Former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Sarah Kaufman makes her long-awaited return to action on December 19th at UFC on FOX 17: “Dos Anjos vs Cerrone 2” in Orlando, Florida. Kaufman is set to face multi-time Muay Thai world champ Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie.
UFC officials confirmed the bout today following an initial report from The Orlando Sentinel. Kaufman looks to rebound from a submission setback in her April trilogy fight against fellow Canadian Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis. De Randamie got herself back on track with a stoppage win at UFC 185.
Kaufman (17-3-0, 1 ND) has encountered ups and downs during the past three years since her unsuccessful bid to regain Strikeforce gold from current UFC champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. Kaufman’s UFC debut in October 2013 initially ended in a razor-thin Split Decision loss, but the result was later overturned to a No Decision when opponent Jessica “Evil” Eye tested positive for marijuana metabolites. Kaufman notched her first UFC win in April 2014 by defeating Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith for a second time, then sat out for a year before falling to Davis at UFC 186.
De Randamie (5-3-0) kicked off her UFC career in July 2013 with a hard-fought Split Decision win over veteran contender Julie “Fireball” Kedzie. The elite striker returned to action just over three months later and suffered a one-sided loss to fast-rising contender Amanda “Lioness” Nunes. Following a lengthy hiatus, de Randamie stepped back into the Octagon at UFC 185 in March and picked up one of her most dominant victories to date when she stopped Jungle Fight champ Larissa Moreira Pacheco in the second round of a featured matchup.
UFC on FOX 17: “Dos Anjos vs Cerrone 2” takes place on December 19th at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The event is headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship rematch between Rafael dos Anjos and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
(Photo Credit: UFC)