Rising female star Roxanne Modafferi (13-4) finally appears to have a
fight. But it took a late-replacement opportunity to get it.

The American-born, Japanese-based fighter is expected to replace Erin Toughill (10-2-1) and rematch Marlos Coenen (16-3) next week under the Strikeforce banner, sources close to the event today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com.

For the past 24 hours, message-board fodder has centered on the matchup, which would take place Nov. 7 as the featured bout on the preliminary card of “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers” at the Sears Centre near Chicago.

After running through the competition in Glory Fighting Championships and Midwest King of the Ring, Zack Micklewright (6-0) has landed a five-fight deal with the WEC and an opponent on the promotion’s year-end card.

Muhsin Corbbrey (7-4) is set to welcome the undefeated youngster to the promotion’s lightweight landscape at WEC 45: â??Cerrone vs. Ratcliffâ? from â??The Pearlâ? at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 19.

Corbbrey debuted in the WEC on Oct. 10 at WEC 43, losing via technical knockout to Anthony Njokuani. It marked Corbbreyâ??s second loss in a row, as he lost to Nick Diaz this past June in the now defunct Elite XC.

Corbbreyâ??s record isnâ??t astounding, but the way he fights makes him a solid asset for the WEC. He has only gone to the judges scorecards twice and is always looking for a slick submission finish.

Micklewright earned his spot on the WEC lightweight roster with an impressive 6-0 record, with his most recent win a submission (strikes) victory over Jaxon Mayson at Glory Fighting Championships 6 back in April.

Like Corbbrey, Micklewright is an exciting fighter who would rather leave it out of the judges hands. His debut was the only time he went the distance in a fight. However, Micklewrightâ??s time in smaller promotions has come to an end, as he has been given a shot with one of the top promotions in mixed martial arts.

The WEC will be a true test for this 155-pound wrecking ball.

WEC 45 will be headlined by a lightweight brawl between Donald Cerrone and Ed Ratcliff. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for breaking news on the WECâ??s last card of the 2009 fight season.

The injury bug continues to bite.

UFC lightweight Kurt Pellegrino (14-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is the latest
victim, and an injured back has forced “Batman” out of his scheduled
contest with Frankie Edgar (10-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) at The Ultimate Fighter
10 Finale.

Edgar today posted the change on his official Twitter account, and AOL
FanHouse has since learned herniated discs have forced Pellegrino out
of action for approximately three weeks.

UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has his sights firmly set on rematch with recent challenger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

It just might not happen quite as soon as Machida, Rua and UFC president Dana White might like.

MMAjunkie.com today spoke with Machida’s manager,
Ed Soares, who confirmed “The Dragon” went under the knife on Friday
and will be limited in training until mid-January.

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