Canadian Sarah Kaufman won’t have to wait long to try to recover from her disappointing championship-fight loss to Ronda Rousey.
Less than two months since the Strikeforce defeat earlier this month, the Victoria native will take on Kaitlin Young on Oct. 6 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., at the all-female Invicta FC 3.
The 26-year-old Kaufman, who remains under contract with the Zuffa-owned promotion, lost by first-round armbar on Aug. 18 to the bulldozing bantamweight champion Rousey. Instead of waiting for the next opportunity to get back in the title picture, the Victoria native will take a break from Strikeforce and lend her experience and star status to the next show for the upstart women’s MMA promotion.
“Invicta FC has made huge waves for women in MMA over the last five months,” Kaufman said. “It’s been amazing to watch so many of the top women all fight on the same card, so I’m looking forward to be a part of their next show.”
The two fighters were originally scheduled to meet in 2008 in EliteXC before that organization folded.
“Kaitlin is a very strong 135 pounder,” said Kaufman. “She’s got a lot of height and is quite technical in many areas. I’m excited to get in there against her, especially in the wake of the worst performance of my career.
“I’m hungry to get back in there and prove why I’m ranked at the top of my weight class.”
A former professional dancer, Kaufman began training MMA after a martial arts studio opened underneath her dance studio seven years ago. Her competitive spirit pushed her to enter the fight world and, under trainer Adam Zugec, she reeled off victories in her first 12 professional bouts, defeating fellow former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate as well as superstar Alexis Davis and submission ace Shayna Baszler along the way.
Young, 26, looks to return to the win column following a second-round submission loss at the hands of rising star Liz Carmouche on the last Invicta FC card on July 28.
“Sarah is a great fighter who has made a big name for herself in the sport, so I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Young, who took up taekwondo at 14 and earned her black belt in the discipline before discovering Muay Thai.
To date, Young has earned six of her seven professional wins by KO. In her third start, she scored a memorable KO on Tate with a head kick just 30 seconds into their matchup.
Young earned “Fight of the Night” honours at the inaugural Invicta FC event, in a slugfest with Leslie Smith that ended in a split draw.
In the Invicta FC 3 main event, superstar Jessica Penne (9-1) of Laguna Hills, Calif., will face off against undefeated phenom Naho (Sugi Rock) Sugiyama (8-0) of Kyoto, Japan at atomweight (105 pounds) in the first-ever Invicta FC women’s world title bout.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt Shayna (The Queen of Spades) Baszler (14-7) of Sioux Falls, S.D., will return to action in the bantamweight co-main event and take on Invicta FC 2 winner Sarah (The Monster) D’Alelio (6-2) of San Jose, Calif.
Another Invicta FC 2 victor, Barb (Little Warrior) Honchak (6-2) of Bettendorf, Iowa, will collide with rising star and furious finisher Aisling (Ais The Bash) Daly (13-3) of Dublin, Ireland in a flyweight (125 pounds) contest.
Invicta FC will welcome one of the original pioneers of women’s MMA, submission expert Tara LaRosa (21-2) of Woodstown, N.J., who will lock horns at flyweight with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vanessa Porto (14-5) of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Leslie (The Peacemaker) Smith (3-2-1) of Pleasant Hill, Calif. will meet an opponent to be determined in a bantamweight matchup. Smith’s original opponent, Cat Zingano, has withdrawn from their scheduled matchup.
Michelle (The Karate Hottie) Waterson (9-3) of Albuquerque, N.M. will also make her first start under the Invicta FC banner against Lacey (The Ladie) Schuckman (7-5) of Lakewood, Colo. in an atomweight scrap.
In the leadoff main card bout, Julia (The Jewel) Budd (3-2) of Port Moody, Canada will meet Elaina (Beef) Maxwell (7-4) of San Jose, Calif. at featherweight (145 pounds).
The six-bout preliminary card will be topped by a strawweight (115 pounds) matchup between Carla Esparza (7-2) of Redondo Beach, Calif. and Lynn Alvarez (5-2) of Las Vegas.
Two undefeated prospects, Ashley Cummins (3-0) of St. Louis, MO. and Joanne Calderwood (3-0) of Glasgow, Scottland will collide at flyweight.
Amy Davis (3-3) of Idaho Falls, Idaho will face Stephanie Frausto (3-4) of Middletown, Ohio in an atomweight affair.
Fresh off her professional debut win at Invicta FC 2, Jessamyn Duke (1-0) of Richmond, Ky. will face unbeaten Marciea Allen (1-0) of Sioux Falls in a bantamweight battle.
Tecia Torres (0-0) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Kaiyana Rain (0-0) of Los Angeles, Calif. will make their respective professional debuts against each other at strawweight.
Unbeaten Xtreme Couture prospect Katalina Malungahu (2-0) of Las Vegas, Nev. will battle an opponent to be determined at featherweight after her original opponent, Taylor Stratford, was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a knee injury.
