Ladies First: MMAmania.com Strikeforce Challengers interview exclusive with Sarah Kaufman

Strikeforce will crown Women's Champion number two on February 26 at the Challengers 6 event set to take place at the Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California.

The undefeated Canadian Sarah Kaufman (10-0) will take on one of Japan's finest fighters in Takayo Hashi (12-1) with the vacant 135-pound title up for grabs.

145-pound fighters Cris "Cyborg" Santos and Gina "Conviction" Carano may have grabbed virtually all the headlines over the past few months when it comes to women's MMA, but now it is time for the 135-pounders to shine and for new stars to emerge.

The 24-year-old Kaufman took some time out of her busy training schedule to discuss her MMA background, using Greg Jackson as a consultant, how to approach Hashi, and her thoughts on Brock Lesnar's recent rant on the Canadian healthcare system.

Check it out:

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): I want to introduce you to our readers. Can you give me a quick background on how you got into MMA originally and how long you've been training?

Sarah Kaufman: I started when I was 17. My coach Adam Zugec opened up his school Zuma Martial Arts right underneath my dance studio. I did ballet, tap, and jazz. It was kind of the full mix of everything. I started going to the gym for something fun to do but I have a very, very competitive side. For me, trying to excel in something that I was actually terrible at when I started was a big challenge for me. I really kind of took that on and then it led to me getting into the fighting.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you still train at Zuma today on a regular basis? Are they training you for your upcoming fight?

Sarah Kaufman: Yes, I'm still training at Zuma in Victoria, British Columbia. Adam has been my one and only coach in terms of my martial arts. He is the main coach for pretty much all of my MMA training. And then I have Tyler Goodale who does all my weights and conditioning. Greg Jackson hangs out with us as well, which is cool.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Does Greg help you out with your game planning and that aspect of fighting?

Sarah Kaufman: Adam pretty much does my game planning and then we just kind of talk with Greg to see if he has anything to add on top of that. We go back and forth with him.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Not too many people out there are familiar with your opponent Takayo Hashi. How would you describe her fighting style and her overall skill set?

Sarah Kaufman: I would say that I don't know a ton about her. She's pretty hard to find a ton of information on. She's ranked #2 and I'm ranked #1. On paper it looks like it will be a great fight. She is primarily from a grappling camp. I would expect her to probably come in and take me down and either go for a submission or hold me on the ground.  

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you have an official prediction for the fight?

Sarah Kaufman: I would like to finish this fight. My first eight were either KO or TKO and then my last two have been great fights, but decisions, so I would like to make it nine KO's or TKO's.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): What would a Strikeforce belt mean to you?

Sarah Kaufman: I just think it is such a huge opportunity. For myself, it is a goal to win a title on a big stage. From a fighting sense that is what I want to do, put on the best fights that I can. I'm honored that I get the first chance to fight for the 135-pound title. I really think Strikeforce is doing an awesome job putting on these big women's fights, which will bring in even more females and make the divisions get bigger and bigger.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You already have Hardcore Championship Fighting belt you earned after your sixth fight in Canada. Where do you keep it?

Sarah Kaufman: That is on a shelf right when you walk into our gym.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): The winner of the 135-pound tournament will likely face the winner of your fight. Who do you think will be left standing once the tournament has concluded?

Sarah Kaufman: I really have no idea who is even going to be in the tournament. If they released all the names I'd have a better prediction. At this point I have no idea who they are going to throw in there.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): The first Strikeforce female champ is Cris "Cyborg" Santos. She's been rolling through everyone. There aren't too many contenders left at 145 pounds for her. Would you be willing to move up and fight her in the future if need be?

Sarah Kaufman: That is something that I would consider. I would consider it for kind of like a "superfight" kind of thing, but my main goal is to fight at 135 pounds and get that title. Then we can talk with Strikeforce and see if that is something that they want.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): What fighters out there, male or female, do you enjoy watching as a fan of the sport?

Sarah Kaufman: I enjoy a lot of different fighters ... BJ Penn. He is probably my favorite fighter - for so many reasons. I really like watching him. He is an awesome ground guy. He has great standup. He seems pretty cool. I really like watching everyone for different things. We actually have a couple of up-and-coming guys from our gym here that I just love watching in Diego Wilson and Tarek Gabali. They both have three fights and finished all three in the first round. Diego is more of a ground guy and Tarek has knocked everyone out.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Before I go I want to ask you about Brock Lesnar's recent thoughts on the health care system in Canada. He said, "It was like I was in a third world country." Would you care to comment on his statement?

Sarah Kaufman: I'm pretty lucky. Anytime I've needed something I've gotten it, so I can't really say it is a third world country. I think it works well for us. Sometimes there are delays but I'm lucky and don't get sick or injured too often. I haven't had too much experience with that.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Any message you would like to pass along to your fans out there or any sponsors you would like to thank?

Sarah Kaufman: At this point I'd like to thank TCB and Performance MMA. TCB means "taking care of business." They've both been very good to me signing on for this fight and hopefully for the future. I really hope fans watch this fight. It will be an exciting fight and I really want to pull myself away and really showcase what I'm capable of. Look out for this fight. I'm going to be fighting hard.

Derek Bolender is a frequent MMAmania.com contributor. He is also a syndicated writer to FoxSports.com and SI.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter.