A welterweight matchup between Renzo Gracie and former champ Matt Hughes remains likely to take place in 2010, though it won’t happen in February at UFC 109 as originally reported, according to Gracie Mag: “Renzo is not going to fight in February, when he will be completely focused on cousin Rolles’s UFC debut.”

Former lightweight champion Sean Sherk will return to the Octagon against Rafaello Oliveira at UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas.

UFC 108 is headlined by a matchup between heavyweight contenders Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez and also includes Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva, Junior dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, and Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley.

Igor Pokrajac, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s former sparring partner, will return to the Octagon at UFC 110 on February 21 in Sydney, Austrailia against Australian newcomer James Te Huna, according to Fighters Only

UFC 110 is headlined by Wanderlei Silva vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama and also includes Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell, and Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski.

Stefan Struve has been tapped to fight a returning Paul Buentello on the main card of UFC 107 on December 12 in place of injured up-and-comer Todd Duffee, who withdrew from the fight last week due to an undisclosed injury.

UFC 107, which takes place at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee, is headlined by lightweight champ BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez and also features Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir and Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida.

A matchup between Strikeforce 145-pound women’s champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and top contender Marloes Coenen is likely to take place at a January 30 Strikeforce event in Miami, Florida, according to MMA Weekly.

“Cyborg” (8-1) won the title with a first-round knockout of Gina Carano in August, her seventh-straight win, while Coenen (17-3) won her Strikeforce debut on Saturday with a first-round submission of Roxanne Modafferi.

Top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, originally expected to be sidelined up to six months due to a hand injury suffered in his Saturday win over Brett Rogers, underwent surgery on Tuesday for a dislocated thumb and is now likely to return early next year, according to Sherdog.

“Emelianenko said he planned to return to training, sans striking, upon his return to Russia later this week. M-1 officials said Emelianenko could headline his second co-promoted Strikeforce card in the first quarter of 2010.”

For the third UFC pay-per-view event in a row, Spike TV will air at least two bouts from the UFC 106 preliminary card on November 21, including Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders and Jake Rosholt vs. Kendall Grove.

UFC 106 is headlined by Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin and also includes Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson, Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Dustin Hazelett vs. Karo Parisyan, and Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah.

A recently-reported matchup between heavyweight contenders Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez will headline UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas, the UFC announced on Tuesday, with the winner guaranteed a title shot against the winner of the upcoming fight between champion Brock Lesnar and challenger Shane Carwin.

The UFC also confirmed that Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva will co-headline the pay-per-view event.

Fedor EmelianenkoTop-ranked Strikeforce heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko could be out of action for up to six months due to a hand injury suffered in his second-round knockout of Brett Rogers on Saturday, according to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker.

“[The hand injury] could’ve been from that blow when he had Brett on the mat at the end,” Coker today told the LA Times. “We’re hearing he could be out for four to six months.”

Light heavyweight Antwain Britt, a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 8, will make his Strikeforce debut on December 19 at Strikeforce: Evolution against Scott Lighty, according to The Curtis and Kyle Show.

“Evolution,” which airs live on Showtime from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, features Cung Le vs. Scott Smith and Matt Lindland vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza as well as Robbie Lawler and the debut of Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

The UFC has officially confirmed the full fight card for UFC 106 which will take place on November 21. The event is headlined by Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin, and co-headlined by Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson.

Middleweight contender Nate Marquadt will take on Chael Sonnen in February at UFC 110 in Austalia, according to Sportsnet.ca, which reports that bout agreements are pending for the matchup. UFC 110, which takes place on February 20 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, also includes Wanderlei Silva vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell, and Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski.

Colorado based promotion, Ring of Fire, is set to make its return on December 4 at the Magness arena in Denver, Colorado. Ring of Fire 36: Demolition will be headlined by match up between former “The Ultimate Fighter” competitors Vinny Magalhaes and Mike Nickels. The two headliners will be joined by several other former UFC, Strikeforce, and K-1 competitors.

Strikeforce announced over the weekend that former middleweight champion Cung Le will return to action on December 19 against Scott Smith at Strikeforce: Evolution at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

The Showtime-televised event also features Robbie Lawler, Matt Lindland, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and Muhammed “King Mo”.

A light heavyweight matchup between Krzysztof Soszynski and Stephan Bonnar is in the works for UFC 110 on February 21 in Sydney, Australia and is expected to be finalized soon, according to MMA Weekly.

UFC 110, which has yet to be officially announced, is also expected to feature Wanderlei Silva vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell.