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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Showtime Extreme portion of Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey ended on a high as Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis battled in an exciting scrap.

The number one contender to the Bantamweight championship, Kaufman, took a majority decision (29-29, 29-28, 29-28) before taking to the mic to state her case.

The two fighters battled in a wild and entertaining scrap that got the Columbus crowd off their feet early. It was clear in the first round that Kaufman had the power advantage by landing huge punches that opened a cut on Davis’ eye. But this did not stop the underdog Davis from standing in the pocket and exchanging with Sarah Kaufman.

The second round had more of the same. The two clinched up but neither landed anything significant and found themselves back throwing down in the center of the Strikeforce cage. Davis landed several good kicks and knees to the legs and midsection of Kaufman, but it was the #1 contender’s power that did the visible damage on Davis’ face.

As the third round began it was more of the same from the two top women’s bantamweights. Davis landed several good knees from the Thai clinch before finding a takedown later in the round. The savvy grappler worked for submissions to finish the fight but Kaufman was up to the task and defended until the horn sounded the end of the fight.

The crowd gave the two combatants a standing ovation.

As the decision was read for Kaufman the Columbus crowd boo’d until Strikeforce announcer Mauro Ranallo said to give it up for both fighters and the crowd rose to the feet once again to celebrate the excellent fight.

“So happy to get in there and get a little bloody,” said Kaufman. “That was the first time I’ve been cut and I thought we put on an awesome show.”

Post-fight Alexis Davis had only this to say, “I told everyone this fight should’ve been on the main card! You can’t let it go to the judges. Congrats to Sarah.”

In the post-fight interview Sarah Kaufman made no bones about the fact that she is the division’s number one contender and is ready and willing to fight either of the main event’s participants for the championship belt.

“The belt that Miesha and Ronda are fighting for tonight is my belt. No one else should have it and I’m coming after whoever gets the win tonight!”

CompuStrike Stats (Kaufman-Davis):
Total Strikes Thrown: 376-290
Total Strikes Landed: 166 (44%)-172 (59%)
Total Power Strikes Landed: 68-80
Arm Strikes Thrown: 331-155
Arm Strikes Landed: 141-63
Leg Strikes Thrown: 45-74
Leg Strikes Landed: 25-55
Takedowns: 0-1
Ground Strikes Thrown: 0-61
Submission Attempts: 0-1
Dominant Positions: 0-2

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This post is related to an event on our Calendar:

• Strikeforce: Ronda Rousey vs Miesha Tate, Sarah Kaufman vs Alexis Davis

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• MMA: The Women are Here to Stay

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