Kaufman Wins Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Crown

Share on Facebook posted 03-01-10 by John George

Strikeforce has a champion in the women’s welterweight division. Canadian fighter Sarah Kaufman (11-0-0) defeated Japanese grappling queen Takayo Hashi (12-2-0) by unanimous decision Friday night in a five-round contest to occupy the vacant 135-pound title. Their fight was the main even of a Strikeforce Challengers event broadcast on Showtime from San Jose, Calif.

Kaufman looked very good and very professional throughout the fight, using her outstanding striking skills and great takedown defense to keep the fight standing and methodically beat Hashi up on their feet. Hashi did not have an answer to Kaufman’s game plan, and never posed a threat.

While Kaufman put on an impressive display, the fight was somewhat disappointing because she played it too safe and didn’t take enough chances to finish it. She started off very strong in the first round, knocking Hashi down on her ass several times, but she didn’t press her advantage enough to trigger a stoppage.

Kaufman visibly backed off in the subsequent rounds, and she settled into a comfortable pace of using the helpless Hashi for a punching bag. She was perhaps wise not to follow Hashi to the ground and enter the Japanese submission specialist’s world, but there was definitely the feeling of something missing by Kaufman’s lack of fight-finishing aggression.

Watching this fight felt like eating a bowl of fat-free ice cream. It just wasn’t very satisfying. It was kind of like watching an amateur boxing match, in which fighters are content to win by scoring points. There’s nothing wrong with amateur boxing, but it’s a whole different experience from the kind of ferocity that makes mixed martial arts so much fun.

Kaufman was defensive about her performance in the post-fight interview. She reiterated that she would have liked to have finished the fight, but that Hashi was just too tough. She credited Hashi’s toughness, rather than her own play-it-safe performance for the outcome.

Now, I do believe that Hashi is very tough. I loved the way her grin would just get bigger each time she absorbed some big puches. That girl’s got a lot of heart! But it was clear that the fight was Kaufman’s for the finishing. She was content to stay on the outside, where she wasn’t in any danger, and win the decision rather than take a chance by getting a little closer, wading into the danger zone, and finishing her opponent.

The desire to go all out and lay it all on the lane is what makes the best MMA fighters great. Forrest Griffin is a prime example of that. Chris Leben, Spencer Fisher, Jon Fitch and Kenny Florian are others. Whether they win or lose, watching those guys fight is always a special treat and a special honor.

Kaufman has top-notch skills and is clearly an excellent fighter. If she wants to be remembered as a great fighter and beloved champion, she needs to take some more chances. She needs to roll up her sleeves and go in for the kill when she has the chance. She is clearly a very intelligent and cerebral fighter, but she won’t earn the fans’ love or respect for that. She’ll need to get in touch with her animalistic side, her inner lioness, to capture the hearts and imaginations of the fans.

This fight was Kaufman’s third decision victory in as many Strikeforce fights. Before stepping up to the bigger promotion, she stopped all her opponents in smaller promotions. She’s clearly capable of ending fights, and she could have ended this one against Hashi. She just didn’t have the guts to take a chance to do it.

The Other Fights

The most impressive performance of the night’s card was that turned in by Luke Rockhold (7-1-0), who delivered a stunning first-round knockout of powerful wrestler Paul Bradley (12-2-0). Rockhold is a jiu jitsu fighter who showed tremendous striking skills against Bradley, who was a two-time All-American wrestler at the University of Iowa, which is a Mecca of collegiate wrestling.

Bradley made a big mistake in choosing to stand up and trade strikes with Rockhold, who used his five-inch reach advantage to beat Bradley upside the head with a couple of right hooks before finishing him with a head kick and a couple of knees to the body. It might have been a different fight if Bradley would have tried for a takedown right away, but Rockhold was very impressive in this outing. I’m looking forward to seeing him fight again.

It should also be noted that Rockhold is exceptionally pretty for a fighter. He has striking good looks and could probably make it in the movies, if he decides to give up fighting before his face gets banged up too badly. He may need to work on his elocution and speaking abilities however, as he didn’t come off as very articulate in his post fight interview. He just spewed off an incoherent couple of sentences filled with curse words and references to partying.

The night’s biggest disappointment was the co-main event of the evening between French fighter Karl “Psycho” Amoussou (11-2-2) and Trevor Prangley, a South African veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The fight ended in a draw when it was stopped by the doctor after Prangley accidentally poked Amoussou in the eye at 4:14 in the first round.

Amoussou looked like he had won the round before the eye poke. He seemed a better striker than Prangley, quicker to the punch and more relaxed and fluid. Prangley was able to score a takedown, and showed that he definitely had the edge in the wrestling department, but Amoussou did a good job of tying the South African up and triggering a restart by the referee.

I would enjoy watching these two guys fight again sometime.

In other main-card action, Yancy Medeiros (5-0) defeated Raul Castillo (6-1) in a middleweight match-up, and Terec Saffedine (8-2) defeated James Terry (7-2) in a welterweight fight. Both bouts were unanimous decisions for the victors.