Strikeforce Challengers VI: "Kaufman vs. Hashi" is all set for tonight (Feb. 26) at the Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California. The five-fight main card will air live on the premium cable channel Showtime beginning at 11 p.m. ET.
Strikeforce Challenger Series serves as a proving ground to promote up-and-coming (and lesser known) fighters. The events are similar to what Elite XC used to promote with its SHO XC: "Challenger Series" on Showtime.
Headlining the card will be hard hitting Canadian Sarah Kaufman and Japanese standout Takayo Hashi going toe to toe for the right to be named the first ever Strikeforce female welterweight (135 lbs.) champion.
MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the event, beginning with the Showtime telecast at 11 p.m. ET. In addition, up-to-the-minute quick results of all the other under card bouts will begin to flow around 9:00 p.m. ET.
Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the Showtime telecast to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment (or 10) before you leave and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show -- it always turns out to be a great discussion.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after "Kaufman vs. Hashi."
Strikeforce Challenger Series VI QUICK RESULTS:
Sarah Kaufman defeats Takayo Hashi via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) to capture the first ever Strikeforce Women's Welterweight Championship
Trevor Prangley and Karl Amoussou fight to a technical draw after an accidental eye poke at 4:14 of round one
Luke Rockhold defeats Paul Bradley via technical knockout (strikes) at 2:24 of round one
Tarec Saffiedine defeats James Terry via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Yancy Medeiros defeats Raul Castillo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Wayne Phillips defeats Eric Lawson via submission (armbar) at 4:27 of round one
Samuel Bracamnonte defeats Chris Stewart via technical knockout (strikes) at 0:59 of round three
Tristan Arenal defeats George Miller via technical knockout (strikes) at 0:30 of round two
Jesse Tobar defeats Phil Balducci via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:24 of round two
Renee Robinson defeats Lilia Salas via technical knockout (strikes) at 1:06 of round one
Steve Dickie defeats Alan Lummel via technical knockout (strikes) at 0:33 of round one
Ronald Carillo defeats Anthony De Los Santos via submission (armbar) at 1:20 of round two
Strikeforce Challenger Series VI PLAY-BY-PLAY LIVE MAIN CARD COMMENTARY:
James here!
Sarah Kaufman (10-0) vs. Takayo Hashi (12-1) Women's Welterweight Championship
Round one: We're underway with the first ever Strikeforce female welterweight title fight. Hashi misses with a leg kick. Kaufman shows a few jabs before finally connecting on one. Hashi with another leg kick. Big overhand right floors Hashi. Kaufman rushes in, but Hashi bounces by to her feet. Kaufman pushes Hashi's back to the cage and she's working some dirty boxing and knees from there. More knees to the body and legs from Kaufman. Separation from the referee now and Kaufman goes right back on the attack with the right hand. Now a right hand, leg kick combo lands for the Canadian. Big left hand, right hand combo lands for Kaufman and sends Hashi to the mat for a second time. Again she hops right back to her feet, but clearly Kaufman's power is an issue for here so far. Kaufman continues to stalk Hashi and lands another hard straight right hand that snaps Hashi's head back. Hashit is having a lot of difficulty landing punches in the exchanges, while Kaufman is landing at will. A kick from Hashi gets caught and Kaufman drills her with another straight right. She goes down again and Kaufman smothers her for a moment until Hashi somehow gets back to her feet. Leg kick misses for Hashi and Kaufman lands a left hook as the first round comes to an end. Kaufman easily took that round.
Round two: Kaufman takes the center of the cage and show her jab again right away. Now a right hand. Hashi doesn't want to see that anymore and she avoids it easily this time. Leg kick lands for Kaufman and now for Hashi. Hashi kicks again and Kaufman catches it, following that up with another hard right hand that puts Hashi on her butt again. Right back to her feet and Kaufman continues to push forward. Hashit with a decent right hand. Kaufman swings hard and lands a left hook, but Hashi does a nice job countering with a right hand of her own. Inside leg kick from Kaufman. She's been lazily leading those out there to set up her right hand. Now she lands the right hand. Hashi responds with a kick. Again Kaufman catches it and lands the right hand. Again a counter right hand from Kaufman off a Hashi low kick. Leg kick from Kaufman lands loudly. Nice straight body kick from Hashi. Overhand right from Kaufman to a backpedaling Hashi. Jabs from Kaufman. Left hook just misses for Kaufman. Nice three punch combo from Kaufman as the bell sounds. Another 10-9 round for Kaufman there.
Round three: High kick misses from Hashi. Kaufman on the attack now with a nice combo of punches. Hashi now with a nice one-two combo. Kaufman responds with another big right hand that floors Hashi again. But again the resilient Hashi is right back to her feet. She seems to be content with standing and trading with Kaufman even though Kaufman is clearly winning the majority of the exchanges. Another nice left hand, right hand combo lands for Kaufman. Inside leg kick, right hand combo from Kaufman. Double jab lands for Kaufman. Now a leg kick. Hashi throws a jab and eats another right hand. Leg kick from Kaufman. Now a hard leg kick from Hashi. Hashit leans in and eats another one-two combo from Kaufman. Another big right hand sends Hashi on the retreat. Inside leg kick now for Kaufman. Another right hand floors Hashi, but she's right back up. There is a pattern forming here. Kaufman with a left hand now. Hashi tries to initiate a clinch, but Kaufman is having none of that as she punches out with another hard right hand. Triple jab now from Kaufman and Hashi takes her first shot at a takedown. It's unsuccessful and the round comes to and end there. Kaufman 10-9.
Round four: Another wild high kick misses from Hashi to start round four. Inside leg kick from Kaufman. Right hand, left hand combo now from the Canadian. Double jab. Again, double jab. Leg kick. Kaufman is picking Hashi apart. Hashi shoots for the takedown but Kaufman defends nicely. They stay in the clinch and both fighters are jockeying for position. Knees and dirty boxing from Kaufman and now a separation from the referee. More jabs from Kaufman. Hashi punches and misses. Leg kick from Kaufman. Triple jab from Kaufman. Kaufman seems to be taking the cautious approach here, likely trying to avoid being taken down where she could possibly make a mistake against the grappling specialist. On cue Hashi shoots and Kaufman stuffs the takedown attempt. Back to the clinch and Kaufman is working some more dirty boxing. Kaufman punches out now with a big right hand. Hashi shoots again right away, but Kaufman shows a nice sprawl. Ground strikes from Kaufman now as Hashi continues to try and pull guard. Kaufman pushes away and they're back on their feet. Leg kick lands for Kaufman. Now another right hand. Twenty seconds to go in the round. Jab from Kaufman. A combo misses from Kaufman as the round comes to a close. Kaufman is in complete control of this fight. Hashi needs a submission or a knockout to win.
Round five: Hashi showing her jab to start the round and Kaufman nonchalantly lands a leg kick. Another. Hashi with a right hand, but Kaufman counters with one of her own. Left hook just misses for Kaufman. Double jab finds a home though. Again. Again. Again. Now Hashi shoots and again Kaufman shows a nice sprawl. Her gameplan execution has been on point tonight. She deserves to win this title if she does indeed close this fight out. One-two combo from Kaufman. Both ladies exchange leg kicks. Double jab from Kaufman. Hashi shoots and now she's trying to pull guard. She looks to have Kaufman's ankle for a moment, but the Canadian escapes and they're back on their feet. Very nice straight kick to the body from Hashi. Double jab from Kaufman lands again. She's scoring points with that, but not really looking to follow it up with anything big. More jabs from Kaufman and Hashi is complaining about an eye poke. There's a momentary stoppage before a restart. More jabs from Kaufman and Hashi shoots with thirty seconds remaining in the fight. Kaufman shrugs it off easily. Right hand from Kaufman lands. Hashi shoots again unsuccessfully and the bell sounds, bringing this fight to an end. Sarah Kaufman is easily going to take this decision. She is the first ever Strikeforce female welterweight champion.
Final Result: Sarah Kaufman defeats Takayo Hashi via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) to capture the first ever Strikeforce Women's Welterweight Championship
Trevor Prangley (22-5) vs. Karl Amoussou (11-2-1)
Round one: Both fighters feeling each other out for a moment to start. Now there's a HUGE exchange. Prangley appears to have got the worst of it with Psycho landing a couple hard punches. They separate and now they're right back at it with both fighters swinging away. Again Amoussou looks to have got the better end of the exchange. He hits hard! Prangley with a nice takedown now. He gets half guard right away and he's looking to pass. A couple nice body strikes for Prangley as he gets warned by the referee to get busy. Amoussou looks to be stalling for a stand-up and now he gets it. Hard right hand lands for Psycho. Prangley tries to clinch, but Amoussou circles away. Nice leg kick lands for Amoussou. Prangley charges and eats another hard right hand from Amoussou. Prangley now with a wicked right hand right on the chin. Another wild combo from Amoussou. Another exchange and Amoussou appears to have been poked in the eye. There's a stop in the action as the referee takes a look. Amoussou's eye looks like it's closed shut pretty good and there seems to be some discussion about stopping the fight. And that's exactly what they do. Amoussou can't see out of his eye and this fight is over. What a shame, this was shaping up to be a decent slugfest. I'm sure we'll be seeing a rematch somewhere down the line as this one ends as a no contest.
Final result: Trevor Prangley and Karl Amoussou fight to a technical draw after an accidental eye poke at 4:14 of round one
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Luke Rockhold (6-1) vs. Paul Bradley (12-1)
Round one: Rockhold just misses with a high kick, right hand combo. Bradley clinches and punches out. Lunging right hand misses for Bradley. Nice body kick from Rockhold. He's bringing some heat with his kicks tonight. Nice body punch for Bradley. Now a leg kick. Rockhold with another high kick attempt that gets blocked. Right hand lands right behind the ear for Rockhold. Bradley ends up on his back and Rockhold pounces! Bradley does a nice job recovering and now he's back to his feet. Very nice recovery for the All-American wrestler. Bradley throws an overhand right and Rockhold unloads with another huge right hand that sends Bradley flying to the mat for a second time. He jumps on the downed fighter again looking to finish him off but Bradley gets back to his feet. He looks rocked though and Rockhold continues to pour it on. He lands a big high kick followed by three knees to the body and that's it. The referee steps in and this fight is over. Another very very impressive win for Luke Rockhold. This kid is for real!
Final result: Luke Rockhold defeats Paul Bradley via technical knockout (strikes) at 2:24 of round one
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James Terry (7-1) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (7-2)
Round one: Leg kick lands for Terry. Now a high kick gets blocked. Tarec comes in with a nice combo. Both guys looking very quick. Right hand misses from Terry. Nice left hand, leg kick combo from Tarec. Terry charges froward with a punch, but Tarec easily circles away. Nice kick and right hand from Terry lands now. Hard left hand from Tarec. Leg kick from Terry. Hard one-two combo lands for Tarec. Terry shoots, but gets drilled with a knee. Nice combos from Tarec are landing. He seems to be winning the majority of the stand up exchanges. High kick just misses for Tarec. Terry tries to respond with a kick of his own but misses as well. High kick lands now for Tarec, but surprisingly Terry is still on his feet and Tarec can't capitalize. Hard overhand left lands for Tarec. Another as he slips a Terry counter punch. Terry shoots and get's a very nice takedown. He's into Tarec's full guard, but Tarec does a fantastic job getting back to his feet. Terry charges and just misses with an uppercut. A hard right hand lands for Tarec now. Left hand, leg kick combo lands for Tarec as the round comes to and end. Entertaining round. Tarec should be ahead 10-9.
Round two: Terry charges forward right away and eats a combo. Tarec follows it up with another hard right hand. Body kick from Terry. Another. Leg kick now from Terry. Tarec is doing a nice job working combinations with his punches and kicks. His left jab has been effective as well. Terry is bleeding from his mouth now. Tarec with another very nice combination of punches. Big overhand right from Tarec. Terry is throwing counters, but he's not landing much. Tarec is dominating the stand-up. Leg kick lands for Terry, but he eats a hard right hand for it. More combos from Tarec. Terry misses on a high kick and connects on a body kick. Hard right hand lands for Tarec. Terry shoots, but Tarec easily pushes him off. Hard leg kick lands for Tarec. That was loud! Left hand lands for Terry. Tarec misses on a wild overhand right. Terry tries to score a takedown off the miss, but he's unsuccessful. Jabs lands for Terry now. Tarec answers with another nasty leg kick. Terry responds with a body kick and Tarec fires right back with a right hand. The round comes to an end there and Tarec should be up two rounds to one at this point.
Round three: Tarec takes the center and comes out aggressive with punches and kicks even though he's likely ahead on the cards. He clearly wants the finish as he continues to attack James Terry. Takedown attempt from Terry almost works, but Tarec is able to defend it. Jab from Tarec. Terry is bleeding bad from under his eye now. He initiates a clinch and punches out with a hard right hand. Tarec with a knee now and he leans forward with a couple more jabs that miss their mark. Thai clinch from Tarec and he unloads two hard knees. Hard leg kick lands for Tarec as he lets out a big scream. More jabs land for Tarec. Terry on the offense now with an uppercut and a few jabs. Both guys landing punches now and the left side of Terry's face is a bloody mess. Tarec lands a hard right hand right on the cut. Terry misses on a high kick but connects on a hard leg kick. Tarec lands on the cut again with a minute left in the fight. Nice one-two combo lands for Tarec. Terry tries to counter with some wild punches, but Tarec is too technical and won't allow himself to make any huge mistakes. Tarec catches a high kick now and slams Terry to the mat. He lands right in the full mount position and rains down the ground strikes until the bell brings and end to the fight. Tarec should take this one 30-27 although Terry showed a lot of heart.
Final result: Tarec Saffiedine defeats James Terry via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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Raul Castillo (6-0) vs. Yancy Medeiros (4-0)
Round one: Gloves touch and we're underway. Medeiros takes the center and Castillo starts to circle around him. Medeiros jabs and connects. More circling and Medeiros lands another jab. Right hand, left hand combo now from Medeiros. Castillo lands a nice leg kick. Medieros swings wildly with a right hand, but Castillo ducks and shoots for the takedown. He gets it but Medeiros is right back to his feet. Castillo keeps the clinch though and he's working hard to get the fight back to the mat. Medeiros finally pushes out and goes on the offensive with punches. Castillo tries to counter with a takedown, but Medeiros shrugs off the attempt. Castillo now swinging like a madman but not connecting. Medeiros with another combo. Another combo misses and Castillo initiates another clinch. He's got a single leg attempt, but Medeiros is defending it nicely. He's got both legs now, but Medeiros pushes out after a trip attempt from Castillo. Medeiros back on the attack now with more punches. He lands a big right hand and Castillo is backpedaling. Knee now for Medeiros. Big punches landing for Medeiros and Castillo is in trouble. He shoots for a takedown as the bell sounds. Clear round for Medeiros.
Round two: Medeiros moving forward right away. He shows a jab and Castillo circles out. Castillo pays for a lazy takedown attempt with a nice knee from Medeiros. More punches and combos from Medeiros. Superman punch lands for Medeiros. Castillo continues to backpedal and circle away. He's not showing much offense. He tries a high kick that misses. Hard jab from Medeiros finds its mark. More punches and a nice front kick from Medeiros. Spinning backfist just misses. Medeiros is doing a nice job of taking his time and picking Castillo apart. Castillo just isn't doing much. Nice left hook lands for Medeiros. Another lunging left hook. Now a right lands on the chin. Body kick. Right hand. Medeiros is picking Castillo apart. Surprising jab from Castillo finds a home. Medeiros answers with more punches to the head and body. Medeiros swings hard and misses with a left hook. Castillo tries to capitalize with a takedown, but Medeiros does a great job staying on his feet and getting separation. Medeiros continues to stalk Castillo. Another takedown attempt goes nowhere for Castillo. The bell rings and that's another clear cut round for Medeiros.
Round three: Medeiros takes the center again and both fighters assume the same roles as the previous two rounds with Castillo circling away and Medeiros stalking him down. More jabs from Medeiros and he's landing with a nice flurry now. Castillo tries for another takedown, but again it gets stuffed. Medeiros is showing some very nice takedown defense in this fight. Castillo is working hard for it though as he is still latched onto Medeiros' leg. Finally the referee calls for a separation. Left hook lands for Medeiros. Nice three punch combo lands for Medeiros. Now a big knee lands for Medeiros. Castillo looks to be in trouble but now he's firing back and lands a knee of his own. Now Medeiros looks rocked. Wait, it was a low blow. Medeiros got hit below the belt with the knee and there's a momentary stop in the action. The ref strangely doesn't allow Medeiros is time to recover and forces the restart rather quickly. After a few seconds he looks to have recovered and now he's got Castillo in trouble again with a hard uppercut and right hand. Castillo goes down and pops right back up. Now he lands a right hand, but can't follow it up with anything else. He tries a high kick that gets blocked. He follows it up with another weak takedown attempt that again gets him nowhere. Straight kick from Medeiros. Big flurry from both fighters now with ten seconds remaining. Both fighters swinging for the fences as the fight comes to an end. Medeiros should win this fight 30-27.
Final result: Yancy Medeiros defeats Raul Castillo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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