Kaufman KOs Modafferi with slam, defends Strikeforce belt

Women's 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufman finally got her first Strikeforce knockout at Roxanne Modafferi's expense.
Kaufman (12-0) ended a closely contested affair late in the third round with a power bomb-style slam that stunned challenger Roxanne Modafferi (15-6) for a technical knockout Friday at the Strikeforce Challengers show in Everett, Wash. The champion had won her first three fights in the promotion via decision, after knocking out all of her pre-Strikeforce foes.
It was the first knockout loss in the career of Modafferi.
The end came as the women were grappling on the ground after Modafferi pulled guard. Modafferi, from the bottom, appeared to moving up her legs to look for an armbar or triangle choke when Kaufman stood and lifted the challenger into the air.
Modafferi tried to grab her opponent's left leg to prevent the slam, but it was too late. Kaufman drove Modafferi's head to the mat and left her stunned and splayed on the mat.
The first two rounds saw the fighters playing to their traditional strengths. Modafferi, a grappler by inclination, opened the fight with a flying knee to quickly get close to Kaufman and work from the clinch.
"She came out crazy, just like I thought she would," Kaufman said.
Modafferi often had Kaufman on the defensive in the early clinchwork. She brought Kaufman to the ground once with a takedown, and although Modafferi did not do much damage before a referee stand-up, she appeared to control the flow of action enough to win the first round.
Kaufman superior striking asserted itself in the second round. She tagged Modafferi several times in exchanges and kept the fight standing, even when the challenger tried jumping to guard.
"I thought it was a pretty close fight," Kaufman said. "I thought Roxanne was starting to get tired and I could keep my strength up for longer. It was a lot of battling up on the cage."
Both women successfully executed their game plans in the final round. Kaufman got the better of the striking exchanges, but Modafferi scored a takedown and landed a bit of ground-and-pound. But Kaufman avoided taking much damage, eventually scrambled to her feet and kept it there until Modafferi pulled guard to start the final sequence.
Throughout this week, Kaufman has been open about her desire to move up from the Challengers circuit and fight on Strikeforce's top-level mixed martial arts shows. She repeated the sentiment after her victory.
"Get me on main cards on Showtime, guys," Kaufman said. "I think deserve it. Put me on there."
Kaufman is slated to face Marloes Coenen next. It will be the second consecutive championship fight for Coenen, who lost to 145-pound women's champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos in January.

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