STRIKEFORCE Returns to San Diego August 18 for Rousey vs. Kaufman

LAS VEGAS – STRIKEFORCE® women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will make her highly-anticipated initial title defense against former champ Sarah Kaufman when STRIKEFORCE®: ROUSEY vs. KAUFMAN comes to Valley View Casino Center on Sports Arena Blvd. in San Diego, Calif. on Saturday, August 18. The five-round bout will air live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) while preliminary fights will be shown live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on West Coast). Additional bouts will be announced in the coming days.

“We're excited to head back to the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego with the first title defense of bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, arguably the best female fighter in the sport today," STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker said. "She's submitted all of her opponents thus far, but number one contender Sarah Kaufman has the experience and tenacity to push her like no one else. This is a great title fight for STRIKEFORCE fans and we look forward to another tremendous night of fights in San Diego!"

Tickets for STRIKEFORCE®: ROUSEY vs. KAUFMAN, presented by Musclepharm®, go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 29 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $150, $100, $75 and $45. Tickets will be available at the Valley View Casino Center box office or online at www.valleyviewcasinocenter.com. Tickets are also available online at www.TicketMaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, and at all Ticketmaster outlets.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, June 27 at 10 a.m. PT, via the website www.UFCFightClub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter and STRIKEFORCE Insider subscribers Thursday, June 28, starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this pre-sale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com and the STRIKEFORCE Insider through www.STRIKEFORCE.com.

Riding high off her recent championship performance over Miesha Tate this past March, Ronda Rousey (fighting out of Venice, Calif.) looks to continue her dominance in women’s MMA and make her first successful title defense this August in San Diego. A bronze medalist for the U.S. women’s 2008 Olympic Judo team, Rousey’s title win less than a year into her professional career solidified her illustrious transition into the sport of mixed martial arts. At 5-0, with all wins, including three additional victories at the amateur level, coming by way of armbar submission, “Rowdy” threatens victory every time the fights goes to the ground. In addition to Tate, past opponents Julia Budd and Sarah D’Alelio have found that out the hard way and no challenger to date has given Rousey any reason to think she can’t finish every one of her fights the exact same way.

A former champion herself, Sarah Kaufman (fighting out of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) knows exactly what it takes to win and defend the title in the toughest division in women’s MMA. A brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Kaufman is undoubtedly one of the toughest, most experienced and most well-rounded fighters in all of women’s mixed martial arts. At 15-1 with pro victories over Tate, Alexis Davis, Liz Carmouche and Shayna Bazler and currently riding a three-fight win streak, Kaufman made it known that she was unhappy when Rousey was awarded her title match with Tate, a match she felt she had earned. Now with her chance to prove she’s the true top competitor in the division, Kaufman will look to defeat Rousey and claim her second STRIKEFORCE bantamweight championship.

For more information or the latest STRIKEFORCE news, visit www.strikeforce.com. All bouts live and subject to change.