Ronda Rousey to defend Strikeforce belt against Sarah Kaufman in August

A report has surfaced today that Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight champion Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey will make her first title defense later this summer against former champ Sarah Kaufman. Tentatively set for August, there is not a confirmed date nor location as of yet.

Rousey is of course the most talked-about topic in WMMA currently, utilizing world-class Judo skills to slam her opponents and submit them seemingly at will. The first American woman ever to win an Olympic medal in Judo, Rousey sports a perfect 5-0 record. Trained by Gokor Chivichyan, her fights have all ended in the first round via submission by armbar. Having taken the Women’s Bantamweight belt from former champ Miesha Tate last March, she will look to continue her vicious winning streak against a very experienced fighter in Sarah Kaufman.

Kaufman herself is on a roll since losing the belt to Marloes Coenen back in late 2010. The first Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight champion has won three in a row and only has a single loss on her record. However, that loss was by armbar to Coenen, who in turn was submitted by Tate. We have all seen the gruesome result of Miesha Tate‘s first title defense against Rousey, so obviously Kaufman’s main focus will be to avoid the armbar. We have not yet seen Rousey forced to display her standup skills, perhaps this is where Kaufman could score a few points. She does have 10 (T)KO victories on her record.

Knowing and doing, as we all know, can be two different things in an MMA cage, and Rousey has demonstrated that while she may be one-dimensional, that dimension has yet to be stopped. At this point, it would be an accomplishment if Kaufman were to make it out of the first round with Rousey. Does Sarah Kaufman stand a chance against the Judo and submissions of Ronda Rousey?

Further Reading: Miesha Tate explains her gruesome injury at the hands of Ronda Rousey