Following a split-decision loss to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC on Fox 17 in December of 2015, bantamweight Sarah Kaufman spent the next 16 months off. When Kaufman returned in March of last year, she was able to pick up a unanimous decision victory over Jessica Rose-Clark at Battlefield FC, ending her two-fight losing skid in the process.
“There were a lot of things going into that fight, but I’m pretty happy with how it went,” Kaufman told MMAWeekly.com. “I was very disappointed that I did not get paid and she did not get paid. But coming out of it I was just training with her last week, so it’s great to kind of make those connections through fighting someone.
“I didn’t want to have a break, but I had a little injury and that took a while, then I tried to see if I could go to 125 pounds. In the meantime, I was working on my wrestling, my stand-up, and my Jiu-Jitsu, and competed quite a lot in different Jiu-Jitsu and grappling competitions. So I was still competing and still staying active, which was great, and overall I felt so much better.”
While Kaufman is disappointed in the business aspect of her fight with Battlefield went, she acknowledges that there isn’t much that can be done for her lost wages at this point.
“I paid to do a camp and you’re bringing people and paying expenses. At the end of the day, it’s a pro sport and we should get paid, but unfortunately, Battlefield in Korea paid some people, ran out of money, and stopped making contact and didn’t pay the remainder of people,” said Kaufman. “It’s very frustrating and very unprofessional, but I don’t know what I can do to get that money back.”
On Jan. 13 in Kansas City, Mo., Kaufman (18-4, 1 NC) will look to pick up her second straight win when she faces Pannie Kianzad (8-2) in the 135-pound main event of Invicta FC 27.
“To get the win, I just need to go in and just actually fight,” Kaufman said. “My left hook these days is really solid, and I would love to get a big knockout with my left hook. I think Pannie is a good opponent for that. She’s a very game fighter.
“She clearly has a developed stand-up game, and I’m sure she has worked on everything else to go along with that. I’m just really looking forward to getting a finish. I need to get back to that. Decisions are okay if you need them, but in this instance this is a fight that I should be getting the finish.”
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Over 20 fights and 12 years into her MMA career, Kaufman is still driven to achieve more in the sport, and she’s looking forward to using 2018 to start her resurgence in the bantamweight division.
“That’s what’s coming in 2018 is the exciting finishes, the fun fights, and really me pushing myself,” said Kaufman. “I have not fought to my potential ever, and this is the time that it needs to happen and is going to happen.
“I would definitely love to win this fight and then if that happens see what goes on from there. Maybe I’m fighting for the Invicta belt or fighting for the UFC, but I haven’t really thought that far. I would I think at this point I deserve to be in the UFC, but they want to see something. I think what they want to see are those big finishes and that exciting style.”
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