UNDEFEATED SARAH KAUFMAN STEPS UP TO FACE MIESHA TATE AT STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS MAY 15

Live on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT
From Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

NEW YORK (May 4, 2009)—Undefeated power puncher Sarah Kaufman (8-0) will fill the void left by Kim “Sugar Free” Couture and throw down with fellow rising star Miesha Tate (6-1) in a 135-pound contest during the SHOWTIME® televised portion of the inaugural Strikeforce Challengers mixed martial arts (MMA) event at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., on Friday, May 15.

Couture’s withdrawal last week created an ideal opportunity for the 23-year-old Kaufman, who is in fighting form after stopping Sara Schneider in the second round of their matchup on April 23. Kaufman has never been taken the distance in a professional fight.

“I’m very excited about this fight because I’ve been hearing about Miesha Tate for quite a while,” said Kaufman, a former dancer who hails from British Columbia, Canada. “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.”

Punching and kicking opponents is a far cry from Kaufman’s former passion. She’s been dancing since the ripe age of two. At eight years old, the five-foot, five-inch Kaufman joined a dance company and soon after began performing in musicals, dancing to everything from ballet to jazz to hip-hop.

It was a few years ago that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Adam Zugec opened an MMA school directly underneath the dance studio where Kaufman practiced daily. After trying a single aerobic kickboxing class, she quickly gravitated towards martial arts.

“I’m very competitive by nature so I just pushed myself and eventually started competing in grappling tournaments,” explained Kaufman.

“One day, an opportunity to fight came up so it just seemed like the next logical step for me at that point. There wasn’t anywhere else I could go with dance unless I wanted to turn professional so I put the dancing aside.”