Women’s mixed martial arts has come a long way and Sarah Kaufman is glad she doesn’t have to wear anymore latex heading into her PFL debut.
Sarah Kaufman had to deal with some uncomfortable pre-fight promo heading into her Strikforce women’s bantamweight title fight with Ronda Rousey in 2012.
PFL’s newest female star stopped by the latest episode of Pull No Punches podcast with Kajan Johnson and Shakiel Mahjouri. Kaufman was asked to compare judokas Rousey and Kayla Harrison, but the question suddenly resurfaced an awkward moment in Kaufman’s career.
“There were a lot of things going on there,” Kaufman said of the Rousey fight. Particularly, Showtime’s aesthetic for the pre-fight promo package. “We had to wear latex sex suits with zipper crotches and gogo boots up to our knees. It was the most absurd photo shoot that I have ever done.”
“I was specifically told, ‘we have this idea for the promo. It’s going to be good vs. evil and Ronda is going to be in an all-black pleather suit. She is going to look so bad-ass… She’s going to look like a movie star.’ I said, ‘okay, well what about me?’” Kaufman recalled. “‘Well, you’re the other one,’” the production team told her. Their solution was to put Kaufman, as she put it, “one of the palest fighters in the planet in an all-white pleather latex suit.”
Fortunately, it seems Kaufman will be treated with far more respect in the PFL’s upcoming women’s lightweight season. Many believe the season is being built around Harrison, but Kaufman says she, herself, is the one to watch for. “This is my tournament to lose,” she exclaimed. “Harrison is a phenomenal athlete. If you win two gold medals, especially in judo, you work really hard. You put in the time.”
“She is not a wash, but in terms of MMA there is a lot to learn,” Kaufman expressed. “This is MMA. This is not judo. This is my home. It’s not just because I’m a veteran, it’s because I’m hungry to get better.”
Kaufman also opened up her frustrations with the UFC, Conor McGregor’s alleged sexual assault, and revealed she doesn’t have Internet at her house — let alone Netflix.