Hard-hitting Canadian Sarah Kaufman will ply her trade against Miesha Tate, stepping in on short notice at the inaugural Strikeforce Challengers card which will take place at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California on Friday, May 15.


The bout, which will be aired live on Showtime, replaces the Kim Couture vs. Miesha Tate bout that fell apart when a Couture injury derailed the bout. Fresh off an impressive victory over Sara Schneider at the Palace Fighting Championship, the 23-year-old will be fighting in her highest profile bout in her short but successful 8-0 career.


“I’m very excited about this fight because I’ve been hearing about Miesha Tate for quite a while,” said Kaufman in a press release. “I know she has good wrestling and she’s been pretty active.  She’s probably going to want to take the fight to the ground and I’ll want to stay standing so it should be an interesting matchup.”


A student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Adam Zugec, Kaufman who had once studied to be a surgeon, will face her stiffest test yet against Dennis Hallman student that also sports an impressive 6-1 record of her own - but comes in as the decided underdog against the Hardcore Fighting Championship belt holder from Canada.
 
 
“I like being the underdog because I have everything to gain and nothing to lose,” said the Tate. “I think (Kaufman)’s in for a surprise because she’s probably figuring that she’s beaten opponents that fight similar to me.  But, she hasn’t fought me yet.”

The full card is as follows

MAIN CARD (BEGINNING AT 8:00PM - PDT):

Billy Evangelista (9-0) vs. Mike Aina (11-6-1) – 3X5 – 155Lbs
Lavar “Big” Johnson (11-3) vs. George Bush III (5-1) – 3X5 - Heavyweights
Sarah Kaufman  (8-0) vs. Meisha Tate (5-1) – 3X3 – 135 Lbs
Anthony “El Toro” Ruiz (21-12) vs. Aaron Rosa (11-2) – 3X5 – 205 Lbs
Isaac De Jesus (8-0) vs. Boa Quach (15-9-1) – 3X5 – 145 Lbs


UNDERCARD (BEGINNING AT APPROXIMATELY 6:00PM – PST)

Ben Holscher (debut) vs. Cody Cantebury (1-3-1) – 3X3 – 160lbs
Ousmane Thomas Diagne (debut) vs. Kaleo Kwan (7-9) – 3X5 – 155lbs
Zoila Frausto (1-0) vs. Avery Vilche (1-0-1) – 3X3 – 125Lbs