Ronda Rousey, Sarah Kaufman Win Big At Strikeforce In OhioAfter weeks of pre-fight trash talking, Olympic medallist “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey needed less than one round to capture Strikeforce gold tonight at Strikeforce: “Tate vs Rousey” in Columbus, Ohio. Rousey submitted former champ Miesha “Takedown” Tate with a gruesome armbar in the main event.

The impressive win earned Rousey the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship and solidified her spot as one of MMA’s elite female fighters. She was not the only star on tonight’s card, however, as Sarah Kaufman outlasted fellow Canadian Alexis Davis in a fight of the night candidate.

 

Rousey (5-0-0) looked to have another quick submission victory locked up early in the fight with Tate (12-3-0). When Tate refused to tap out to an armbar despite appearing to have had her elbow dislocated, however, Rousey clearly had a fight on her hands. Tate proceeded to take the challenger’s back and worked for rear-naked chokes, but she was unable to secure the hold.

After Rousey got back to her feet, the fighters tried for duelling front headlocks near the cage. The fight again returned to the feet and Rousey threw Tate to the mat and landed in the scarf hold position. She passed to mount and landed punches that forced Tate to give up her back. It would ultimately prove to be Tate’s undoing, as Rousey transitioned into another deep armbar.

With a pained expression on her face, Tate fought to free herself from the hold even after her arm appeared to be snapped at the elbow. With just over 30 seconds remaining in the opening round, Tate was forced to submit and Strikeforce crowned a new female champion.

Rousey had faced widespread criticism for talking herself into the title fight despite having no prior fights at 135 pounds. She backed up her words with the submission win tonight and now appears poised for a showdown with former titleholder Sarah Kaufman, who was victorious on tonight’s preliminary card.

Winner: Ronda Rousey by Submission (Armbar) at 4:27 of round one. She improves to 5-0-0 and becomes the new Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion.

 

Just a few short hours before Tate and Rousey took to the cage, Kaufman (15-1-0) and Davis (11-5-0) engaged in a spirited number one contender’s bout that served as a rematch from the pair’s first meeting in 2007. Kaufman once again walked away with her hand raised, but she found herself in a much tougher battle than many had expected.

Davis was very aggressive with punches right away and seemed content to engage Kaufman in standup exchanges despite Kaufman’s reputation as one of the premier female strikers in the sport. Kaufman outlanded her foe as the round wore on and a deep gash was opened above Davis’s left eye. The fight was allowed to continue and Davis made the most of it by mixing up her strikes with punches, knees and body kicks. She cut Kaufman with an elbow late in the round.

It was more of the same in the second stanza, with Kaufman sticking to her jab and boxing-centred strategy while Davis circled and landed kicks and occasional knees. Both fighters began to show damage on their faces, but the pace remained high. While Kaufman looked to maintain a slight edge in the exchanges, Davis kept her guessing with her vastly improved striking.

The final round was all Davis. She landed knees and uppercuts in a clinch before taking Kaufman down to the mat. From there, Davis worked for an armbar from side control and prevented Kaufman from standing. When Kaufman looked to scramble, Davis took her back and hunted for a rear-naked choke. She could not get it, but she did land a series of punches from the top to close out the dominant round.

Davis’s late rally was not enough, however, and two judges awarded the close bout to Kaufman. A third ruled it even. Kaufman will now move on to face new champion Rousey at a date to be determined.

Winner: Sarah Kaufman by Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29) after three rounds. She improves to 15-1-0.

 

Tonight’s Tate-Rousey main event marked the first time that women had headlined a major Strikeforce card since August 2009 when Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos defeated Gina “Conviction” Carano. Santos is currently on the sidelines serving a suspension after testing positive for steroids. Carano is pursuing an acting career. Despite this, all four women on tonight’s card proved that female fighters deserve to be prominently featured on Strikeforce cards moving forward.

 

  1. I thought Ronda would win, even though I was rooting for Miesha.

    This showed what everyone already knew: she is a one-trick pony. In the whole round, she had Miesha in two nasty armbars. She hip tosses or trips her opponent and transitions to an armbar from there. Period.

    She showed close to zero stand-up skills, and, when Miesha was controlling the grappling, she didn’t seem too comfortable either. Prior to the last hip toss, Miesha was winning the round.

    Ronda is excellent at the only thing she can do.

    I like Kaufman’s chances here. She just needs to avoid leaving that hip close to Ronda in the heat of the fight (it was Miesha’s mistake).

  2. Whats great about tonight in regards to WMMA,

    Usually you have 1 fighter win and 1 fighter lose and the loser really takes a hit.

    However tonight in both victory and defeat all the women won and so did WMMA..

    Its a small step. But you have to take small steps. Its evolution.

  3. in regards to ronda rousey..

    This was a good fight for her. She got some much needed cage time. quivelent to her past 7 fights.

    She saw some hardship and will now evolve because of it.

    I thin she will realise and so will her striking coach that while in the gym she looks decent that degrades a little in the fight and needs work..also the chin being tucked..thats a hard thing to teach you realy have to drill the chin tuck while while doing all your training including bjj.

    She had her back taken and she defended well. miesha tate is no slouch. but i would call her crazy strong or super efficient at getting a rnc. so while rondas open, risky ground game means she doesnt stall out, which gives her more chance to finish via sub it also leaves her more open to submission.

    I know she doesnt train much bjj, i think that needs to change. Someone savy llike coenen would pose a much serious threat to rondas back however i dont believe coenen would have the ability to take the back as easy as tate.

    i also think ronda rousey hurt her left arm/shoulder. watch after the fight after tates interview she tries to wave to crowd but only lifts half way up plus judo gene lifts her arm up and she winces. and she was shying away from the camera..hope she get it taken care of.

  4. Sarah by jab.
    An injustice will be made right when Sarah destroys Ronda.

  5. Ronda’s face will be a mess after she fights Sarah. She definitely is afraid to get hit.

    Now, Sarah has to fight smart and avoid clinching.

    She has to punch and circle.

  6. I’ve become a fan of Miesha Tate, by the way. She has a heart. Very strong willed. She really believed that her wrestling could neutralize Ronda’s judo, and she went for it.

  7. You guys are just pissed she came in and is changing the sport so quickly. she is a fucking badass (rhonda)… im not knocking meisha…. but to say shes a one trick pony is a joke…. armbar works for her this is about winning not making people think you are a good dancer…. judo is adaptable and so is she, she proved this when meisha broke the first armbar… rhonda is all about the win no matter, she called it and she was right… i look forward to seeing her fight sarah as it will further legitimize her… damn the naysayers… shes like a improved tyson for mma…

  8. Rousey stepped up tonight and really showed herself to be a dominant destructive force. Kaufman might have won her fight, but I don’t think it’s indicative of her blowing through Rousey.

    Kaufman’s a good fighter, but Rousey has definitely brought something new to Women’s MMA.

  9. I am not pissed she came in and changed the sport so quickly.

    Her armbar is that good. BUT her personality is detestable. That’s all. So, yeah, I want her to lose. She needs some humbling. Hope Sarah hands her behind to her, even though I think will have to fight smart to win.

    Also, did Ronda do anything in the round other than putting Miesha in an armbar twice? I will give credit where is due. Her armbar seems unstoppable and she is so good at it that she likely can beat any woman in the sport. But can she do anything else? Even though Ronda seemed stronger, Miesha was outgrappling her prior to the last hip toss. If the round had ended 1 minute earlier, Miesha would have won it.

    The fight proved both that she is excellent, vicious and dangerous, but also that she is defeatable (and has an atrocious stand-up game). Someone like Amanda Nunes can defeat her if she lands a hard strike from the get-go. If she takes Nunes to the ground, she will finish her. That’s how it works for Ronda.

  10. i think you are wrong. she fights to win. she backed up everything she said. she called out meisha on the bs she spout and then basically made her pay for it.

  11. Rousey is The Name in WMMA right now
    She will handle Kaufman when that one comes up shortly
    and her star will shine brighter
    then maybe squeeze in a defense against Coenen or another veteren opponent
    and the star will shine brighter again
    before facing Cyborg and defeat her too
    and RR will be the biggest star ever in WMMA
    which will draw Carano out of seclusion
    for a mega-fight
    that RR will win easily