Officials from Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the opening round matchups for its season-two eight-man featherweight tournament. And though season-one winners earned $175,000 when victorious in all three rounds of the tournaments, sources close to the competitors told MMAjunkie.com that the payout amounts have dipped for season two. However, that’s in no way made the tournaments any less popular, and fighters are already securing spots for season three, which will feature new weight classes.

A series of promotional headaches are testing UFC president Dana White’s mettle like never before.

A series of promotional headaches are testing UFC president Dana White’s mettle like never before.

The rematch fans have been demanding ever since the conclusion of UFC 104 may happen in May. UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and challenger Maurico “Shogun” Rua (18-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) have agreed to revisit their October clash on May 1, according to Yahoo! Sports. MMAjunkie.com has since confirmed with sources close to the fight that both parties have verbally agreed to the contest, which is slated for an as-yet-unannounced trip to Montreal.

The rematch fans have been demanding ever since the conclusion of UFC 104 may happen in May. UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and challenger Maurico “Shogun” Rua (18-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) have agreed to revisit their October clash on May 1, according to Yahoo! Sports. MMAjunkie.com has since confirmed with sources close to the fight that both parties have verbally agreed to the contest, which is slated for an as-yet-unannounced trip to Montreal.

Former “The Ultimate Fighter 1″ cast member and current WEC lightweight Alex Karalexis (10-4 MMA, 4-2 WEC) has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled contest with Kamal Shalorus (4-0-1 MMA, 0-0 WEC) after suffering a broken hand. Fighters.com was the first to report Karalexis’ withdrawal from the WEC 44 prelim contest, and MMAjunkie.com has since confirmed the change with sources close to the event. Featuring a highly anticipated matchup between current WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown and top challenger Jose Aldo, “WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo” takes place Nov. 18 at the The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

An intriguing heavyweight contest between former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrgio Nogueira (32-5-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and undefeated contender Cain Velasquez (7-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is in the works for UFC 108. Brazilian cable channel SporTV’s Sensei blog was the first to report the fight, and MMAjunkie.com has since been able to confirm with sources close to the bout that at least one of the competitors has agreed to the contest.