The first time Sarah Kaufman and Leslie Smith met in the cage, the two produced Fight of the Night at Invicta FC 5. That was April 5, 2013, and now, just over one year later, the two female bantamweights are set to tangle once again – only this time, it will be under the bright lights of the UFC.
This Wednesday at the TUF Nations Finale in Quebec City, Que., Kaufman meets Smith in a three-round matchup featured on the Sportsnet 360 prelims. Smith, who trains with the Diaz brothers at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in California, took the fight on just one week’s notice following injury withdrawals to Shayna Baszler, Kaufman’s original opponent, and Amanda Nunes, Baszler’s replacement.
But just because Smith’s coming in on short notice doesn’t mean she won’t be prepared, as just like the Diaz brothers Smith is known for always being in shape and always having excellent cardio. In fact, even with the short notice, I think Kaufman vs. Smith II has the potential to be Fight of the Night once again – only this time, it will be in the UFC where the two women have the chance to each earn a $50,000 bonus cheque, money that could change both fighters’ lives.
The first time these two met in Invicta, most observers (including myself) felt that Smith did enough in 15 minutes to pull off the big upset. Don’t get me wrong, the fight was very competitive, but Smith’s volume striking should have got her the nod. However, only one of the three judges saw it that way, and instead of Smith getting the biggest win of her career, Kaufman was rewarded with the split decision victory.
After that great fight, Kaufman received a call from the UFC and was immediately booked for a top-five matchup against Sara McMann, although the fight was eventually scrapped when McMann pulled out due to personal reasons. Smith, meanwhile, was not given a UFC contract offer, and instead of continuing on as a bantamweight, the five-foot-nine fighter decided to drop to flyweight, where she won another Fight of the Night against Jennifer Maia to earn a title shot against Invicta’s 125-pound champ Barb Honchak.
For whatever reason, though, while Smith looked great against Maia, she just looked extremely flat against Honchak when the two met at Invicta FC 7 last December, dropping a clear-cut unanimous decision. It was a five-round fight and it’s very possible the weight cut to 125 pounds for the five-foot-nine fighter took too much of a toll out of her, so anyone who thinks she’s on the downside of her career or something like that is wrong. No, she was just fighting in the wrong weight class, for while she can make 125 pounds, Smith’s a better fighter at 135, no doubt about it, and the move back to bantamweight is definitely the best thing for her career.
Since women began fighting in the UFC Octagon last February, the ladies have given the fans nothing but exciting fights, and it’s been very rare to have a stinker bout between two female bantamweights. In Kaufman’s case, she’s only had one fight in the Octagon, an exciting split decision loss to Jessica Eye at UFC 166 that was overturned to a No Contest following Eye testing positive for marijuana metabolites. But the fans will remember her from that fight and also from her Strikeforce run. Smith, though, has only fought in Invicta (and once in Bellator) and, right now at least, many UFC fans don’t know who she is. But come Wednesday night, I think everyone is going to know who she is because I expect her to put on a show with Kaufman in Quebec City and emerge as a new star in the UFC bantamweight division, and potentially as a future title challenger to divisional champion Ronda Rousey.
With an exciting fighting style, a no-care attitude in the cage just like the Diaz brothers, and with a tremendous chemistry with Kaufman that is already proven, Smith can really break out as a star this week and jump right into title contention with an exciting win over Kaufman. And for Kaufman, the Canadian, this rematch against Smith gives her a chance to prove all the doubters that thought she lost the first fight wrong and it will give her an opportunity to get a win and jump right back into the title mix. And when you put all of that together, you have the potential for not just Fight of the Night, but Fight of the Year, as well. Don’t blink, fight fans, because Smith and Kaufman are about to steal the show.
