Sarah Kaufman to Battle Takayo Hashi For First Strikeforce Women’s 135 Pound Title

by Nick Thomas on Jan 22, 2010 10:05 PM EST in MMA News

Undefeated power puncher Sarah Kaufman (10-0) will challenge Japan’s Takayo Hashi (12-1) in the first STRIKEFORCE women’s world bantamweight (135 pounds) championship matchup in history.

Kaufman is a 24-year-old former professional ballet dancer who stumbled upon MMA after a martial arts school opened underneath her dance studio in Victoria, Canada. Her mellow demeanor outside the cage is a stark contrast to her ferocity inside it, which has helped her knock out 8 of her 10 opponents.

In her last effort, Kaufman earned a unanimous judges’ decision over Shayna "The Queen of Spades" Baszler during the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event at Kent Washington’s ShoWare Center on June 19, 2009.

The 32 year old Hashi of Honbu, Tokyo is a former champion of Japan’s Smackgirl MMA promotion.

Since suffering the only defeat of her career to Hitomi Akano on August 17, 2005, Hashi has reeled off eight straight victories, including a revenge win over Akano on September 6, 2007.

HT: strikeforce.com, twitter.com/mmasarah

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Its so amazing that a major organization is trying to develop competitive women’s weight classes. Women’s fighting is awesome and its about time the best start fighting the best regularly

by HighNoon on Jan 22, 2010 10:21 PM EST reply actions

Womens MMA is the best thing about SF. They are so fun to watch!

by billthemarine on Jan 22, 2010 11:14 PM EST via mobile reply actions

It’s the one thing that really differentiates itself from other MMA organizations. Kaufman honestly fights better than some men that I have seen fight. Sometime down the road, Kaufman vs Kerry Vera has to happen.

by chrisbboy82 on Jan 23, 2010 3:10 AM EST up reply actions