Kaufman Steps In To Face Tate
by Robert Sargent
Following Kim Couture's withdrawal due to her impending divorce from husband Randy Couture, undefeated Canadian standout Sarah Kaufman has taken her place against rising star Miesha "Takedown" Tate at the upcoming Strikeforce Challengers event.
The battle with Tate, which will be Kaufman's second fight in three weeks, takes place on May 15th and airs live on Showtime in the United States and Super Channel in Canada.
Kaufman (8-0-0), who has won all of her fights to date by a form of knockout, will hold a significant advantage in striking over Tate (6-1-0), but Tate has racked up five straight wins since her vicious, highlight-reel head-kick knockout loss against Kaitlin Young in November of 2007. All but one of those five victories have come by TKO or submission, and Tate is currently regarded as one of the future stars of the women's division.
Kaufman's game plan for the fight will no doubt be exactly the same as in her past bouts, which generally see her opponents quickly overwhelmed by an endless barrage of punches. Tate, who is an excellent wrestler and competed on men's teams in the past, will look to take the fight to the mat and work from top position.
The main factors in this exciting women's matchup will be whether or not Tate can survive the early onslaught of punches from Kaufman, and whether Kaufman can defend the relentless takedowns from Tate. With Strikeforce using the controversial three-minute round system for female fights, as was also used in the former EliteXC promotion, time is of the essence and slight mistakes could cost one fighter a round.
Kaufman is highly skilled on the ground as well, which could pose problems for Tate, but Tate's superior wrestling and notoriously aggressive takedowns will likely result in Kaufman battling from her back on at least one occasion. No matter the victor, this is sure to be a show-stealer and could vault one woman into future Strikeforce title contention.
The fight will be part of the main card of the May 15th Strikeforce Challengers event, which is headlined by a lightweight bout between undefeated star Billy Evangelista and hard-hitting "Iron" Mike Aina.
