STRIKEFORCE RECAPS AND REPLAYS

On Saturday night, Ronda Rousey continued her domination of the female bantamweight division,

retaining her title over former champion Sarah Kaufman in less than a minute.

Catch the replay of both the main card and the preliminary card this week on SHOWTIME EXTREME!

SHOWTIME EXTREME REPLAY SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, August 21 at 10:30 pm ET/PT – STRIKEFORCE: Rousey v. Kaufman full main card

Thursday, August 23 at 10:30 pm ET/PT – STRIKEFORCE EXTREME: Tate vs. Kedzie full preliminary card

The full STRIKEFORCE: Rousey vs. Kaufman main card is currently available on SHOWTIME On Demand.

Click on the images below to watch, share, and embed the recaps from Saturday.

RONDA ROUSEY STUNS SARAH KAUFMAN IN OPENING MINUTE

Ronda Rousey secures the arm bar hold on Sarah Kaufman and refuses to release. Kaufman did her best to block the move by holding on to her wrist, but Rousey would not be denied in the main event Saturday night. (PHOTO CREDIT: ESTHER LIN/ SHOWTIME)

Rousey Records Sixth Consecutive Win Via Arm Bar, Retains STRIKEFORCE Bantamweight Title

Catch The Replay of Saturday’s Thrilling Fights:

- Sunday, Aug. 19 at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME

- Tuesday, Aug. 21 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME

- SHOWTIME ON DEMAND beginning Sunday, Aug. 19

SAN DIEGO (August 18, 2012)—Women’s mixed martial arts sensation Ronda Rousey defended her STRIKEFORCE Bantamweight Championship by besting former titleholder Sarah Kaufman via first-round arm bar on Saturday to cap a thrilling night of fights live on SHOWTIME. 

The undefeated Rousey continued her mind-boggling streak: six professional fights, six wins via first-round arm bar. Through those six fights, she has fought a miniscule total of seven minutes, 39 seconds as a professional. 

The former Team U.S.A. Judoka Olympian, and the first American woman ever to medal in that sport (Bronze, Beijing 2008), has been on a meteoric rise to stardom in recent months. Since her win over Miesha Tate back in March where Rousey captured the STRIKEFORCE Championship, she has appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s The Body Issue, appeared in Maxim Magazine (Sept. issue), been the subject of her own two-episode documentary series from SHOWTIME Sports, All Access, guest hosted TMZ, and appeared on Conan O’Brien’s nationally televised late night talk show. 

On Saturday, Rousey justified the attention with her ferocious ability and should expect the hype machine to continue. 

“Yes! You must believe the hype,” bellowed SHOWTIME Sports host and play-by-play man Mauro Ranallo shortly after the tap.

Other action from STRIKEFORCE:

     Welterweights (170 lbs.) 3x5

Tarec Saffiedine           UD (30-27, 3xs) over      Roger Bowling

(12-3)                        

                              
          (11-2)

Temecula, Calif.                        

                        Cincinnati, Ohio

                            Middleweights (185 lbs) 3x5

Anthony Smith             SUB (Rd 1) over            Lumumba Sayers  

(17-7)                        

                              
          (6-3)

Orange, County, Calif.                               

        Denver, Colo.                         
              

                             Light Heavyweights (205 lbs.) 3x5

Ovince Saint Preux           KO (Rd 3) over         T.J. Cook

(12-5)                        

                              
          (12-5)

Knoxville, Tenn.                                                 Ocala, Fla.

Preliminary Fights on SHOWTIME EXTREME

                        Bantamweights (135 lbs., Women’s Division)

Miesha Tate                  SUB (arm bar, Rd 3) over           Julie Kedzie

(13-3)                        

                              
                      (16-11)

Yakima, Wash.                         

                                     Albuquerque, N.M.

NOTE: Tate weathered a heavy storm of strikes by the veteran Kedzie to win an action-packed fight via arm bar in the third round.  Tate showed a tremendous amount of resiliency and heart in outlasting Kedzie. 

SHOWTIME will make Tate vs. Kedzie, which aired live on SHOWTIME EXTREME on Saturday, available for subscribers at SHOWTIME ON DEMAND™ within a few days.  More information on this is forthcoming.

     Middleweights (185 lbs.) 3X5

Adlan Amagov                         TKO over                      Keith Berry 
Albuquerque, NM.                                         

                Murrieta, Calif.
(10-2-1)                      
                                                   (12-10)

Featherweight (145 lbs., Women’s Division) 3x5

Germaine de Randamie            UD (30-27, 3xs) over      Hiroko Yamanaka

(3-2)                         

                              
                       (12-2, 1,  NC)
San Jose, Calif.                        
                                    Japan

Lightweights (155 lbs) 3x5

Bobby Green                            UD (30-27, 3xs) over      Matt Ricehouse
Fontana, Calif.                        

                              
        St. Charles, Mo.
(19-5)                                              
                              (6-1)

RONDA ROUSEY & SARAH KAUFMAN: FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

STRIKEFORCE Women’s Bantamweight Title Fight Tops MMA Event
 This Saturday, Aug. 18, Live On SHOWTIME^® (10 p.m. ET/PT); 
Preliminary Fights Live on SHOWTIME EXTREME^® (8 p.m. ET/PT)

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 16, 2012) – One of the most highly anticipated matchups of the year will transpire this Saturday, Aug. 18, live on SHOWTIME^® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) when popular MMA superstar Ronda Rousey makes the first defense of her STRIKEFORCE Bantamweight Championship against hard-hitting former titleholder Sarah Kaufman at Valley View Casino Center.

In other fights on SHOWTIME: Jacare Souza vs. Derek Brunson (middleweights); Tarec Saffiedine vs. Roger Bowling (welterweights); Lumumba Sayers vs. Anthony Smith (middleweights); and Ovince Saint Preux vs. T.J. Cook (light heavyweights).

The live undercard fights on SHOWTIME EXTREME^® begin at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). The fights: Miesha Tate vs. Julie Kedzie (bantamweights); Adlan Amagov vs.Keith Berry (middleweights); Hiroko Yamanaka vs. Germaine De Randamie (featherweights); and Bobby Green vs. Matt Ricehouse (lightweights).

What the main eventers said during the final press conference Thursday:

RONDA ROUSEY

“I've had fights that I arrived the day before having to cut weight, I've had a fight where I had a pit bull bite on my foot and stuff like that. It doesn't matter. I see Sarah as an opponent and I've trained harder for this fight than any other fight before. I respect her so much and I'm not taking any chances. If I get her arm I'm going to try and rip it off and throw it at her corner. If I get her to choke I'm going to hold onto it (for as long as I possibly can). If I get her to a knockout I'm not going to walk away. I'm going to try to pound her face into the ground. And that has nothing to do with whether I like her or respect her because she is a very nice chick. But every single time I come to fight I pretend as if it is my little sister's life depending on it and in that kind of situation nobody can ever beat me. I'm here to fight. I'm not here to do a little dance for you guys.’’

SARAH KAUFMAN

“I have done quite a bit of media and press myself and I do think that there have been certain aspects focused on Ronda and she has done a great job of handling it really well. I have no doubt that she has trained fully for this fight and I don't think that the press has really affected her at all. I try to do the same thing. I focused on my camp. I worked with my team. I train as hard for whatever fight I have coming up. I trained harder than any other fight because I train as if that is the most important fight that is happening. I feel really confident going into this fight and I'm confident that Ronda is going to bring it. At the end of the day someone is going to walk out with the belt and I want that person to be me. You don't want to come in and play patty cake. That's not what we are here for. We are here to show up and do everything we possibly can to win. It gets people excited and people want to see two athletes showing up and fighting and not just trying to outscore the other person. They want to see someone decisively win a fight.”