STRIKEFORCE
CHALLENGERS - Results
02-27-2010
Denver,
CO
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Before a sold out crowd of
2,322, former ballet dancer turned undefeated
professional mixed martial arts (MMA) star Sarah
Kaufman (11-0) became the first STRIKEFORCE Women’s
Welterweight (135 pounds) Champion in history by
powering her way to a five-round unanimous decision
over Japan’s Takayo Hashi (12-2) in the STRIKEFORCE
Challengers main event at San Jose’s Civic
Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 26, on SHOWTIME®.
Luke Rockhold (7-1) continued his climb up the
middleweight (185 pounds) ladder with a stunning
first-round (2:24) TKO over Paul Bradley (12-2). A
middleweight contest between former South African
national wrestling champion Trevor Prangley (22-5-1)
and France’s Karl Amoussou (11-2-2) ended
prematurely after Prangley accidentally poked
Amoussou in the eye, leading to a doctor stoppage
and technical draw being declared.
From the outset, Kaufman pressed the action with a
stiff jab and one-two punch combinations, but was
unable to finish Hashi who repeatedly backpedaled
her way out of trouble. Kaufman landed her best
shots in the first round, dropping Hashi with a
straight right hand.
In the third stanza, Kaufman sent Hashi reeling back
and nearly put down the Japanese fighter for a
second time in the bout with a straight right hand.
After a Kaufman jab snapped Hashi’s head back, Hashi
responded by shooting for a takedown that Kaufman
stuffed.
A chess match ensued for the remainder of the bout.
Kaufman continued to score with her hands and right
leg kick while Hashi retreated to avoid imminent
danger. All three judges scored all five rounds in
favor of Kaufman.
In the first round of their much anticipated
matchup, Rockhold dropped Bradley with a right hand
to the side of the head. Bradley fought his way back
to his feet, but Rockhold quickly went on the
attack, scoring a head kick and following up with
three straight knee strikes to the body.
Badly battered from the series of blows, Bradley
turned his back, prompting the referee to
immediately stop the action.
As expected, Amoussou came out of the gates firing
punches at Prangley, who covered up and countered
the Frenchman’s assault with his own hands. Prangley
scored a takedown, but was unable to advance his
position from half guard.
After the referee stood up the fighters, Prangley,
with an open left hand, accidentally poked Amoussou
in the right eye. The ringside physician immediately
entered the cage and examined Amoussou, who was
unable to open his eye, and declared the fighter
unable to continue at the 4:14 mark of the first
round (According to MMA rules in the state of
California, the ringside physician has the
discretion to stop a bout in the event that an
accidental foul causes an injury).
In other action Yancy Medeiros (5-0) of Waianae,
Hawaii dominated Raul Castillo (6-1) at middleweight
with continuous flurries throughout the matchup
between the unbeaten fighters.
Medeiros stuffed Castillo’s repeated takedown
attempts and continued to pour on the punishment
with both hands, putting Castillo on the canvas with
a right hand in the third round. After an exchange
of shots brought the bout to a close, all three
judges awarded the fight to Medeiros.
Like Medeiros, Tarec Saffiedine (8-2) maintained an
all-out stand up offensive in a welterweight (170
pounds) fight with James Terry (7-2) for three
straight rounds, opening a cut on Terry’s lower lip
and bringing about a welt under Terry’s left eye.
Terry repeatedly attempted to bring the fight to the
mat, but Saffiedine defended the takedowns well and
responded with more strikes. After three rounds,
Saffiedine was declared a unanimous points winner.
Amongst those in attendance at Civic Auditorium, was
MMA's newest star, football legend Herschel Walker,
as well as STRIKEFORCE World Welterweight Champion
Nick Diaz, and STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight
Champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez.
During an interview with STRIKEFORCE Challengers
host Mauro Ranallo, Walker said, "(MMA) is the
toughest sport there is. To step in the cage and go
mano-a-mano, there's nothing like it. It is the
toughest training I've ever done."
Regarding his future in the sport, the 47-year-old
Walker said, "I will leave that up to my team at AKA
(American Kickboxing Academy, San Jose) when I get
back in the gym. We'll see if they say I am capable
of going again. (If they do), we'll do it again."
Complete STRIKEFORCE Challengers Results:
Main Card:
1. Yancy Medeiros def. Raul Castillo – Unanimous
Decision (3 Rounds) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2. Tarec Saffiedine def. James Terry – Unanimous
Decision (3 Rounds) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
3. Luke Rockhold def. Paul Bradley – TKO (knees to
the body) – 1st Round (2:24)
4. Trevor Prangley - Technical Draw - Karl Amoussou
(doctor stoppage after unintentional foul ) – 1st
Round (4:14)
5. Sarah Kaufman def. Takayo Hashi – Unanimous
Decision (3 Rounds) (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Preliminary Card:
6. Ronald Carillo def. Anthony De Los Santos –
submission (armbar) – 2nd Round (1:20)
7. Steve Dickie def. Alan Lummel – TKO (punches)
–1st Round (:33)
8. Renee Robinson def. Lilia Salas – TKO (punches) –
1st Round (1:06)
9. Jesse Tobar def. Johnson Nguyen – Submission
(Rear-Naked Choke) – 2nd Round (1:24)
10. Tristan Arenal def. George Miller – TKO
(punches) – 2nd Round (:30)
11. Samuel Bracamnonte def. Chris Stewart – TKO
(punches) – 3rd Round (:59)
12. Wayne Phillips def. Eric Lawson – Submission (armbar)
– 1st Round (4:27)
