Female fighters took centre stage during the month of March and the latest rankings update includes a number of significant changes. New Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey takes over the top spot at 135 pounds after her impressive main event win on March 3rd.
On the same Strikeforce card, former champion Sarah Kaufman won for the third straight time to set up a future title fight. In other action, Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff and Katja Kankaanpää earned key victories that have vaulted both women up the ranks at 125 and 115 pounds, respectively.
Russian standout Milana Dudieva posted her eighth straight victory tonight at ProFC 40 in Volgograd, Russia. Dudieva stopped England’s Danielle “The Curse” West with punches in just 24 seconds, though the stoppage may have been premature and there was confusion following the bout.
Ten-year veteran Naoko Omuro defeated rival “Happy” Fukuko Hamada for a second time tonight in one of two women’s bouts at Pancrase Progress Tour 4 in Tokyo, Japan. Omuro defeated Hamada by second-round TKO, finishing her one second faster than in the pair’s first meeting back in 2007.