Rousey Retains, Submits Kaufman in 54 Seconds
Written by Jordan Maskell
It didn’t take long for Ronda Rousey to retain her bantamweight title in one of the most highly anticipated women’s bout in MMA history. Last night’s Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman saw the champion dispose of her opponent Sarah Kaufman in a familiar style via armbar submission at 0:54 of the first round. Kaufman (15-2), a former champion, came into the event on a three-fight winning streak but stood little chance against the Olympic bronze medalist. Rousey (6-0-0) has now won all of her six professional fights with a first round armbar. After the fight she called out former featherweight champ Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, who is currently on a one-year suspension after testing positive for an anabolic steroid earlier this year, suggesting Cyborg “come down to 135 and let’s settle this.”
The co-main event featured Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza making quick work of Derek Brunson, knocking out the middleweight at 0:41 of the first round. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker had indicated the winner of the Souza-Brunson bout may very well be next in line to face middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, and it seems likely Souza will get his rematch. The former champ lost the belt to Rockhold in a five round unanimous decision last fall.
