Strikeforce Challengers 10 is set to take place on August 13th in Phoenix, Arizona. The fight card includes a four-women 135-lb tournament, the winner of which will face Dutch martial artist Marloes Coenen (17-4). Coenen’s latest fight was a loss to Cris Cyborg (10-1) at Strikeforce: Miami, but before that she defeated grappling specialist Roxanne Modafferi (15-6) via armbar in just over a minute in the first round.
After the tournament winner and Marloes Coenen duke it out, the winner will face Sarah Kaufman (11-0), who holds the title in the welterweight division. This seems to be an odd way to go about things, but since Coenen defeated Modafferi last November at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, and Modafferi had a title shot, it seems somewhat fair to work Coenen in towards a title shot albeit in a very roundabout way. We’ll also have to remember that Coenen vs. Cyborg was a title shot, though it was in the 145 lb. division
In any case, here’s a run-down of the four tournament participants.
Carina “Beauty But the Beast” Damm (15-3) has the best record of the bunch. However, there are many factors that make me question her ability to win the tournament. First of all, she tested positive for steroids two years ago, and has fought subpar fighters ever since. The combined record of her last five opponents was 6-5, for example. Although she has defeated fighters of note (such as Jessica Aguilar, Miku Matsumoto and Vanessa Porto) in the past, it’s been a while. Damm will also be going up in weight for the promotion. A quick knockout win might not be quite so easy. Although she may advance in the first round, I don’t really see her winning this tournament.
Finland’s Maiju Kujala (4-1) has been touted as an up-and-comer, but it’s really hard to say because she has never really fought anybody of note–except Aisling Daly, who defeated her by unanimous decision. I’d be extremely surprised if she advanced in the tournament. She has previously done well in tournaments, however, winning the one-night Upcoming Glory Tournament in the Netherlands.
Miesha “Takedown” Tate (9-2) was a wrestler in high school and has mad skills on the ground as well as excellent conditioning, and her stand-up game continues to improve. Her last fight was an armbar victory against Zoila “Warrior Princess” Frausto. Although the shortened round length won’t give her a lot of time to work her game, I definitely see Tate defeating both Damm and Kujala if she faces either of them in the 1st round.
Perhaps the dark horse of the tournament, Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (15-7) is a monster indeed on the ground with 13 wins by submission. She made her Strikeforce debut against Cris Cyborg, who didn’t even try to make weight and came in 6 lbs over. Akano, however, took her to the 3rd round before succumbing to strikes. All of her other losses have been by decision.
A winner for the tournament is hard to predict since the first-round matchups won’t be determined until the night of the weigh-ins, and three-minute rounds could also throw a wrench in the game. If I were a betting woman, I’d place my money on either Tate or Akano. And I think both fighters would have a very hard time with Marloes Coenen.
Coenen is ranked in 2nd place in 145 lbs., so is obviously the biggest threat to Kaufman at 135. And although Tara LaRosa (18-2) lost a controversial split decision to Roxanne Modafferi, she would also be a force to be reckoned with.
I like the idea of a woman’s tournament, and Coenen vs. Kaufman is an intriguing matchup. But if the goal is to find a formidable opponent for Coenen and then possibly Kaufman, I’m thinking some women not in the tournament may be more up for the challenge.
Who do you think will walk away the winner? Post your predictions in the comments.
Yael Grauer writes for MMA HQ. Check them out for more MMA news and updates, and get 10% off MMA gear at Elite MMA (Simply enter the coupon code “emsave” during checkout.)
