B.C. Fighter Sarah Kaufman Likely For Strikeforce 135lb. Title Fight This Spring

Sherdog.com's Loretta Hunt recently spoke with Strikeforce president Scott Coker about promoting women's MMA in 2010. One bit of new information he offered was that, in addition to the women's 145lb title fight scheduled for January 30th between Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (8-1) and Marloes Coenen (17-3), Strikeforce is planning a 135 lb. women's title fight "sooner rather than later," "February or March" was mentioned as the likely time frame. Coker went on to say that Victoria, B.C. based knock-out artist Sarah Kaufman (10-0) is considered the front runner for that title fight along with Japanese fighter Takayo Hashi (12-1), who is 8-0 since 2005.

Kaufman, who trains at Zugec Ultimate Martial Arts (ZUMA) in B.C.'s provincial capital, began her professional MMA career with eight consecutive (T)KO victories in less than three years between June, 2006 and April, 2009. In May of 2009, Sarah moved up to Strikeforce's women's division, one of the toughest and deepest in the world, to fight the well-rounded Miesha Tate (8-2). They met at Strikeforce Challengers - Series 1, and the bout ended with Sarah Kaufman scoring a unanimous decision to hand Miesha Tate only her second career defeat. Sarah quickly followed that victory up with another convincing decision win over Shayna Bazler (9-6) at Strikeforce Challengers - Series 2 in June of 2009. Since that time Sara has been patiently awaiting her next fight and it now sounds as if that match will be a world title bout with Strikeforce.

Congratulations, Sarah Kaufman.

Scott Coker also announced that Strikeforce plans to hold two eight-woman tournaments at 135lbs. and 145lbs. that will determine the next title challengers. The winners of those tournaments will face the winners of the confirmed Santos vs. Coenen (Jan. 30th, 145lbs.) and the likely bout of Kaufman vs. Hashi (135lbs.).

Follow this and other B.C. MMA stories at the Facebook group, "B.C. MMA Fans"

Check out this highlight package of Sarah Kaufman available on Youtube.com and her official site:

"Rumble At The Rock" Brings Live Amateur Fights To Richmond; Jan. 23rd

Rumble At The Rock

At The River Rock Casino Resort
Saturday, January 23, 2010 @ 7pm

Richmond, B.C: West Coast Promotions is pleased to announce the first ever live amateur MMA event at the River Rock Show Theatre. With Vancouver City Council's recent approval of professional MMA in the City of Vancouver this is a great opportunity to showcase amateur MMA in Richmond.

For the first time in Lower Mainland MMA history, the bouts will be contested in a CAGE... (the way it was meant to be!).

Tickets range from $29.99 to $99.99 and are available through www.ticketmaster.ca or at the River Rock Box office which can be reached at 604.247.8562

What:10 Live MMA Fights

When: Saturday, January 23, 2010 @ 7pm

Where: River Rock Show Theatre, 8811 River Road, Richmond

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ca / 604-280-4444 or River Rock box office

The State of MMA in British Columbia: Welcome To The Wild, Wild West

As 2009 winds to a close, mixed martial arts remains outlawed throughout much of British Columbia. This is because many B.C. municipalities continue to delay the approval of sanctioning. For the most part, the hesitation stems from the negative reputation that MMA earned in its comparatively rule-free, early years. The legislative reluctance is also due to the fact that the average city councilor falls well outside MMA's primary demographic of 18-to-35-year-old sports fans.

Unfortunately for MMA fans, B.C.'s prohibiting municipalities include both Victoria, the province's capital city, and the entire Lower Mainland, its most populous region. This means that, while sanctioned fights are consistently being held in B.C.'s smaller centres, such as Nanaimo, the Southern Interior and Prince George, the majority of fans live hours away from the sites of these events.

The result, as so often occurs in cases of prohibition, has been the rise of an underground MMA scene in B.C. This wave of unsanctioned cage-fighting, which has been particularly prevalent in the Lower Mainland, often results in conditions that are much more dangerous for the fighters involved. It also makes it difficult for the average B.C. MMA fan to even locate a live event.

For example, Valleyfight holds monthly MMA shows at Corky's Liquor Bin on a Native Reserve in Chilliwack, B.C., but that undoubtedly-fine establishment simply isn't frequented by the average Vancouverite. As a result, most fans don't even realize that these fights are occurring in their region.

On Vancouver Island, successful MMA events, like the Armageddon Fighting Championship card that was held recently at Colwood's Bear Mountain Arena, are being held just outside the City of Victoria's jurisdiction. While these fights are well-attended, they must overcome the damaging stigma of being officially unwelcome within the capital's city limits.

But don't despair, change may be just over the legislative horizon.

Last April, Vancouver's city council came close to regulating MMA before shelving the motion at the last minute. Shortly thereafter, representatives from the UFC held closed-door meetings with Vancouver's Mayor, Gregor Robertson, which left them feeling encouraged that MMA would be sanctioned in the city in the very near future.

In fact, the UFC has tentatively scheduled an event for Vancouver in June of 2010. Word is, such an event would be held at GM Place-- the region's largest and most modern arena. Clearly, the UFC brass know something we don't. That fact leaves us with no choice but to desperately hope that their president, Dana White, isn't bluffing when he makes statements like this: "We're heading to Vancouver. We'll be there soon."