I have so many people to thank. You know who
you are.On to the next journey 👮‍♀️
#retired
#official #mma
#wmma
#thankyou
#zumateam #ufc
#strikeforce
#pflmma
#invictafc pic.twitter.com/gKEL2tQU42— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah)
June 30, 2022
After many busy years in the sport, former Invicta Fighting Championships and Strikeforce champion Sarah
Kaufman has decided to call it a career.
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On social
media on Thursday, Kaufman announced her retirement from MMA,
concluding her time in the sport that began professionally in 2006.
The WMMA pioneer, who has competed for most of the major MMA
promotions that held her division, will move on after putting
together a record of 22 victories opposite two defeats and a no
contest. Of note, she claimed the inaugural Strikeforce women’s
bantamweight belt, the first major women’s 135-pound title in North
America, when she defeated Takayo
Hashi in 2010.
Kaufman wrote a statement on her various social media pages,
stating, “While I’ve known since the beginning of my career that it
couldn’t continue forever, it’s a bit surreal to finally announce
that I am officially retiring from the professional sport of MMA.
While I have made my last walk as a competitor, I will always be
involved in some capacity as a coach and recreational athlete. I
have loved every second in the cage and the amazing people I have
met around the world will forever be part of my family.”
The Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, native started off her pro
career by winning her first 12 bouts, which culminated in the
aforementioned Strikeforce title and a subsequent defense against
Roxanne
Modafferi. Along the way up, nine of those wins came by
stoppage, with all nine coming by knockout. After falling short to
Marloes
Coenen to suffer her first career defeat, Kaufman rattled off
three wins over Megumi
Yabushita, Liz
Carmouche and Alexis
Davis. This led to a title shot for her old belt, only for her
to run up against Ronda
Rousey during the latter’s dominant reign.
After a one-off trip at Invicta FC 5 where she topped Leslie
Smith in a thrilling 15-minute affair, Kaufman made her way to
the Ultimate Fighting Championship for a four-bout
stint. While she did ultimately defeat Smith in a rematch a year
after facing her in Invicta, Kaufman then suffered setbacks to
former foe Davis and eventual flyweight queen Valentina
Shevchenko. This concluded her contract with the UFC, and she
elected to fight as a free agent in other organizations.
“Starting out at 20 years old,” she continued, “I wasn’t sure
exactly who I was as a person; but through my 17-year journey, all
the people and experiences have shaped me into the person I am
today. I am proud of my accomplishments and how I always carried
myself with poise, professionalism and never compromised my
integrity to get ahead.”
Although she left the UFC in 2015, Kaufman continued her career by
facing top-level names, as she squared off with eventual UFC
signees Jessica-Rose
Clark and Pannie
Kianzad, beating both. This elevated her to vie for the vacant
Invicta FC 135-pound throne, and she captured it by choking out
Katharina
Lehner in 2018. A two-fight stint with Professional Fighters League in 2019 ended with
her making the semifinals of the million-dollar tourney, but she
moved to lightweight for those matches. The final bout of her
career came at 145 pounds – a division in which she had never
competed – and she took on top-ranked Jessy Miele.
Kaufman put Miele away to earn a place on the Sherdog rankings in
that weight class.
“I have nothing else to say except I am sad the journey has ended
but am also at peace knowing I gave everything I could to the sport
of MMA. I hope I left it better than when I started. I am excited
to be moving on on my terms and stepping into a new career where I
can continue to help others in the community,” the WMMA pioneer
concluded.