Sarah Kaufman
Kaufman faces newly crowned champion Ronda Rousey later this year in an effort to reclaim the belt. She laid out a blueprint to MMAWeekly.com on how to best promote female mixed martial artists.
Kaufman earned her title shot by defeating Alexis Davis in a hard-fought majority decision at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey on March, 3.
The fight card was headlined by two women and featured a No. 1 contenders’ bout on the undercard. That fight was between Kaufman and Davis. The fight was a display of all facets of mixed martial arts. Kaufman feels that weekend in Columbus, Ohio, was huge for women’s fighting.
“It was a really positive step forward. I think the fact that the fight with Alexis and I was so exciting really cemented the fact that there are more than just one or two females in the sport,” Kuafman told MMAWeekly.com.
“And I hope to see Strikeforce bringing in more and more females and getting a division really running kind of smooth and having contenders all the time,” added the former champion.
Kaufman is worried about having a viable contender following the bout with Rousey, should she win. In a division that’s shallow with contenders, Kaufman would like to see Strikeforce showcase more female fights on the main cards to build the women to the public.
“From that point on, I want to have another fight set up right way. You don’t just want to have super fights. You want to have super fights because the division is awesome,” she said.
Kaufman doesn’t see many contenders after her bout with Rousey.
“It would be great if we could fight in May. The only problem with that is there aren’t any fighters coming up to challenge after that point,” stated Kaufman.
“I think what would be perfect is to have on the next card, which I think is in May, have another contender-type fight or another fight or two for the females to see some more of the ladies in the 135-pound division and really get the division going.
“On the next fight card, have me and Ronda fight. Have another female fight on that card, and again, that sets up the next title fight. So you’re having this continual stream of female fights that the fans can get behind,” she continued.
“That’s the reason Strikeforce is different. They have the females, so let’s get this going. Let’s get this division really rolling and have people interested in so many more fighters than just myself and Ronda and Miesha, and not Alexis.”
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