Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman August 18, 2012 at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey (-475) Profile: Ronda Rousey (5-0) is an MMA sensation thanks to the unbeaten start to her career in the sport. While she may lack experience after making her pro debut less than a year ago, she has quickly become one of the most dominant fighters ever. The 25-year-old from Venice was a bronze medalist in judo in the 2008 Olympic Games and made her MMA debut as an amateur on August 6, 2010. Rousey turned pro after her first three fights, each of which ended with armbar submissions within the first minute. All five of her pro bouts have also ended the same way in the first round, with four of them decided in less than 50 seconds. The exception was her most recent fight against Miesha Tate on March 3 for the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight championship, which ended at 4:27 of the first round and gave her the title. Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Contender Sarah Kaufman (+325) Profile: Sarah Kaufman (15-1) is a much more experienced mixed martial artist as the former Strikeforce bantamweight champion with her only loss coming against Marloes Coenen by armbar submission in her second title defense on October 9, 2010. The 26-year-old Canadian has won three straight fights since suffering that lone loss, including two in Strikeforce, with one of those coming on the same card as Rousey vs. Tate on March 3. Kaufman earned a majority decision victory against fellow Canadian Alexis Davis in her last fight, and she has knocked out 10 of the 15 opponents she has beaten overall. She is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and also beat Tate by unanimous decision in her Strikeforce debut back on May 15, 2009. Opening Strikeforce Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has made Rousey a strong -475 favorite (bet $475 to win $100) against Kaufman, who is a +325 underdog (bet $100 to win $325) according to the MMA odds. Rousey is a feared fighter who has never seen the second round and not faced a real challenge yet. Kaufman is arguably her toughest test to date and could be dangerous if she can catch Rousey with a knockout punch, but otherwise this could have another similar result with an armbar submission. Another potential distraction for Rousey is that she already seems to be looking ahead to what could be the biggest women’s MMA bout ever against Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, as Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has already started building up the potential megafight, which is targeted for January.