I sincerely hope that 145er, Hiroko Yamanaka, currently ranked first on the "Top 10" list of female MMA fighters, gets knocked out by Dutch kickboxer, Germaine de Randamie. I'd like it to happen even faster than the 16 seconds it took for Cris "Cyborg" Santos to finish her at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal in December of 2011. That match was ruled no contest (NC) because Cyborg tested positive for banned substances.
Cyborg didn't need steroids to break the will of Yamanaka. She just needed 16 seconds to TKO the lanky fighter.
Sherdog has both Germaine and Yamanaka listed as 5'11".
Germaine's last visit to the Strikeforce cage ended in a loss by unanimous decision to Julia Budd. Here's the fight, Germaine de Randamie (2-2) vs Julia Budd (3-2) in June 2011 on video
Predicting Yamanaka vs de Randamie is a "don't blink" fight
Germaine has had a year and a half to practice and improve her ground game skills. Fans should expect to see some good technique demonstrated against Yamanaka--if the fight goes longer than a minute.
Veronica from Women's MMARoundUp interviewed Germaine in January of 2011. Germaine's accent sounds like a cross between Bas Rutten and Marloes Coenen.
Veronica asked Germaine (46-0 kickboxing record) how striking in MMA differs from striking in kickboxing. "We like boxing, finishing with a kick. You can not do it exactly the same as you do that in a stand up fight. You can throw combinations, but it can't be a combination of eight punches. You have to be careful for the takedown...somebody grabs your leg. You have to be careful...Now I train wrestling and jiu jitsu, and a different kind of stand up for boxing."
On the video, Germaine discusses the physical difference between training for a stand up fight vs training for a fight that might end up on the ground. video
Women's 145 division
The second thing I'd like to see is Germaine drop to 135 after this fight and join the rest of the women building their skills and their fight experience at that level. Seems to me if you want to fight in the 145 division, then the best place right now is Invicta Fighting Championships.
With only two events completed, Invicta FC has already showcased former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen, Ediane Gomes and Romy Ruyssen. Elaina "Beef" Maxwell headlines Invicta FC 3 (scheduled for October 2012) vs Julia Budd.
The Unified Women's Mixed Martial Arts Rankings list from MMARising as of August 1, 2012
Featherweights (136.1-146.0 pounds):
1. Hiroko "Cat's Eye" Yamanaka (12-1-0, 1 NC)
2. "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey (5-0-0)
3. Marloes "Rumina" Coenen (20-5-0)
4. Milana Dudieva (8-1-0)
5. Rin Nakai (11-0-1)
6. Yana "Foxy" Kunitskaya (8-1-0)
7. Elaina "Beef" Maxwell (7-4-0)
8. Julia "The Jewel" Budd (3-2-0)
9. Ediane "India" Gomes (8-2-0)
10. Romy Ruyssen (5-2-0)
Championship defense: Rousey vs Kaufman
Much has already been said about current Strikeforce champion Ronda Rousey facing former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman. This fight won't be easy for either fighter. Ronda has trained all areas of her game with strong players like UFC fighters Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz and Manny Gamburyan. She worked with boxing legend Lucia Rijker (hopefully) on footwork and defensive striking. Kaufman trains with Julie Kedzie (who faces Miesha Tate) at Camp Jackson with many UFC notables. These women are well trained.
This promo video shows off their skills nicely video
Here's a new pre-fight interview with Sarah Kaufman video
The interviewer asked Sarah, who is a BJJ brown belt, about the armbar situation Miesha Tate ended up suffering in her fight against Ronda Rousey, "If you ended up in that position, would you tap?"
Sarah responded, "I think it's a ref's job to step in. At the point where Miesha was at, she wasn't going to get out of it and the ref should have stepped in."
If Sarah succeeds in knocking Ronda out, she will definitely get the attention of UFC president Dana White.
I'm hoping for a very exciting fight. Picking "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey to win.
Tate vs Kedzie
Miesha Tate, former Strikeforce champion, is going to have a bigger fight on her hands than she might be expecting. She's already talking about rematching Ronda Rousey and maybe even pairing up with her as coaches for opposite teams on an All-Female Ultimate Fighter. That would be interesting.
But first, Miesha has to get through the veteran, Julie Kedzie.
Kedzie trains with a stable full of men who are either UFC fighters or sparring fodder for UFC, Strikeforce and other fighters working their way up the local MMA circuit. Kedzie also does color commentary for Invicta FC.
In this video Veronica is back interviewing Kedzie about her preparation for Miesha Tate's strong wrestling skills.
Prediction: Julie Kedzie nullifies Tate's wrestling and upsets Miesha Tate by defeating her in a bout that is headlining the prelims on Showtime Extreme starting at 8 pm ET/PT.
Danielle West's Picks
Danielle West, who is currently ranked number 13 on the FightMatrix list of Top Female Fighters at 145 sent her quick picks for tonight's fights via Twitter: Yamanaka, Kedzie and Kaufman.
Here's Danielle showing off her BJJ: "The final match in the absolute with my modified flying armbar", Danielle West vs Irina Mollukwu Grapplers Showdown 2012 video
Who are you picking to win?
Main card: on Showtime starting at 10 pm ET/PT Saturday, August 18th
Source: Alberta Fight Club, Twitter
More from this contributor:
Ronda Rousey 'Is Going to Try and Kill Me--which is Kinda Mean', Says Sarah Kaufman: Fan Reaction
Update on Rousey, Cyborg, Tate and Kaufman, the Fab Four Female MMA Fighters: Fan Reaction
UFC Champ Ben Henderson, 'I Have a Bulls Eye on My Back': Fan Reaction
Cheryl Ragsdale started out boxing and has added kicks and BJJ so she can practice MMA. Currently, she trains with Keith Florian and has trained with UFC Fighter Kenny Florian at Florian Martial Arts - follow @thatgirlisfunny
