By all accounts, Sarah Kaufman isn't being given much of a chance to regain the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship on Saturday night, when she faces reigning champion Ronda Rousey at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET).
In a sense, that's probably exactly the way Strikeforce and the women's MMA world would like it. After all, with Rousey's attractive appearance, Olympic pedigree and track record of absolute destruction in the cage (5-0 with five first-round submissions), she's emerged as an ideal ambassador for women's MMA. In recent months, she's helped ring the bell at the NASDAQ stock exchange, appeared on the cover of ESPN: The Magazine's "Body Issue," and been featured as a guest on Conan O'Brien's talk show on TBS. Rousey plays the role of ambassador exceptionally well, and her continued visibility means continued visibility for women's MMA.
At the same time, though, the ultimate goal for Rousey and other female fighters is to get women's MMA into the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and convince the sport's top promotion to add a women's division. The biggest obstacle in that quest, according to UFC president Dana White, is the scarcity of elite female fighters. When Rousey runs roughshod over her competition - former champion Miesha Tate is the only fighter to last longer than 50 seconds with her - it sends the message that women's MMA is Ronda Rousey and a bunch of also-rans, which sets back the cause of getting a women's division in the UFC.
Or does it? The problem of a lack of elite female fighters is not one that's going to be solved overnight. The development of a larger group of elite female fighters is going to come from continued visibility for women's MMA. With Rousey's continued dominance, her run in the spotlight should inspire more girls and young women to get into MMA, which will eventually help break the gender barrier in the UFC.
Of course, if someone can beat Rousey - and Kaufman can't be counted out with her striking skills and cage experience - a return bout could also garner more interest. In the meantime, however, if Rousey continues to dominate on Saturday night, she'll continue to advance her cause.
