Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC 186 stormed Bell Centre last Saturday (April 25, 2015) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Kyoji Horiguchi, who was submitted in the final second (literally) by Demetrious Johnson in their five-round championship fight (see it again here). And Fabio Maldonado, who finally got the match up he wanted against Quinton Jackson, only to come up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision loss (video replay here).
But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?
Sarah Kaufman.
The former Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion looked to go three-for-three against Alexis Davis after pretty much having her way with her two previous times. In doing so, the Jackson-Winkeljohn-trained mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter would inch herself up the division rankings.
Also, a win would go a long way in securing another fight against Miesha Tate, a foe Kaufman just can't seem to get out of her mind.
Something that may have been the former champ's downfall, as Kaufman found herself tapping for dear life in round two after Davis used her underrated Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills to lock in tight armbar to get the all-important win and avoid the 3-0 sweep.
It also helped Davis erase the memory of getting steamrolled by current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's bantamweight champ, Ronda Rousey, in just 16 seconds in her previous outing.
For Kaufman, it's a devastating loss, especially after talking quite a bit in the lead up to the bout. But, her fire wasn't aimed at Davis, but rather the aforementioned Tate, as the stand-up specialist simply couldn't help but to express her disappointment in not getting her much-desired rematch (read about it here).
Tate moved on rather easily, but Kaufman simply couldn't let it go. Even after her loss in Canada, Kaufman simply couldn't stop pleading for a fight against Tate. I get it, you want to "smack the smirk off her face," but calling for a fight against a person who is close to a title shot, after losing yourself, isn't necessarily the best look.
Was Kaufman's mind elsewhere on fight night? Was she overlooking Davis after beating her decisively on two previous occasions? Who knows.
It could simply be that Davis was the better fighter last Saturday. Davis will move and perhaps climb the rankings, while Kaufman will look to get back on track once again.
So who should she take on next?
Well, it won't be Tate, so perhaps a bout against Cat Zingano -- who is easing her way back to the Octagon -- could be in the cards. Kaufman wants it, so maybe "Alpha" would be ready and willing to trade leather with another former Strikeforce champ.
Unless, of course, you have a better idea.