Sarah Kaufman is the forgotten name in the UFC women’s bantamweight division.
Forgotten may not even be the correct word—overlooked feels like a more proper fit.
Despite a sterling 16-2 record (with one No Contest), a brief reign as champion of the weight class under the Strikeforce banner, and victories over Miesha Tate, Liz Carmouche and Alexis Davis (twice), the Victoria, B.C., native’s name rarely comes up when talks turn to the top contenders in the UFC’s initial women’s division.
Part of it can be chalked up to bad timing—Kaufman was the last to challenge current champion Ronda Rousey for the title back in Strikeforce and missed out on a high-profile pairing with Sara McMann when the Olympic silver medalist pulled out of the bout for unspecified personal reasons.
While McMann was elevated to a title shot after withdrawing from the contest, Kaufman went from missing out on a co-main event opportunity to coming out on the wrong side of some questionable scorecards against UFC newcomer Jessica Eye two months later at UFC 169. Though the result was ultimately overturned after Eye tested positive for a banned substance, the bout and bad decision didn’t help Kaufman move up in the rankings or public opinion.
Part of it can also be attributed to public perception about her performance in the cage.
It’s hard being a methodical and tactical boxer in an arm-collecting world. Framed opposite the tremendously athletic champion and her string of finishes, Kaufman’s style of wearing down opponents with a steady diet of hands doesn’t draw as many cheers or provide nearly as many highlight reel moments, but it has been effective nonetheless.
Lastly, part of the reason a fighter with such an impressive resume has managed to slide under the radar and off the list of contenders is because the UFC hasn’t given the Canadian the same kind of push they’ve afforded athletes like McMann, Tate and Carmouche, who happen to face each other in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC on FOX event despite a combined 1-4 record in the UFC.
Where McMann was brought from relative obscurity to under the microscope for her UFC 170 showdown with Rousey, Kaufman has been brushed aside and shuffled further off the grid, landing on the preliminary card portion of today’s TUF Nations Finale event in Quebec City despite the fact that she’s the only fighter on the card — male or female — to have held a title in a major organization and shares the distinction of being the highest-ranked fighter on the card with one of the event’s headliners, Michael Bisping.
As much as some of that is a function of there being several high-profile potential challengers angling for a shot at Rousey in the future, it’s also a function of the UFC choosing not to put any additional effort into promoting and marketing Kaufman.
But none of that will matter if things go her way later today.
At a certain point, performances are still what capture the audiences attention most, and if Kaufman can turn in the kind of performance Sportsnet’s Adam Martin believes is possible when she faces off with Leslie Smith for a second time in three fights this afternoon at Colisee Pepsi, the Zuma Fight Team representative will have made her case for most attention and a much bigger name opponent going forward.
Earlier this week, Kaufman stated that with a victory over Smith, a durable veteran stepping up to make her UFC debut on short notice, she’d like to make a quick turnaround in order to face the winner of Saturday’s Tate-Carmouche contest or unbeaten Cat Zingano as part of the UFC 174 fight card in Vancouver.
While the rapid return to the cage may be wishful thinking, the requested opponents feel right, and adding McMann to that list would make sense too, given that their first encounter was scuttled.
Kaufman may not be the flashiest fighter in the division, but she’s one of the most experienced and successful competitors in the weight class, and one that should be facing stiffer competition than she was scheduled to face and ultimately is still facing here.
Smith is hard-nosed and undoubtedly a tough out, but she’s also just 6-4-1 overall in her career, with her best win coming against TUF 18 alumnus Raquel Pennington. Kaufman’s original opponent, Shayna Baszler, is one of the true pioneers of women’s MMA, but she was bounced in the quarterfinals of The Ultimate Fighter 18 by eventual winner Julianna Pena and has just one win (from three official fights) in the last 3 ½ years.
With a dominant victory over Smith, the Canadian should eschew her usual politeness and the standard “I’ll fight whoever the UFC wants me to fight” platitudes and demand a significant step up in opponent and fight card placement for her next bout. After all, it has worked for others with less impressive resumes in the past, so why not give it a go?
Kaufman has the credentials to be on the short list of title contenders in the women’s bantamweight division, and can solidify that standing with a win later today.
Should that happen, the UFC will have no choice but to back Canada’s other top female talent as well.