Let’s not forget, Victoria’s own Sarah “Smiley” Kaufman is fighting on Saturday in her toughest challenge to date.
Good luck Sarah! We will be cheering for you!
-KAUFMAN HAPPY TO CO-MAIN EVENT MAJOR CARD
Strikeforce 135-pound female titleholder Sarah Kaufman got what she wanted. She’s the co-main event on the “Strikeforce: San Jose” fight card headlined by the rematch between Nick Diaz and KJ Noons on Oct. 9.
Heading into her last outing against Roxanne Modaferri, Kaufman went public with complaints that she should be on regular Strikeforce cards instead of being featured on the organization’s “ShoMMA: Challengers” series.
The media and fans rallied behind the 25-year old fighter’s cause, and she delivered by finishing Modaferri with a highlight reel slam that rendered Modaferri unconscious. The highlight was picked up by ESPN and shown on Sportscenter.
Now that she’s showcased as a co-main event on a major Strikeforce card, has it added any pressure to perform?
“For me it’s just another fight. Always as a fighter you want to win the fight, but also you have to be aware of the fans and the fact that people want to watch exciting fights and they don’t necessarily want to watch a super technical five-round, 25-minute fight as good as those are,” Kaufman told MMAWeekly.com.
“It’s a happy medium. You have to make sure that you fight a smart fight, but also making sure that you’re not being what is called boring and stalling a fight. You always want those exciting fights.”
The undefeated Kaufman defends her title for a third time, taking on Marloes Coenen in Coenen’s 135-pound debut. Coenen is coming off a loss to Strikeforce 145-pound female titleholder Cris “Cyborg” Santos.
Strikeforce held a tournament won by Meisha Tate to crown a contender to Kaufman’s throne, but opted to give the title shot to Coenen instead garnering criticism in the process.
“As a fighter as long as I get to fight I’m pretty happy, and I always like to fight new people, so I think that‘s great as well,” Kaufman said about Coenen being granted the title bout.
“I do see where people are saying she’s never fought at 135, which she hasn’t, so to get a title shot immediately is something people have been definitely criticizing. I can see their reasoning behind it. Why have a tournament and then have someone else fight for the title before them? But I’m just happy and I think she’s a great opponent. Hopefully she proves everyone wrong and she’s going to stay at 135,” added Kaufman.
Kaufman isn’t concerned too much with Strikeforce matchmaking. She knows her job is to win fights regardless who the organization puts in front of her.
“She’s been around the fight game for ten years, so that’s a lot of experience. I’m pretty sure I’m going to bring enough to bring that win home, but anything can happen,” said Kaufman. “I feel really prepared for this fight.”
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=12782&zoneid=2
Go Sarah!
ttt for Sarah!!!
War Sarah!!!
Sarah has really looked unbeatable. And she's obviously mentally strong enough to not get complacent.
Gonna be another good night Sarah and Adam and her team! Have fun Sarah!
the StrikeForce card is the only thing worth watching all this weekend.
Good luck to Sarah. Marlos is certainly no push over.
ttt
give'm hell Champ
Card breakdown by TMN and whaddya know. We took Kaufman.
http://topmmanews.com/2010/10/06/strikeforce-diaz-vs-noons-ii-card-breakdown/
homers ;)
http://www.facebook.com/#!/sarahkaufman.mma
Sarah is trying to get to 2000 fans on facebook before her fight! DO IT!
Good luck Sarah. Really looking forward to your fight.
tough loss tonight champ, you'll be back!
sucks for Sarah. It was a close fight up until the end.
IMO, Sarah needs to hook up with some of the great wrestlers we have in Canada, specifically, train with someone from our Canadian women's team. She has great hips and reaction timing.The take down was there all night and there is no art better to defend JJ subs than a solid wrestler . Once she adds this art to her game, I don't see anyone beating her at 135lbs.
I guess it was gonna happen eventually... too crazy a sport for even the most elite in their division (Sarah) too not have a night that doesn't go their way.
Chin up Sarah. You're one of the very best there is at what you do, and you are only getting better. You'll get that belt back and more to come.
Enjoy a few days off and have some fun. I can't wait to see how good you are next fight.
Uncool how Coenen held that arm for so long. Totally uncool. And dangerous. And weird. She was acting all "What? What'd I do?" after. BAD acting imo.
That was a really weird position at the end of the fight. I wasn't sure what happened actually. I certainly could not see Sarah tapping .
I thought Coenen was very respectful after the match.
Watch again. She didn't let the arm go till quite a long, measurable time after the ref was trying to make her stop.
She seemed "fake respectful" to me.
You know, those people who say the "right" things after the fight and in interviews then say horrible things about the opponent to their team/friends. Totally my opinion. Strictly opinion.
Keep your chin up Sarah. You fought well, but just got a little over zealous at the end and it cost you.
Perhaps you or someone from your camp can let us know how your arm is?
Take some time off, get some rest and enjoy yourself. We all know you will be back and better than ever.