Last week it was reported that Russian fighter Aleksandra Albu has pulled out of her Dec. 7 fight against Julie Kedzie in Brisbane, Australia due to injury. Now word has surfaced in Japan that Rin Nakai could replace her. As longtime readers will know, I have gone to Japanese websites for many years looking for news that no one else will find. Last night, it came to my attention that a Japanese blog had posted that Rin Nakai will face Julie Kedzie on the Dec. 7 UFC show. This is a blog that does not post editorial content. It just has MMA schedules. I thought that was a little odd and I can't imagine where the information could have come from. But sometimes real news comes from unassuming sources. I don't know if this will come true but anything is possible. It should be clear by now that UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby is not looking for older fighters. Before she signed, no one had heard of Aleksandra Albu. He's not looking for obvious fighters that you have already heard of. It appears that Julie Kedzie may have been the one to suggest Rin. The major barrier to this is Rin is under contract to PANCRASE. The UFC would have to buy out her contract. I don't know if they would be willing to do that. And I don't know if PANCRASE owner Sakai is open to selling her contract. My guess is he would sell it for the right price. I just don't think there is enough time to work out a deal in time for Dec. 7. I guess the match could be postponed. That's what they did with Jessica Eye vs Sarah Kaufman. And I don't know who else the UFC is looking at for this fight. So Rin Nakai in the UFC is possible but a longshot because of her contract status and lack of time. It certainly would be an interesting development.
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