Former Strikeforce, Invicta champ Sarah Kaufman retires from MMA

After many busy years in the sport, former Invicta Fighting Championships and Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman has decided to call it a career.

On social media on Thursday, Kaufman announced her retirement from MMA, concluding her time in the sport that began professionally in 2006. The WMMA pioneer, who has competed for most of the major MMA promotions that held her division, will move on after putting together a record of 22 victories opposite two defeats and a no contest. Of note, she claimed the inaugural Strikeforce women’s bantamweight belt, the first major women’s 135-pound title in North America, when she defeated Takayo Hashi in 2010.

Kaufman wrote a statement on her various social media pages, stating, “While I’ve known since the beginning of my career that it couldn’t continue forever, it’s a bit surreal to finally announce that I am officially retiring from the professional sport of MMA. While I have made my last walk as a competitor, I will always be involved in some capacity as a coach and recreational athlete. I have loved every second in the cage and the amazing people I have met around the world will forever be part of my family.”

The Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, native started off her pro career by winning her first 12 bouts, which culminated in the aforementioned Strikeforce title and a subsequent defense against Roxanne Modafferi. Along the way up, nine of those wins came by stoppage, with all nine coming by knockout. After falling short to Marloes Coenen to suffer her first career defeat, Kaufman rattled off three wins over Megumi Yabushita, Liz Carmouche and Alexis Davis. This led to a title shot for her old belt, only for her to run up against Ronda Rousey during the latter’s dominant reign.

After a one-off trip at Invicta FC 5 where she topped Leslie Smith in a thrilling 15-minute affair, Kaufman made her way to the Ultimate Fighting Championship for a four-bout stint. While she did ultimately defeat Smith in a rematch a year after facing her in Invicta, Kaufman then suffered setbacks to former foe Davis and eventual flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko. This concluded her contract with the UFC, and she elected to fight as a free agent in other organizations.

“Starting out at 20 years old,” she continued, “I wasn’t sure exactly who I was as a person; but through my 17-year journey, all the people and experiences have shaped me into the person I am today. I am proud of my accomplishments and how I always carried myself with poise, professionalism and never compromised my integrity to get ahead.”

Although she left the UFC in 2015, Kaufman continued her career by facing top-level names, as she squared off with eventual UFC signees Jessica-Rose Clark and Pannie Kianzad, beating both. This elevated her to vie for the vacant Invicta FC 135-pound throne, and she captured it by choking out Katharina Lehner in 2018. A two-fight stint with Professional Fighters League in 2019 ended with her making the semifinals of the million-dollar tourney, but she moved to lightweight for those matches. The final bout of her career came at 145 pounds – a division in which she had never competed – and she took on top-ranked Jessy Miele. Kaufman put Miele away to earn a place on the Sherdog rankings in that weight class.

“I have nothing else to say except I am sad the journey has ended but am also at peace knowing I gave everything I could to the sport of MMA. I hope I left it better than when I started. I am excited to be moving on on my terms and stepping into a new career where I can continue to help others in the community,” the WMMA pioneer concluded.