K2 Interviews: Sarah Kaufman

Best fight you’ve ever seen – live or otherwise?

Primarily Stand Up - Jorge Gurgel, Connor Huen
Primarily Ground - Diego Sanchez, Nick Diaz

Most underrated fighter right now?

Brock Lesnar

Most overrated?

Anderson Silva

Pound for Pound, who do you think is the best in the world?

BJ Penn. Despite losing to GSP (a stud at 170), I think BJ could handle himself against most competitors at 170 and has fought even higher in the past

Best prospect?

Diego Wilson...he trains at ZUMA Martial Arts and is a beast at 145lbs. He is very talented in all areas of MMA, and fights in a crazy yet controlled manner. Watch out for him in the future!

Care to make some predictions for UFC 100?

I’m generally not very good at predicting, but here goes:

Lesnar vs. Mir?

Lesnar is such an athlete, that I think Mir will have his hands full. Based on Lesnar’s athleticism, wrestling and punching power, I think Brock takes this by TKO rd 3.

GSP vs. Thiago Alves?

If GSP fights a smart fight, it will probably go in a similar fashion as the BJ Penn fight and he will either win by TKO in rd 4, or decision.

Henderson vs. Bisping?

I would love to see Henderson pull out this fight. But I’m not sure how he wins...maybe decision.

Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago?

That’s a tough one, but I will go with Jon Fitch. He is a great wrestler, and is really tough, so I think he’ll take this fight. I’ll go with a tko in the 2nd round.

Alan Belcher vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama?

Both are good strikers and hit hard, but Akiyama has some serious Judo skills, so I’ll give the fight to him.

Back to the questions...

Dana White has spoken openly about hoping to see MMA in the Olympics in the future. Do you think it’s a possibility, why or why not?

I think it would be hard to have MMA in the Olympics, based on the current rules that are generally used. The small gloves cut and cause contusions quite easily, so after the first tier of fights, I would think that many competitors would be eliminated due to surface injuries.

Maybe they could try and change some of the rules and implement head gear, shin pads and MMA gloves with more padding (similar to old Shooto gloves). It would be great to have an avenue for fighters to gain some experience though, so I hope that some form of MMA becomes part of the Olympics.

Speaking of White, what are your thoughts on the UFC President—are you a fan, think he’s a douchebag, not really fussed either way?

Honestly, Dana White has done a lot for the sport, along with the Fertitta’s. So as a businessman, and for MMA’s popularity as a whole, I need to thank Dana. As a person, I don’t know. I have never met him, but have only heard and seen interviews he has done in the past.

He has made a lot of seemingly chauvinistic comments, which I don’t enjoy, and seems to think it extremely cool to say F*** every 2 seconds, but other than that I am not bothered by him. Strikeforce has made a great platform for females to fight, so if Dana White doesn’t want to capitalize on females, someone else will/has.

If you could play matchmaker for one day, regardless of organizational ties or anything like that, what three fights would you make and why?

Aoki vs BJ Penn - Aoki is known for his submissions, and BJ has that crazy flexibility and submissions, too. I think it would be really interesting to see how this fight would turn out.

Fedor vs Brock Lesnar - I think it would be a huge test for both fighters. Fedor, because I don’t think he has fought anyone as big AND athletic as Lesnar is; and Lesnar, because he would be going up against a veteran with an unbeatable aura.

Sarah Kaufman vs Tara Larosa - Tara has been at the number one spot for a long time at 135lbs. I would love the opportunity to fight her, and think that would be an awesome fight. (Author's Note to Scott Coker: Make this fight happen... please!)

My wife and I are thinking of moving to Victoria next Spring and are planning a visit in the Fall. Anywhere in particular we should look, favourite restaurants we should check out, gyms we should get memberships at?

If you’re coming to Victoria, you should definitely come to ZUMA Martial Arts. It’s close to downtown, and is definitely the best gym on the island. Adam Zugec is an amazing instructor and coach, and everyone is really welcoming.

I’m not sure what kind of food you like, but Wild Saffron is one of the nicest restaurants in Victoria. The Malahat Inn is also good food with an amazing view. Victoria is an amazing place to live.

Any final comments or shoutouts?

I would like to thank my coach Adam Zugec, my team at ZUMA Martial Arts, MTX Audio, Carnal Dammage, Ifight...and everyone who has helped get me to where I am today. I really hope to stay actively fighting this year, so watch for me in Strikeforce!

Thanks for doing this.

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