After 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.
Strikeforce came to the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio tonight for Strikeforce: “Tate vs Rousey.” The card was headlined by a Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship grudge match between champion Miesha “Takedown” Tate and Olympic medallist “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey.
Jewels Lightweight Queen Champion Ayaka Hamasaki will make the next defence of her title against Japanese legend Yuka “Vale Tudo Queen” Tsuji at Jewels: “19th Ring” on May 26th. The event will take place at Azalea Taisho Hall as the promotion travels to Osaka, Japan for the first time.
Japan’s all-female Jewels promotion staged its first event of 2012 tonight at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo, Japan. Jewels: “18th Ring” was headlined by a bout between Mika “Future Princess” Nagano and Emi “Kamikaze Angel” Fujino. Both fighters were looking to climb back into title contention.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia today for UFC on FX 2: “Alves vs Kampmann.” The card was headlined by a pivotal welterweight showdown between former top title contenders Thiago “Pitbull” Alves and Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann.
UFC Lightweight Champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson earned a close but Unanimous Decision victory over former champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar at UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan. Henderson ascends to the number one spot in the lightweight rankings and awaits his first title challenger.
On Saturday night in Riverside, California, standout wrestler Carla Esparza will compete in the first five-round title fight of her two-year MMA career at MEZ Sports: “Pandemonium 6.” Esparza faces Angela Magana, a woman who helped to inspire her to pursue MMA just a few short years ago.
The lineup for the inaugural Cage Warriors 125-pound women’s tournament is now complete. Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff will face Brazilian prospect Jennifer Maia in the first semi-final bout at CWFC: Fight Night 4 on March 16th at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.