*Spoilers* Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman - Aug 18, 2012

***jnp*** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 5:55pm

I'm really looking forward to this fight. I think Kaufman has a better chance than anyone else to strike and circle away from Rousey in order to avoid Ronda's grips.

I doubt that Kaufman can evade the Judoka's grip for all three rounds however. So it comes down to whether or not Kaufman can sufficiently beat up or knock out Rousey before the grappler can close the distance to get her hands on the striker.

**Devil** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 7:32pm

Originally Posted by judoka_uk

So far, every fight Ronda has gone into, people have been predicting that she will get stopped by strikes and that her lack of striking will catch up to her.

They said it about Tate, they said it about Budd and they said it about whoever was before them.

Rousey via armbar before the end of the second round.

She only has five professional fights. It's still early in her career and it's not too late for those people to be right.

I'm not trying to say I think Ronda Rousey sucks balls. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being surprised as hell I would be at about a 1 if she armbars the **** out of Kaufman. But I do think she's got a glaring weakness in her game that she won't be able to fix easily. And I think a lot of knowledgeable MMA fans are overlooking that weakness because of the hype.

I'll change my mind when she beats Cyborg or LaRosa.

**goodlun** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 8:01pm

Originally Posted by Devil

I think a lot of knowledgeable MMA fans are overlooking that weakness because of the hype.

I think a lot of fans are overlooking the weakness because it wasn't until strikers could stop the take down did they start being able to compete. The real question here isn't what Rousey is going to do about the striking its what Kaufman is going to do about the takedown cause she can't just practice sprawling.

**Bneterasedmynam** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 8:04pm

Rousey is a real artist with judo, this match is a must see.

**blackmonk** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 8:07pm

Originally Posted by goodlun

I think a lot of fans are overlooking the weakness because it wasn't until strikers could stop the take down did they start being able to compete. The real question here isn't what Rousey is going to do about the striking its what Kaufman is going to do about the takedown cause she can't just practice sprawling.

Man, great post. Training to fight Rousey is so much different than for other fighters, exactly for that reason... You can't just sprawl. All the little idiosnycrasies of judo take a lifetime to learn.

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**Devil** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 8:28pm

Originally Posted by goodlun

I think a lot of fans are overlooking the weakness because it wasn't until strikers could stop the take down did they start being able to compete. The real question here isn't what Rousey is going to do about the striking its what Kaufman is going to do about the takedown cause she can't just practice sprawling.

She's a great judoka. Of course. But you're oversimplifying. You act as if it's a given that she's going to throw her opponent AND keep them down every time she touches them. It's not that easy if her opponent fights smart, no matter how good she is.

Again, look at the Tate fight. A huge amount of that fight was spent standing in the clinch. And many times Tate could've simply stepped away to throw strikes. But she didn't. She kept attacking and made zero effort to break away. Same thing on the ground. Tate had her back. She was in position to break away multiple times but she didn't.

Judo is great, but it's not magic.

**goodlun** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 8:41pm

Originally Posted by Devil

She's a great judoka. Of course. But you're oversimplifying. You act as if it's a given that she's going to throw her opponent AND keep them down every time she touches them. It's not that easy if her opponent fights smart, no matter how good she is.

Again, look at the Tate fight. A huge amount of that fight was spent standing in the clinch. And many times Tate could've simply stepped away to throw strikes. But she didn't. She kept attacking and made zero effort to break away. Same thing on the ground. Tate had her back. She was in position to break away multiple times but she didn't.

Judo is great, but it's not magic.

I have watched the Tate fight a few times and what I see is a striker with no answer to the takedown. I doesn't look to me like she could have just simply disengaged from here.

Your right its not magic and yes Rousey could lose you know punchers chance and all.

At this time though it appears she is very good at keeping the fight where she wants it and so far no one has had a really good answer to this. I just don't think a good striker is going to challenge her. I think where she is going to run into trouble is going up against a real ground work specialist.

**Devil** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 8:58pm

Originally Posted by goodlun

I have watched the Tate fight a few times and what I see is a striker with no answer to the takedown. I doesn't look to me like she could have just simply disengaged from here.

Your right its not magic and yes Rousey could lose you know punchers chance and all.

At this time though it appears she is very good at keeping the fight where she wants it and so far no one has had a really good answer to this. I just don't think a good striker is going to challenge her. I think where she is going to run into trouble is going up against a real ground work specialist.

We'll have to agree to disagree about the opportunities to disengage. From my perspective there were a ton.

If Rousey loses it won't be because Kaufman had a puncher's chance. It will be because she's a better MMA fighter.

Judo alone isn't enough. If it were, Yoshida's Olympic gold would've kept him from being a human punching bag. Nakamura and Sokoudjou wouldn't have lost close to half of their fights. Karo wouldn't have wandered off into irrelevance before his 25th birthday.

**goodlun** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 9:08pm

.

Originally Posted by Devil

If Rousey loses it won't be because Kaufman had a puncher's chance. It will be because she's a better MMA fighter.

Your actually right and I don't mean to demean Kaufman's skills like that.

Also your right Judo isn't the end all be all no one art is, but Rousey's use of it is pretty dang good vs the field of competitors she is going up against.
Of course we will find out tomorrow night and I think it should be a good match.

**Devil** · Posted On: 8/16/2012 9:20pm

Originally Posted by goodlun

.

Your actually right and I don't mean to demean Kaufman's skills like that.

Also your right Judo isn't the end all be all no one art is, but Rousey's use of it is pretty dang good vs the field of competitors she is going up against.
Of course we will find out tomorrow night and I think it should be a good match.

Judo is probably my favorite art to see displayed in the cage. I love it. It's beautiful. Rousey is one of the most exciting fighters I've seen in a long time. I also can't wait to see Jimy Hettes fight in the UFC again. I was super impressed with his last fight and I think he's going to be a huge star.

I do think that ultimately MMA favors the well-rounded fighter and I think there are women waiting in the wings who can exploit Ronda's one dimensional skill set. I'm not sure if Kaufman can do it but I think there's a good possibility. It's going to be an exciting fight regardless of the outcome.