Ladies Who Kick Ass: An interview with KO Artist Sarah Kaufman, eh!

Gal's Guide to MMA is back with another week of Ladies Who Kick Ass! (TM Pending) This week we bring to you THE KO artist of the female 135 lbs division- Sarah Kaufman. 

For those of you who might not be familiar with Sarah Kaufman, let's break down her rawesome for you. Sarah's MMA career has spanned near five years with a career record of 13-1. Pretty impressive right? Especially given the fact she has fought ladies like Marloes Coenen, Miesha Tate, Takayo Hashi, Shayna Baszler, Roxanne Modafferi... well you get the point. Sarah's fought the top of the division.

Not impressed yet? Then consider this. Sarah Kaufman has 10 T/KO victories thus far in her career. Count em. TEN. The lady finishes her fights in violent fashion nearly 77% of the time! If that doesn't impress you, then you must be a Gold fanatic and still depressed of Tiger losing his Woods.

We were lucky enough to sit down with Sarah after her 3rd round TKO victory over Megumi Yabushita on April 2nd. So follow your jump and enjoy some insight to our amazing friend from the North, and make sure to check back to Gals Guide to MMA all this week as we will be bringing you different fight videos every day! (Pssst. those of you who have only seen Sarah's Strikeforce matches, we are talking to you!)

1. Sarah Kaufman! My favorite neighbor to the north! How is the land of Canadia treating ya?

 Great as always, eh? haha

2. For those who aren’t acquainted with you…well there’s no forgiveness for such blasphemy. But everyone deserves a second chance, so enlighten the fools and tell us a little bit about the fighter that is Sarah Kaufman.

 Well, I'm currently 25 and have only ever lived in Victoria, BC. I train with Adam Zugec at ZUMA, as well as work with Tyler Goodale for my strength and conditioning. I'm also lucky enough to be able to have Greg Jackson in my corner as well - assisting with planning as well as being awesome! Other than that, I'm just a regular person who enjoys regular things like hiking, movie watching, puzzles, etc.

3. 75% of your fights have ended in vicious T/KO stoppage. Even those foolish enough not to be acquainted with you can probably tell how you fight just from that alone. But from your perspective, what is your thang? How do you like to work it in the cage?

 I think MMA is an amazing sport encompassing so many aspects of technique and athleticism. I would like to think that I am a proficient striker with wrestling and grappling to back it up...but mostly I like to punch people in the face repeatedly :)

4. Regarding those who do their thang outside the cage- Do you think there should be "Ring Boys" when women are fighting?

 NO - who wants to see guys greased up in tight shorts?

5. Who’s the best color commentator in the business?

 I enjoy both Michael Schiavello (sp?) and Mauro Ranallo for different reasons.

6. So how did you get started in this MMA business? Where and who have you been training with?

 I started Muay Thai with Adam Zugec at ZUMA when I was 17, then things took off and I ended up taking my first pro fight in June 2006.

7. You began your life as a dancer of all sorts right? How exactly did a dancer start beating people up for a living?

 I was a full time dancer in a company (about 20 hours per week) by the time I was 8. I did a mix of pretty much every style and enjoyed all of them for different reasons. I started with Adam for something different, and fell in love with both Muay Thai and grappling.

8. Do you think the dancing has given you any advantages in the ring? Did anything carry over well to MMA? Maybe footwork!

 Not really. I've been asked this a dozen times and people always want a different answer than what I give, but they really are 2 totally different activities.

9. We last saw you fight aaaaaall the way back in October, 2010. Why the long layoff? Any injuries? Did you want to take some time off? Or is Strikeforce just taking their jolly good time getting one of the best fighters on their roster back in the cage? (*Note* Interview was actually sent right before the Yabushita fight)

 The higher you get in rankings the harder it is to find quality promotions who are able to find opponents to fight. It is definitely harder to stay as active as I would like to be, but I'm hoping to be fighting under the Strikeforce banner within a few months.

10. You’ve had some really long layoffs, and some really short layoffs. I believe you didn’t fight for over a year after Hardcore Championship Fighting (The Canadian promotion which you reigned supreme) folded. But when you made your Strikeforce debut against Miesha Tate as a late replacement a few weeks after your last fight. Then only five weeks later you fought The Queen of Spades! Do you have a preference on how often you fight?

 If possible I would like to fight every weekend! I know that's not realistic though. If I could get 4 fights a year I would be satisfied. It's been unfortunate how some of my layoffs have stretched out due to different promotions opening and folding...but hopefully that's all done with now and I can try and get the 4 fights a year I would like.

11. Has Strikeforce told you who you will be fighting next? Or made any hints? Anything? We NEED to know!

 Right now still waiting to hear the plan. There was talk of a Liz Carmouche fight before she fought Coenen...so that fight would make sense. 

12. Is there anyone in particular, in any weight class or organization, that you’d like to get in the cage with?

Well Gina Carano is a big name and I think would be a fun fight... 

13. If you were a blade of grass, where would you be?

 In a rain forest

14. I fear being slammed so hard that the inevitable Apocalypse will be upon us all if I ask this… buuuuut… what’s your walking around weight?

 Generally between 153-155

15. Can you take us through a typical weight cut? How much is dieting? How much is water weight? Do you use IV’s or anything to re-hydrate after weigh-ins?

 In fight camp I get to about 147 then I cut the rest in water weight. After weigh ins I just rehydrate through fluids (no IV) and eat pretty much I would normally eat: chicken and vegetables, then add on some garlic cheese bread.

16. Speaking of the inevitable Apocalypse, is it going to be Zombies, Aliens, or Zombie Aliens? What’s your plan of action?? Rumor has it that it could be coming next Tuesday…

 Zombies bother me so I guess I'll go with Aliens?

17. What are your thoughts on the current Women’s MMA scene? What are you thoughts on how promotions with Women’s MMA are currently promoting their divisions?

 Promotion is never an easy job, but it would be great to see more women's matches getting more exposure on a regular basis.

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18. Any thoughts on the Zuffa purchase of Strikeforce and what it could mean for the 135 and 145 divisions housed there?

Currently Strikeforce is the biggest stage for females, and I'm hoping that the ZUFFA purchase will bring that much more exposure to us.

19. What’s the coolest thing since sliced bread?

 People falling

20. Tell us about the daily life of a Sarah Kaufman.

 Get up, workout, teach at ZUMA, eat lunch, teach at ZUMA, workout, go to bed

21.Tom, or Jerry?

 Which one was the cat, Tom? Mice creep me out

22. If you had one super power (besides World Ending Slams) what would it be?

 I don't think I'd want a super power...unless there was a way to never be wrong

23. What has been the most difficult moment in your career thus far?

 Knowing that I made a fatal error and lost a fight. It's hard not to feel like you have disappointed not only yourself, but your coaches and teammates.

24. What has been the highlight of your career?

 Winning my very first fight when I wasn't sure what fighting would be like or if I would be any good at it.

25. If you could communicate with one animal (besides humans) what would it be? Why?

 Raccoon - They are cute but vicious and seemingly hated by most people. I would want to know what they were thinking and how they felt about humans.

26. What’s your favorite curse word?

 I wouldn't say I really have a favourite

27. Before we go, is there anything you want to let the MMA fans of SBNation know who may not have heard of you before?

 If people want to get to know me a bit more they can always go to my website www.sarahkaufman.ca follow me on twitter @mmasarah or my fanpage on facebook www.facebook.com/sarahkaufman.mma!