Tag: Maiju Kujala

Miesha Tate Wins Strikeforce Women’s Tournament

Filed under: StrikeforceMiesha Tate won two fights in two hours Friday night to come out on top of Strikeforce’s four-woman, one-night MMA tournament, taking a big step forward toward earning a shot at the 135-pound title.

Although one-night tournamen…

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Miesha Tate won two fights in two hours Friday night to come out on top of Strikeforce’s four-woman, one-night MMA tournament, taking a big step forward toward earning a shot at the 135-pound title.

Although one-night tournaments are risky propositions, this tournament has to be considered a major success for Strikeforce: The fights were solid, and the result was a likable, articulate, attractive woman getting a high-profile tournament championship.

“Sarah Kaufman, you’re amazing,” Tate said to the current 135-pound champ. “I can’t wait to fight you again.”

The Ladies Will Have to Work Extra Fast at Friday’s Strikeforce Tournament

(Click above for larger version. Four competitors, representing four continents. Miesha enjoys cake decorating. Maiju’s turn-ons include the right hook and rear-naked choke. Image courtesy of Strikeforce.)
MMA Junkie passes along word that the format…

Strikeforce Challengers women's MMA tournament Miesha Tate Hitomi Akano Carina Damm Maiju Kujala
(Click above for larger version. Four competitors, representing four continents. Miesha enjoys cake decorating. Maiju’s turn-ons include the right hook and rear-naked choke. Image courtesy of Strikeforce.)

MMA Junkie passes along word that the format for the 135-pound women’s tournament at Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers event has been tweaked by the Arizona State Boxing Commission, a longtime enemy of epicness. First off, the two first-round matchups — which, again, won’t be determined until tomorrow — will only consist of two 3-minute rounds, rather than the three 3’s that were originally announced. The ASBC has also nixed the idea of a "sudden victory" round, so to prevent the inevitable 19-19 draws, the judges will just call the fight for whoever they think won it, PRIDE-style. (Okay, so that part’s not so bad.) The final match will still consist of three 3-minute rounds.

Two of the tourney’s four participants have previous multi-fight GP experience. Miesha Tate made her pro debut at that infamous 2007 HOOKnSHOOT women’s tournament, where she spent 12 minutes winning a decision over Jan Finney before getting blasted out by Kaitlin Young in 30 seconds. Maiju Kujala last competed at an Upcoming Glory tourney in the Netherlands in March, where she submitted Akvile Vitkauskaite and outpointed Titiana van Polanen, in over 19 minutes of total fight time.

Strikeforce Announces 135-Pound Women’s Tourney, but Coenen’s Got Next

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsFor a while, it seemed as though the Strikeforce 135-pound women’s division was being overshadowed by the 145-pound weight class and its champion, Cris Cyborg. But all of a sudden, and not to mention on the eve of Strikefo…

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For a while, it seemed as though the Strikeforce 135-pound women’s division was being overshadowed by the 145-pound weight class and its champion, Cris Cyborg. But all of a sudden, and not to mention on the eve of Strikeforce’s 135-pound women’s title fight between champion Sarah Kaufman and Roxanne Modaferri, the welterweight division has become a lot more stable and clear, as the organization announced Thursday a four-woman single elimination tournament, which will crown a new No. 2 contender for that weight class.

Strikeforce also announced that Marloes Coenen, who most recently lost a 145-pound title fight to Cris Cyborg in January, has been named the new No. 1 contender and will face the winner of Modafferi-Kaufman at a later date.

The tournament, which will begin and end on the same night, will take place at the Aug. 13 Strikeforce Challengers event at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Ariz. The three, 3-minute round fights will air on the undercard of the Joe Riggs vs. Louis Taylor main event show.