Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

Former Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Champion Sarah Kaufman got back on the winning track with her tenth stoppage victory on Saturday night. Competing in front of her hometown fans, Kaufman stopped Japanese MMA legend Megumi Yabushita in the main event of AFC 5: “Judgment Day.”

Kaufman, who earned a standing ovation from the Victoria crowd, employed an effective strategy of jabs and counterpunches that wore Yabushita down as the fight progressed. Taking advantage of a Yabushita slip in round three, Kaufman rushed in with a flurry of punches to end the one-sided fight.

From the outset of the Armageddon Fighting Championship 5 headliner, Kaufman (13-1-0) held a clear advantage in the striking exchanges. Yabushita (19-18-0) was unable to land anything effective and she became visibly frustrated by the later stages of the opening round. Typically a boxer who is not known for her kicks, Kaufman mixed up her strikes against Yabushita and targeted her opponent’s body and lead leg with kicks throughout much of the fight.

By the end of the second round, Yabushita was spending most of her time circling away from Kaufman’s powerful punches, as the Japanese fighter grew even more distraught. Finally, in round three, Yabushita slipped on what appeared to be water on the canvas or the bottom lip of the cage fencing and fell to the mat. Kaufman rushed in and battered Yabushita with left hands until referee Brian Beauchamp stopped the fight. The end came at 3:34 of round three.

Full play-by-play for all of the fights on Saturday’s AFC 5 card is available here.

Following the bout, Kaufman expressed a desire to return to Victoria to compete in front of the fans in attendance at Bear Mountain Arena. With the future of the Strikeforce women’s divisions currently in question after the promotion’s recent acquisition by UFC subsidiary Forza, LLC, Kaufman may indeed receive an opportunity to fight in Victoria again, but it remains to be seen whether such a fight will take place under the Strikeforce banner or for another promotion such as Armaggedon.

Support women's sports and SHARE this story with your friends!

• MMA
• Sports

View Original Post at mmarising.com

View MMARising's Full Profile