The Weekly Wrap: Feb. 27 - March 5

Strikeforce Challengers

Sarah Kaufman became Strikeforce’s first 135-pound woman’s champion on Feb. 26 in the first nationally televised female MMA fight to go five rounds.

The undefeated Canadian took five rounds from third-place 2007 Abu Dhabi finisher Takayo Hashi, keeping the fight vertical for the duration. Kaufman landed a straight right and left jab, the first of several hits that could have led to a finish, but remained conservative and content to rack up striking points. The fight improved Kaufman’s record to 11-0 and ended an eight-fight winning streak for Hashi.

The main event of the latest “Strikeforce Challengers” event didn’t rivet the 2,322 on hand at The Civic Auditorium in San Jose, Calif. Yahoo Sports reported that the audience began emptying the building after the second round.

The show put up decent numbers on Showtime, drawing a rough average of 160,000 viewers over two hours, a tick below the 172,000 “Challengers” record set in November for a Kerry Vera -Kim Couture fight. MMAJunkie.com reported the show’s audience grew to 189,000 viewers for the co-main-event between Karl Amoussou and Trevor Prangley.

That bout ended prematurely when Prangley’s index finger jammed into Amoussou’s right eye during a striking exchange four minutes into the fight. The 24-year-old Frenchman told a doctor he could not open his eye, and the bout was ruled a technical draw. The telecast brought Strikeforce Rules Director Corey Schafer into the cage to explain the chain of events.

The card also marked the emergence of a fledgling Strikeforce star, as American Kickboxing Academy product Luke Rockhold continued a career-long streak of first-round finishes by dropping Paul Bradley with counter right hooks and finishing with three body knees against the fence for the TKO. Rockhold, now 7-1, was referenced as a potential title challenger on the broadcast. The EA Sports video game company announced after the event that Rockhold will be a fighter in its upcoming MMA title.

Also picking up wins in eventful scraps were Hawaiian Yancy Medeiros, who handed Raul Castillo his first pro loss by shutting down takedowns and landing well-timed strikes en route to a decision, and Team Quest’s Tarec Saffiedine, who kept a high pace in defeating James Terry over three rounds.