The UFC has booked the fifth-ever women’s bout in promotional history as the organization today announced bantamweights Julie Kedzie and Germaine De Randamie will square off at UFC on FOX 8, which takes place July 27 at KeyArena in Seattle, WA. Kezie and De Randamie were once set to fight in Strikeforce, but the fight never materialized until now. In a very shallow UFC women’s bantamweight division, the winner of this bout will most assuredly be near a shot at the title since there are only 10 women fighters officially signed to the UFC. The fight should be fairly close when it comes to the betting odds, but Kedzie likely opens as a slight favorite due to her name value. Expect her to open around -150 or so, although it’s certainly possible sharp bettors come in on De Randamie, who is a very nasty striker in her own right. Either way, this should be a very fun fight. UFC on FOX 8 also features welterweight bouts of Jake Ellenberger vs. Rory MacDonald and Tarec Saffiedine vs. Robbie Lawler and it’s likely that UFC flyweight champion and Washington native Demetrious Johnson defends his title against John Moraga in the main event if he’s able to return from his injury in time. Referee Josh Rosenthal Pleads Guilty To Drug Charges Have you wondered where MMA referee Josh Rosenthal has been lately? A lot of people have, and today we have the answer. According to MMAjunkie.com Rosenthal and an associate were busted a year ago by US federal agents at a warehouse the referee owned as it contained over 1300 marijuana plants, with a street value estimated at over $6 million. Rosenthal pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute, and he now awaits sentencing, which the US District Court will decide. With this news, don’t expect Rosenthal working an MMA event for the considerable future as he’ll likely be spending the next few years in prison. Bellator Signs Matyushenko Bellator today signed light heavyweight Vladimir Matyushenko to a multi-fight contract and he’s expected to make his Bellator debut either this summer or fall. The news was confirmed by Jason Floyd of TheMMAReport.com, who received word of the signing from Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. Matyushenko is coming off of back-to-back losses to Ryan Bader and Alexander Gustafsson and at 42 years old he was deemed expendable by the UFC. However, Bellator is giving the long-time veteran a shot, and the goal is that he performs well enough to enter into a future light heavyweight tournament, although he won’t be a part of Bellator’s four-main light heavyweight tournament during the upcoming Summer Series. That tournament will for sure have Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in the field, and it’s expected former Bellator light heavyweight champion Christian M’Pumbu and recent tournament runner-up Mikhail Zayats will also be part of the field. The winner of the tournament will fight the winner of the upcoming bout between champion Attila Vegh and Emmanuel Newton, which is expected to take place in the upcoming months.
