disappointing submission loss to fellow Brazilian Jessica Andrade.

Amanda Nunes

Speaking of Nunes (9-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC), the Brazilian knockout artist next fights on March 21 when she battles submission specialist Shayna Baszler (15-9 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 62 in Rio de Janeiro. Nunes began her UFC career with back-to-back TKO victories before succumbing to second-round strikes from Cat Zingano at UFC 178. Baszler, one of the most experienced female fighters in the bantamweight division, remains in search of her first UFC win. After a brief tenure on “TUF 18,” she made her official UFC debut in August and came up short against Bethe Correia.

Following her third serious knee injury, “TUF 18” winner Julianna Pena (5-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) makes her long-awaited return to action against Russian finisher Milana Dudieva (11-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 63 on April 4 in Fairfax, Va. Pena, who suffered two torn ACLs earlier in her career, sustained a myriad of knee injuries, including a third ACL tear in a January 2014 training accident. The devastating setback kept Pena out of action for more than a year. She made history in late 2013 by becoming the first female winner of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Now fully recovered, she faces one of the most aggressive fighters in the division. Dudieva earned her third straight win in August when she edged Elizabeth Phillips in her UFC debut. She has knocked out or submitted nine opponents to date.

The UFC women’s strawweight division will also be featured prominently in the coming months. In addition to the previously announced title bout between Carla Esparza and Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185, three more 115-pound fights have also been booked for future cards.

Decorated BJJ black belt Claudia Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who was seen as one of the biggest threats to Esparza’s title, looks to rebound from her split-decision loss to Jedrzejczyk in December when she takes on Irish veteran Aisling Daly (15-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC). The contender’s bout takes place April 11 at UFC Fight Night 64 in Krakow, Poland. Injuries and illness scrapped a planned Invicta FC bout between Gadelha and Esparza on three occasions, and both later signed with the UFC. Gadelha won her debut in July, but her takedowns and top control against Jedrzejczyk were not enough to sway the judges. Daly advanced to the “TUF 20” quarterfinals before suffered a loss to Jessica Penne. She missed weight for her official UFC debut, but she submitted Alex Chambers at the TUF 20 Finale.

Rounding out the recent fight announcements is a double bill of strawweight bouts in the UFC’s debut card in Adelaide, Australia. UFC Fight Night 65 takes place on May 10 and includes a pair of must-win matchups featuring two cast members from “TUF 20.”

Former Deep Jewels featherweight champion Seo Hee Ham (15-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) seeks her first octagon victory when she faces outspoken Australian star Bec Rawlings (5-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Ham moved up in weight and vacated her Deep Jewels title prior to her UFC debut in December, which ended in a competitive decision loss to Joanne Calderwood. Rawlings was eliminated early on “TUF 20” and lost a decision to castmate Heather Clark, who entered the fight with a torn ACL, at the TUF 20 Finale. She has dropped three of her past four bouts.

On the same UFC Fight Night 65 card, Hawaiian prospect Kailin Curran (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) squares off against Australia’s Chambers (4-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Curran followed up on her stellar amateur run by winning three straight fights for Pacific Xtreme Combat before making her UFC debut in November. However, after starting strong, she was ultimately overwhelmed by third-round punches from current UFC poster girl Paige VanZant. Chambers scored a quick submission win in her lone appearance for Invicta FC, but she was defeated in the “TUF 20” elimination round this past year. Her official UFC debut ended in a first-round tap-out loss to Aisling Daly at the TUF 20 Finale.

Tate re-enters UFC title picture, calls out Correia

Miesha Tate

One year ago, Miesha Tate’s days as a UFC title contender appeared to be numbered following her second submission loss to Ronda Rousey. Today, the former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion is riding a three-fight winning streak that includes one of her biggest victories to date. On Jan. 31, Tate (16-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) rallied back from the brink of defeat to earn a majority decision win over Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC 183 in Las Vegas.

Following a shaky first round, during which she was dropped and nearly finished on the ground, Tate began to take control of the fight in the late stages of Round 2. She stunned McMann with a combination on the feet and locked on a tight guillotine choke that appeared to be enough to steal back the round. The final stanza was all Tate, who surprised some by out-grappling McMann on the mat. She attacked with punches and submission attempts until the end of the close fight. One judge scored it even at 28-28, but the remaining two had it 29-27 and 29-28 for Tate, who walked away with a huge victory. She has now set her sights on securing a potential title eliminator bout with unbeaten Brazilian Bethe Correia.

Budd mauls Holloway at Bellator 133

Julie Budd

After winning four straight Invicta FC fights, top-ranked featherweight Julia Budd (7-2) made her Bellator MMA debut on Feb. 13 at Bellator 133 in Fresno, Calif. Budd smothered short-notice replacement opponent Gabrielle Holloway (4-2) on the ground for three rounds en route to a lopsided unanimous-decision win.

The fight was certainly not the most action-packed one on the Bellator 133 card, but Budd clearly showed that she was on a completely different level from Holloway, who struggled to mount any offense at all.

Budd took her down at will and landed punches and knees to the body. She never came close to finishing Holloway, but her positional dominance and top control weighed heavily with the judges. Scores were 30-26, 30-25 and a rarely-seen 30-24 for Budd, who cruised to victory. She will likely move on to face her original Bellator 133 opponent, Talita Nogueira, or former Strikeforce champ Marloes Coenen this year.

Strawweight title bout highlights Saturday’s KSW 30 card

Kalindra Faria

Fresh off of her victory over Mizuki Inoue at Invicta FC 9, KSW women’s strawweight champion Karolina Kowalkiewicz (6-0) puts her title and her unbeaten record on the line against Brazilian contender Kalindra Faria (15-4-1) at “KSW 30: Genesis” on Saturday night in Poznan, Poland.

Kowalkiewicz became KSW’s first female champion in June 2013, and she won two more fights for the promotion before signing with Invicta FC this past year. In her November debut, Kowalkiewicz impressed many by outstriking Inoue en route to a well-deserved split-decision win. She remains one of Europe’s top female fighters.

Faria won 11 straight fights in both the flyweight and strawweight divisions leading into her November WSOF title bout against Jessica Aguilar. The fight was a competitive one, but Aguilar emerged with her hand raised after five rounds, and Faria now looks to get back on track by upsetting Kowalkiewicz for KSW gold.

Deep Jewels grand prix kicks off Saturday in Tokyo

With the Deep Jewels featherweight (48-kilogram/105.6-pound) championship vacant due to Seo Hee Ham’s move to the UFC, Deep Jewels officials have put together an eight-woman title tournament to crown a new champion. The single-elimination grand prix kicks off on Saturday afternoon at Deep Jewels 7 in Tokyo.

In one of four quarterfinal matchups, former Valkyrie champion Mei Yamaguchi (12-8-1) takes on late-replacement opponent Miyoko Kusaka (5-8-1) in the Deep Jewels 7 main event. Yamaguchi rebounded from a pair of controversial split-decision losses by winning her Deep Jewels debut in May, but she was most recently defeated by former Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki on New Year’s Eve. Kusaka earned a second-round submission win in August.

Former Deep Jewels interim lightweight champion Emi Tomimatsu (8-9) drops down in weight to face unbeaten prospect Mina Kurobe (4-0) in another tournament quarterfinal. Tomimatsu is 1-1 since losing her Deep Jewels title to Mizuki Inoue in an August rematch. Kurobe has finished all but one of her fights to date and holds wins over three other tournament competitors.

Rounding out the grand prix quarterfinals, Masako Yoshida (18-20-5) battles Satomi Takano (4-5), and Yukiko Seki (13-24) squares off against Tomo Maesawa (4-4). The winners of the quarterfinal fights will move on to the semifinal round at a Deep Jewels event later this year.

Deep Jewels 7 also features a unique tag-team grappling match. Recent WSOF title challenger Emi Fujino teams with Sachiko Fujimori against former Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki and her AACC teammate Yuko Oya.

Eight fights set for Invicta FC 11 in Los Angeles

Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino

One night before UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey defends her title against Cat Zingano at UFC 184 in Los Angeles, Invicta FC holds its latest all-female card in the same city. “Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet” takes place Feb. 27 and is headlined by an Invicta FC featherweight title bout between reigning champion Cristiane Justino and challenger Charmaine Tweet.

Justino (12-1) became Invicta FC’s first 145-pound champion in July 2013 when she stopped former Strikeforce rival Marloes Coenen for a second time. She has not competed in MMA since then and briefly flirted with the idea of moving down to 135 pounds this past year. However, after announcing that she would be unable to make the weight, Justino instead set her sights on defending her Invicta FC title.

Her challenger this month, Tweet, has won five of her past six fights – all inside the distance – and most recently stopped Veronica Rothenhausler in the inaugural Invicta FC lightweight bout. She enters the title fight with Justino as a massive underdog but plans to upset the champion and further derail plans for a future Justino-Rousey showdown in the UFC.

The Invicta FC 11 co-main event features a potential strawweight title eliminator between undefeated Mexican striker Alexa Grasso (6-0) and Japanese prodigy Mizuki Inoue (8-3). Grasso has become a breakout star for Invicta FC by winning her first two fights for the promotion, and she most recently stopped Alida Gray at Invicta FC 10. Inoue’s path to Invicta FC title gold was sidetracked by her close decision loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz in November, but the reigning Deep Jewels champion can get right back into contention with a win over Grasso.

The remainder of the Invicta FC 11 card has undergone four major changes due to injuries. In another featured strawweight bout, DeAnna Bennett (6-0) makes her 115-pound debut against short-notice replacement Norma Rueda Center (3-1). Bennett is coming off of a controversial decision win over flyweight Jennifer Maia and is 2-0 inside the Invicta FC cage. Center’s lone defeat occurred in her Invicta FC debut, which also came on short notice, when she was outpointed by Joanne Calderwood at Invicta FC 6.

Grasso’s teammate, fellow Xtreme Kombat champion Irene Aldana (4-1), squares off against late replacement Colleen Schneider (6-5) in bantamweight action on the Invicta FC 11 main card. Aldana, who is one of the most devastating strikers in the division, battered “TUF 18” alum Peggy Morgan before ultimately finishing her with a rear-naked choke at Invicta FC 8. Schneider most recently became a two-division champion for Super Fight League by defeating Brenda Gonzales in early October.

Invicta FC 11’s preliminary card showcases the lighter weight classes. In strawweight bouts, Jamie Moyle (1-0) meets J.J. Aldrich (1-0), and Brianna VanBuren (3-1) takes on Amy Cadwell Montenegro (5-1). In flyweight action, knockout artist Christine Stanley (3-1) battles Rachael Cummins (2-2), and Ana Carolina Vidal (0-0) meets fellow debutant Aspen Ladd (0-0).

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

UFC 185 was arguably the most stacked event so far this year. After two new champions were crowned, it’s fair to say the event lived up to expectations.

In the most significant moments of their careers, Rafael dos Anjos (24-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) and Joanna Jedrzejczyk (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) scored upset victories over Anthony Pettis (18-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Carla Esparza (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) to capture titles in the lightweight and women’s strawweight divisions, respectively.

Both title bouts were one0sided, which continued a trend that began at the start of the main card. Henry Cejudo (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), Alistair Overeem (39-14 MMA, 4-3 UFC) and Johny Hendricks (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) were victorious in dominant fashion, as well, in what were key bouts for their divisions.

After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next. And with another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Joe Silva and Sean Shelby’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker.

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Henry Cejudo

Jussier Formiga

Should fight: Jussier Formiga
Why they should fight: After doubts about his ability to make flyweight, Cejudo successfully hit the 125-pound mark at weigh-ins and proceeded to overwhelm former title challenger Chris Cariaso en route to a unanimous-decision victory.

Cejudo displayed skill in all areas and made it look rather easy against a respectable opponent. If he can keep his weight under control and make flyweight on a consistent basis, Cejudo is a legit threat to champion Demetrious Johnson.

The 2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling should not be rushed into a title bout, but if he continues to win in one-sided fashion, it won’t be long before he finds himself in one.

Cejudo called for a top-five contender in his post-fight interview, and it’s likely he’ll get his wish. The only flyweight of that caliber not booked for a fight or coming off a loss is Formiga (17-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

The Brazilian was at one time ranked as the top flyweight in the world. His UFC career has encountered some turbulence, but the grappling ace is still capable of topping anyone on the right night. His experience would make a compelling challenge for Cejudo, especially if action hit the floor.

Cejudo looked nothing short of phenomenal in his victory over Cariaso. It appears it’s a matter of when, not if, he’ll challenge for the title. Formiga is the type of opponent who will further groom him for that opportunity.

Alistair Overeem

Junior Dos Santos

Should fight: Junior dos Santos
Why they should fight: With consecutive victories under his belt for the first time in the UFC, Overeem can finally jump back in the fray of heavyweight contenders vying for a shot at champ Cain Velasquez’s belt.

At this point, Overeem’s next fight should be a no-brainer. Anything other than the long-overdue showdown with former heavyweight titleholder Dos Santos (17-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) would be a disservice to both.

The UFC has attempted to book this fight twice before, once at UFC 146 when “Cigano” held the belt, and again at UFC 160. UFC President Dana White and Overeem both expressed interest in the matchup post-fight. Hopefully that means the third time will be the charm.

Both men have made it known they have the goal of becoming UFC heavyweight champion. If they want to get there, they must get through each other.

Johny Hendricks

Robbie Lawler

Should fight: Winner of Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald at UFC 189
Why they should fight: Hendricks claimed to have a newfound work ethic after he dropped his title to Robbie Lawler in December. His one-sided victory over Matt Brown proved he was speaking the truth.

The former 170-pound champion outworked a dangerous Brown for a unanimous-decision victory in the type of performance that made it hard to argue he’s not the No. 1 contender. Hendricks was in line to face Lawler in a trilogy bout in July, but he opted instead to fight Brown so he could stay busy and get a win. That decision paid off; “Bigg Rigg” was relentless for three rounds and got the nod from the judges (watch the Hendricks vs. Brown video highlights).

Hendricks arguably didn’t deserve to lose the title to Lawler when they last met. His performance against Brown proved he’s still championship caliber, and there’s no more deserving contender to challenge the winner of Lawler (25-10 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and MacDonald (18-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) when they meet at UFC 189 in July.

Hendricks was critical of his performance, but in his his dream scenario, Lawler will keep the belt so they can settle the score at UFC 192 in Houston in October.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Claudia Gadelha

Should fight: Winner of Claudia Gadelha vs. Aisling Daly at UFC Fight Night 64
Why they should fight: No one has provided a clear answer as to who will be first to challenge new 115-pound champion Jedrzejczyk after her beatdown of Esparza to capture the belt (watch the Jedrzejczyk vs. Esparza video highlights).

The women’s strawweight division is ripe with talent, but the relative infancy of the weight class means there hasn’t been enough time for a clear No. 1 contender to emerge. With several fights in the division scheduled for the coming months, the title picture is likely to change often.

Based off the current schedule, though, it’d seem the winner of next month’s UFC Fight Night 64 bout between Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Daly (15-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) could be the top contender.

Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha have history. They fought once before under the UFC banner. The fight was very competitive and ultimately deemed a split-decision win for Jedrzejczyk. A rematch – with five rounds –would allow more time to determine the superior athlete.

Daly would also be a captivating story in a No. 1 contender position. With the rise of Irish MMA in the recent years, Daly could earn the opportunity to join teammate Conor McGregor –who fights for the featherweight belt this summer– as Irish-born UFC champions by the end of the year.

Regardless of whether it’s Gadelha, Daly or another fighter who separates herself from the pack, there’s no shortage of opponents eager to vie for Jedrzejczyk’s belt.

Rafael dos Anjos

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Should fight: Winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Donald Cerrone at UFC 187
Why they should fight: For the fist time in a while, the UFC lightweight division has a clear pecking order courtesy of a dominant title-winning effort by dos Anjos against Pettis (watch the dos Anjos vs. Pettis video highlights).

Dos Anjos will spend the next few months recovering from a knee injury while Nurmagomedov (22-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Cerrone (27-6 MMA, 14-3 UFC) face off at UFC 187 on May 23 to decide the Brazilian’s first title challenger.

It’s a unique triangle atop of the lightweight division. Dos Anjos already holds a dominant victory over Cerrone, but Nurmagomedov also handily defeated him.

Either fight would mark a rematch for the champion, but with Nurmagomedov being the only man to defeat dos Anjos in the past three years, there’s little doubt the new champ wants revenge.

For more on UFC 185, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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Aisling Daly

An injury has knocked the featured preliminary card fight from next month’s UFC event in Poland.

Claudia Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), of Brazil, had to pull out of her fight with Ireland’s Aisling Daly (15-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 64. UFC officials have yet to make it official, but Daly confirmed the news on her Facebook page following an initial tweet from Gadelha.

UFC Fight Night 64 takes place April 11 at Krakow Arena in Krakow, Poland. The entire event streams on UFC Fight Pass.

There may be good news for Daly on the horizon, though. A report from MMA Fighting said Daly may be quickly rebooked for UFC 186 in Montreal against fellow “TUF 20″ cast member Randa Markos.

Daly was seeded fifth of the 16 fighters on “TUF 20.” She won her first fight in the house by stopping Angela Magana with a TKO, but she fell in the quarterfinals to Jessica Penne. In her first official fight in the UFC at the TUF 20 Finale, she stopped fellow cast member Alex Chambers with a first-round armbar for back-to-back wins after a three-fight skid in Cage Warriors and Invicta.

Gadelha, who trains with Jose Aldo, will be looking to rebound from a split-decision loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC on FOX 13 in December, the first loss of her career. It was thought that she would earn a women’s strawweight title shot against champion Carla Esparza with the win, but instead Jedrzejczyk got the shot with the victory and put together a dominant performance to take Esparza’s belt.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 64 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 3 p.m. ET)

• Mirko Filipovic vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
• Jan Blachowicz vs. Jimi Manuwa
• Bartosz Fabinski vs. Garreth McLellan
• Joanne Calderwood vs. Maryna Moroz

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 11:45 a.m. ET)

• Pawel Pawlak vs. Sheldon Westcott
• Sergio Moraes vs. Gasan Umalatov
• Seth Baczynski vs. Leon Edwards
• Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Anthony Hamilton
• Aleksandra Albu vs. Izabela Badurek
• Marcin Bandel vs. Jason Saggo
• Rocky Lee vs. Taylor Lapilus

For more on UFC Fight Night 64, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Randa Markos

As expected, Aisling Daly didn’t have to wait long to get a new fight after her previous fight fell through.

After Claudia Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) fell out of her UFC Fight Night 64 bout with Daly (15-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Daly now will meet fellow “TUF 20″ strawweight cast member Randa Markos (4-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC 186.

The UFC made the new fight official today after it was reported this past Saturday. It has not yet been announced where the Daly-Markos fight will fall on the card. It had been slated for the featured prelim slot at UFC Fight Night 64 in Poland, which takes place April 11.

UFC 186 takes place April 25 at Bell Centre in Montreal. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Daly was seeded fifth of the 16 fighters on “TUF 20.” She won her first fight in the house by stopping Angela Magana with a TKO, but she fell in the quarterfinals to Jessica Penne. In her first official fight in the UFC at the TUF 20 Finale, she stopped fellow cast member Alex Chambers with a first-round armbar for back-to-back wins after a three-fight skid in Cage Warriors and Invicta.

Markos, a Canadian, was the “TUF 20″ Cinderella story after upset wins in the opening round of the tournament and the quarterfinals. As the No. 14 seed, she beat No. 3-seeded Tecia Torres, one of the show’s early favorites, by unanimous decision. Then she submitted No. 6 Felice Herrig in the first round. But she fell to Rose Namajunas in the semifinals. At the TUF 20 Finale in December, her first official UFC fight, she dropped a split decision to fellow semifinalist Jessica Penne.

Gadelha, who trains with featherweight champion Jose Aldo, was looking to rebound from a split-decision loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC on FOX 13 in December, the first loss of her career. It was thought that she would earn a women’s strawweight title shot against champion Carla Esparza with the win, but instead Jedrzejczyk got the shot with the victory and put together a dominant performance to take Esparza’s belt.

The latest UFC 186 card now includes:

• Champ Demetrious Johnson vs. Kyoji Horiguchi – for flyweight title
• Quinton Jackson vs. Fabio Maldonado
• Michael Bisping vs. C.B. Dollaway
• John Makdessi vs. Abel Trujillo
• Thomas Almeida vs. Yves Jabouin
• Patrick Cote vs. Joe Riggs
• Alexis Davis vs. Sarah Kaufman
• Bryan Barberena vs. Chad Laprise
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. David Michaud
• Chris Clements vs. Nordine Taleb
• Valerie Letourneau vs. Jessica Rakoczy
• Aisling Daly vs. Randa Markos

For more on UFC 186, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Jessica Aguilar

Jessica Aguilar, widely considered the top women’s strawweight fighter in the world, has booked her first fight in the UFC.

Aguilar (19-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make her promotional debut in August against Claudia Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC 190 in Brazil. UFC officials announced the new booking today.

Featuring UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey vs. Brazilian challenger Bethe Correia, UFC 190 takes place Aug. 1 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Aguilar will bring a 10-fight winning streak into her UFC debut. Her most recent loss was a split-decision setback against Zoila Frausto Gurgel in September 2010 under the Bellator banner, but she went on to win four fights for Bellator after that.

Aguilar signed with WSOF in 2013 and made her debut for that promotion in January 2014, winning the inaugural strawweight title with a submission of Alida Gray – prior to the UFC introducing the 115-pound women’s weight class. She defended her belt twice with decision wins over Emi Fujino and Kalindra Faria, the most recent coming at WSOF 15 this past November.

Gadelha will fight in her home country of Brazil for the first time in the UFC. She’s coming off a December loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC on FOX 13. Jedrzejczyk went on to win the women’s strawweight title. Gadelha’s loss to Jedrzejczyk was her first in pro MMA after a 12-0 start to her career, including a win for Invicta and a win in her UFC debut.

With the addition to the card, UFC 190 now includes:

• Champ Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia – for women’s bantamweight title
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua
• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Stefan Struve
• Rafael Cavalcante vs. Patrick Cummins
• Soa Palelei vs. Antonio Silva
• Neil Magny vs. Demian Maia
• Guido Cannetti vs. Hugo Viana
• Warlley Alves vs. Nordine Taleb
• Jessica Aguilar vs. Claudia Gadelha

For more on UFC 190, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Jessica Aguilar

UFC Fight Night 69 marked the organization’s fourth event in Germany, and all eyes were on women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who stole the show with her third-round TKO of Jessica Penne (12-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) to retain the title.

Jedrzejczyk overwhelmed Penne with a relentless onslaught of strikes until the finish arrived. Her performance, which streamed on UFC Fight Pass from O2 World Berlin, was the most memorable of the four-fight main card, which also saw Tatsuya Kawajiri (34-8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), Peter Sobotta (15-4-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC) and Nick Hein (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) leave with wins.

After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next. And with another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Joe Silva and Sean Shelby’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker.

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Nick Hein

Efrain Escudero

Should fight: Efrain Escudero
Why they should fight: Although it wasn’t the most impressive of fights, Hein got a UFC win in his native Germany with a decision victory against the formerly undefeated Lukasz Sajewski.

One lightweight who did impress in a recent octagon appearance, though, is Escudero (24-9 MMA, 5-5 UFC). “The Ultimate Fighter 8″ winner worked his way back to the UFC after being cut and has won his past two fights. The most recent was a 54-second submission win over Drew Dober at UFC 188 earlier this month.

Both fighters hold UFC wins over Dober and are in roughly the same tier of the crowded UFC lightweight division. A few more triumphant performances would help either fighter advance to the next level of competition.

Peter Sobotta

Sergio Moraes

Should fight: Sergio Moraes
Why they should fight: Sobotta’s first-round submission win over Steve Kennedy improved his record to 7-0-1 since he was released from the UFC in November 2010. He’s earned all but one of those wins in the opening round – with two coming inside the octagon after he re-signed with the organization in May 2014.

The German hasn’t faced stern competition in his current run, but if he continues to win, it won’t be long before he experiences a true challenge. That would have taken place at UFC Fight Night 69 had original opponent Moraes (9-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) not suffered an injury that forced him off the card.

Moraes vs. Sobotta was a matchup of two talented grapplers with many submission wins. UFC matchmakers have attempted to book the fight twice before, and hopefully the third time is the charm.

Tatsuya Kawajiri

Dennis Bermudez

Should fight: Winner of Dennis Bermudez vs. Jeremy Stephens at UFC 189
Why they should fight: Kawajiri earned arguably the most significant win since he dropped to the featherweight division in 2011 when he edged longtime UFC veteran Dennis Siver by unanimous decision.

“Crusher” didn’t show much flash in the victory, but he got the job done and has proved over his three-fight UFC stint that he won’t be a pushover for anyone at 145 pounds.

The 37-year-old has been in the sport since his April 2000 pro debut. Conventional wisdom would indicate he’s short on time to make a final run to the top, which means Kawajiri needs important matchups, and he needs them immediately.

Bermudez (14-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Stephens (23-11 MMA, 10-10 UFC) are tapped to meet at UFC 189 next month, and the winner would be a prime candidate for Kawajiri’s next fight. Both are established in the weight class, and a win over someone of Kawajiri’s stature would only brighten their respective resumes.

With the UFC set to travel to Kawajiri’s home country of Japan on Sept. 26, there’s a good chance he’ll get a spot on the card. A fight with Bermudez or Stephens could be a cornerstone of the lineup.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Claudia Gadelha

Should fight: Winner of Claudia Gadelha vs. Jessica Aguilar at UFC 190
Why they should fight: After her utter destruction of Penne to defend her UFC women’s strawweight title for the first time, Jedrzejczyk appears to have what it takes to rule the 115-pound division long into the future.

With that said, her most formidable challenge may come in her next title defense, which should be against the winner of Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Aguilar (19-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who meet at UFC 190 in Brazil on Aug. 1.

Gadelha and Jedrzejczyk have fought once before. They competed in a title eliminator at UFC on FOX 13 in December in a very close fight that Jedrzejczyk won by split decision. The victory moved her into the title bout, which led the Polish fighter to her current position as champion.

A few minor changes to strategy and tactics could make Gadelha a serious threat to Jedrzejczyk in a rematch.

In order to challenge Jedrzejczyk, though, she must get past Aguilar. The former WSOF champion was considered the best women’s strawweight fighter in the world before Jedrzejczyk’s rise to the top. Her UFC debut has been anticipated for some time, and after signing with the promotion earlier this year, Aguilar was immediately pushed into a high-stakes affair against Gadelha.

Aguilar has won her past 10 fights and hasn’t lost since September 2010. If “Jag” can emerge on top in just one more, she’ll likely have the opportunity to challenge Jedrzejczyk and back up her claims of being the best in the world.

For more on UFC Fight Night 69, check out the UFC Events section of the site.