Tara LaRosa will face Valerie Coolbaugh at 'Locked in the Cage' on Friday, November 20

Upcoming Fights:

The biggest fight this weekend as far as we're concerned is at Locked in the Cage, where Valerie Coolbaugh (3-2) is stepping up to take on Tara LaRosa (17-1). LaRosa is widely regarded as the top fighter in the 135 lb. weight class and will be at 125 lbs. for this bout. You can watch the fight live online this Friday for only $6 at gofightlive.tv -- the fights begin at 7:00 ET.

The most publicized fight taking place this weekend is part of the Strikeforce Challengers series. Stand-up specialist Kerry Vera (1-0) will be taking on Kim Couture (1-1) in Kansas City on Friday. The fights will air at 10:00 CT with prelims at 8:00. This comes just a week after Kerry's husband, Brandon Vera, lost a fight to Randy Couture by an extremely controversial decision. Although Kim receives a lot of media exposure due to her previous marriage, her fights so far have not been much to write home about. Vera, on the other hand, put on a fight of the night in her debut win over Leslie Smith. Watch for yourself.

Some more interesting fights take place on the 20th at Unconquered 1: November Reign. American Top Team's Jessica Aguilar (5-3) is  fighting Amanda Duvall (0-2) and former boxer Michele "Diablita" Gutierrez is making her MMA debut against Felice Herrig (0-2). Vanessa Mariscal will be making her debut Jessica "Raising Havoc" Halverson (2-0) at IFC: Warriors Challenge 26.

On Sunday the 22nd, Sarah Moras will be making her MMA debut. Moras, who has been training with MMA badass Rosi Sexton (10-1), will be fighting Danielle West (2-1) at Kayo MMA.

MMA legend Megumi Fujii (18-0) is fighting Windy Tomomi (12-11-1) at Shooto: Revolutionary Exchanges 3 on Monday the 23rd. Read more about the bout on Frank's blog.

And on Wednesday, November 25th, Rosary Cailifano is making her MMA debut at Duke City Fight Brawl 2. She will be fighting Angelica Chavez (2-0).

Upcoming Tournaments and Events:

On November 28th, Hook n Shoot wil feature an 8-woman MMA tournament. There are various reports of women said to be fighting, but many are in different weight classes. We will post more information as it becomes available (and verified),

According to MMA Rising, Freestyle Cage Fighting will now be holding a 135-lb women's tournament--the same tournament that was supposed to be taking place on the Strikeforce card. If our information is accurate then the winner of the tournament, which is to take place between January and May or June of next year, will receive a Strikeforce contract. According to StrikeForce Director of Communications head Mike Afromowitz, this is just a rumor.

The 2010 GFIGHT Summit, a huge even with lots of fights and training going on, will take place sometime this spring. If you are interested in promoting or organizing the event, join the facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=134827221221#/group.php?gid=329833875116

Fight Results:

Mizuho Sato (5-3) scored a unanimous decision win over Chris Yonezawa (0-3) at GCM Demolition West.

Lisa Newton (3-1) sunk in a rear naked choke in her fight against Julie Larsen (0-1), winning at 4:32 of round 1.

Christina Domke (2-1) knocked out Shareena Harris (0-1) in the 2nd round of their WNCC 2 bout.

Audrey Vela (1-0) successfully defeated Judy Garcia (0-2) by 1st round armbar at Still Standin'.

Maria Hougaard (1-1) defeated Melissa Lan (0-1) via unanimous decision at FighterGalla 11.

Emily Klinefelter (1-0) defeated Nataly Jerez (0-1) via 1st round TKO at MaxFightsDM: Ballroom Brawl.

Pssst! Dana!

When asked if she had aspirations to fight in the UFC, Cristianne "Cyborg" Santos recently told Five Ounces of Pain that she "imagined herself there."

Meanwhile, Dana White told a UFC fan asking for Gina Carano (on a recent video blog) that there weren't enough women. Since Gina can't make 135 lbs., here is a list of female fighers in her (145 lb.) weight class. These do not include women in the 135 lb. division that would be willing to fight in a higher weight class if the opportunity was right. Although not all of these would make a great matchup with Gina, I think my point that there are many women in the weight class is hard to dispute:

Revelina "Nana" Berto
Vanessa Bohleber
Chantalle Castellanos
Marloes Coenen
Heather Corder
Cindy Dandois
Christina Domke
Ediane "India" Gomes
Stephanie Guimareas
Jessica Halverson
Magdalena Jarecka
Nikohl Johnson
Kelly Kobold
Elaina Maxwell
Gina Mazany
Jackie Mikalsky
Shana Olsen
Sarah Oriza
Yvonne Reis
Sarah Renaud
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos
Jamie Seaton
Melissa Sherwood
Christine Taetsch
Yoko Takahashi
Erin Toughill
Emily Thompson
Breanne (Vickers) Walker
Megan Williams
Karen Williams
Shawni Young
Marissa Caldwell