Despite the efforts of top female fighters such as Tara LaRosa, an official decision on whether to instate a 125-pound women’s division in Strikeforce has not yet been made. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed tonight with MMARising.com that talks are progressing, but nothing is final.
Following this past Friday’s Strikeforce 135-pound women’s tournament, LaRosa commented that three of the four tournament participants could all easily make 125 pounds. Miesha “Takedown” Tate, the tournament winner, later stated that she could make 125 as well if necessary.
LaRosa (18-2-0) has competed at or near 135 pounds for much of her career and suffered just one loss in her first 19 fights, but recently opted to drop down to her more natural weight of 125 pounds. She was narrowly defeated in a 130-pound catchweight rematch with Roxanne Modafferi in May and campaigned for Strikeforce to create a steady 125-pound women’s division. Coker previously stated that he would like to bring LaRosa into the Strikeforce ranks, but only once a 125 division was established. As of now, a decision on when and if the division will be created has not been made.
Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (16-8-0), Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm (15-4-0) and Maiju Kujala (4-2-0), all of whom were in the Strikeforce 135-pound tournament, have competed at or just above 125 pounds on multiple occasions in the past. Should a 125-pound division be established, any or all of the three – especially Damm and Kujala – would be prime candidates to take part. Other possible roster members include “Slick” Sally Krumdiack (8-3-0) and Michelle Ould (4-3-0, 1 NC).
While Strikeforce has showcased fights at or near 125 pounds in the past, including a September 2009 battle between Jeri “Fists of Fury” Sitzes and Lacey “The Ladie” Schuckman, establishing a complete division for the weight class would require a significant amount of card space.
“Our priority right now is getting fights for our current fighters,” said Coker.
That has been an issue for Strikeforce in the past and the addition of a new division – especially one that is still just beginning to grow here in North America – may not make sense in the immediate future.
When asked whether it was more likely that the potential 125-pound women’s division would be created this year or early in 2011, Coker stated that nothing was certain but that dialogue was ongoing.