The former Invicta FC and Strikeforce bantamweight champion had last competed under the PFL banner, only to be eliminated during the league’s 2019 post-season. In the ensuing years, the veteran had struggled to find a fight, and told Cageside Press ahead of her return that she would have considered retiring had she not been able to fight by year’s end.

As luck would have it, BTC offered her to opportunity to throw down with Bellator MMA veteran Jessy Miele, in a featherweight fight topping the BTC 13 card at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.

Come Saturday’s main event, Miele had the noticeable size advantage — not surprising, as a natural featherweight to Kaufman’s bantamweight frame. Kaufman, however, dictated much of the early going, working short combos, mixing in kicks, and setting the pace. Then, late in the opening round, Kaufman scored a knockdown, and jumped on Miele’s back almost instantly. She had one arm under the chin, but Miele fought the other hand, then rolled, looking to get Kaufman off her any way she could. Kaufman, mounted on the back, began dropping heavy ground n’ pound, and Miele had no answer.

Within moments, the ref moved in to wave it off! In her first fight in over two years, Sarah Kaufman got the job done in under a round. Following the bout, she expressed a desire to return to the big stage — and interest in a fight with UFC double champ Amanda Nunes.

Official Result: Sarah Kaufman def. Jessy Miele by TKO, Round 1, 3:56

The post Sarah Kaufman Finishes Jessy Miele Within a Round in Return at BTC 13 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Also a former contender in the UFC’s bantamweight division, Kaufman was fighting for the first time since her PFL run came to an end in 2019. She was set to take on Bellator MMA veteran Jessy Miele in the BTC 13 main event.

The co-main event, meanwhile, featured Xavier Nash riding a two-fight win streak into his bout with the undefeated Thomas Glot. Also set for the evening was the opening round of the promotion’s $10,000 bantamweight tournament.

BTC 13: Kaufman vs. Miele can be streamed via live PPV through BTCFight.ca— the action gets underway at 6PM ET on Saturday, November 21, 2021 at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario. Full results from the event can be found below.

BTC 13: Kaufman vs. Miele Results

Sarah Kaufman def. Jessy Miele by TKO, Round 1, 3:56 – women’s featherweight main event
Xavier Nash def. Thomas Glot by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Gabe Sagman def. Matt Dawson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Teshay Gouthro def. Kristian Bouchard by TKO, Round 3, 0:36
Izzudeen Atmeh def. Nate Small by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 1:56
Ariel Zuniga def. Harley King by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 0:36
Vinny Dias def. Alejandro Sosa by technical submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:19
Albaraa Atmeh def. Seth Connor by TKO, Round 1, 3:36
Cody Chovancek def. Josh Martiniuk by TKO, Round 2, 3:06
Binaebi Otoru def. Nate Ledger by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

The post BTC 13: Kaufman vs. Miele Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

In the wake of her elimination from the PFL’s 2019 season, Kaufman (21-5, 1NC) was a big name in search of a fight. While the pandemic was at least partially to blame, the Canadian, a former Strikeforce and Invicta FC bantamweight champion, believes her resume played a part as well.

“I think that’s why people don’t want to fight me,” Kaufman told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview ahead of her return at the upcoming BTC 13. “I think that I’m a very dangerous fight for every fighter on the planet. I don’t think there’s a single female, especially at my weight class, on the planet that would say I’m an easy fight, or that I’m a fight that they’re guaranteed to win.”

In a big promotion, Kaufman pointed out, “they can somewhat force you to take a fight. They can say ‘look, here’s what we’re offering, if you don’t take it, we let you go.'” Outside the major organizations, however, “you want to fight names that are going to build up your resume, that are going to get people to notice who you are, and you kind of want to take the safest fights possible to do that.”

“To take a risk and fight someone who has a great name but is also a really tough fight, I can see why people don’t want to do that,” the Canadian veteran continued, “without getting paid a substantial amount of money that you would in a larger promotion.”

Kaufman linked up with BTC after attending one of the promotion’s shows that featured a teammate making their debut. After meeting with the matchmakers, things worked out. It’s a good thing, too.

“I kind of set a goal that if I didn’t have a fight by the end of 2021, I might call it quits. So I was pretty happy to have something.” Kaufman doesn’t necessarily want to retire, but at the same time, doesn’t want to put her life on hold for a career “that just isn’t happening because someone won’t say yes.”

And so Saturday’s BTC 13 main event isn’t about winning or leaving the sport. In fact the retirement question wasn’t about wins or losses period. “I always want to win, so that’s just a big thing, but it’s more just an activity/inactivity thing. To go two years where— I had no reason for a year and a half of that at least to be sitting on the sidelines, aside from, the pandemic for sure put a crimp in a lot of the promotions and their ability to run fight cards.”

Still, she said, it’s been “five, six, seven years of, maybe even longer, people just not agreeing to fight me, and kind of sitting watching everybody else get these fights.” Which eats away at her career window.

“There’s a finite amount of time that you can be active and competitive as an elite athlete, especially in a combat sport but really any sport,” Kaufman explained. “And I’m not getting younger. So if I’m sitting for one year, two years, two plus years between every fight, at this point, if I’m making money and I’m not able to get fights and be active in the career itself, then I can just train and enjoy training for what training is, and start to think about the next journey of career’s for me. Because you can’t be a pro athlete forever.”

Luckily, things have worked out, with only one downside to her fight with Bellator vet Jessy Miele at BTC 13. “It’s not my ideal weight class. 135 is where I want to be fighting and should be fighting.” As for her opponent, “I have nothing but good things to say about Jessy,” Kaufman told us.

“Our names have been talked about quite a few times in terms of having match-ups. A few years ago we were supposed to fight at 135, it was no wrong doing on either her or my end, but one of the promoters that was putting it together was kind of messing her around a little bit, so she stepped out of it,” recalled Kaufman. “But it’s a name that I’ve heard for a while, and I’m glad she got the opportunity to fight in Bellator, because I think she was struggling for a while to get some fights.”

Kaufman sees Saturday’s showdown as an opportunity for both sides. “An opportunity to headline a card against a big name in me I would say is a great opportunity for her. She’ll have a bit of an advantage in the size department because she’s going to be cutting weight to 145 and I’m a 135’er, but I don’t foresee that being a huge issue for me. I’m in a really good place right now with my physique and my fitness and my strengths, and I’m so confident in my skill set on top of that.”

Kaufman, however, is not expecting an easy fight. “I know that Jessy has the ability to be well-rounded when it comes to her striking, her wrestling, and her ground. She doesn’t shy away from anything, and I think that that’s a really exciting thing for me, because a lot of people I’ve fought have somewhat shied away from actually engaging, and I don’t think this will be a problem for Jessy.”

So what’s next for Sarah Kaufman, if everything goes according to plan at BTC 13? It’s bantamweight or bust.

“My only interest is fighting at 135. I really just took this fight at 145 because I set a goal of fighting in 2021, and this was the only way it was going to happen.” Getting to headline a card for a Canadian promotion, run by a female CEO, also factored in. “It just really worked out for me in this case, but 135 is where I want to be fighting. I worked really hard to get my weight down, and be lean and be fit and be ready to go for a fight at 135. I don’t really have any interest in trying to bulk up to then fill a bigger spot at 145.”

Sarah Kaufman faces Jessy Miele atop BTC 13 this Saturday, November 20 at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, ON. The PPV event is available for purchase via BTCFight.ca

The post Former Strikeforce, Invicta FC Champ Sarah Kaufman Was Contemplating Retirement If She Couldn’t Fight By Year’s End appeared first on Cageside Press.

Promotion officials recently announced that Kaufman (21-4, 1NC), who has also competed in the UFC and PFL, will take on Bellator MMA alum Jessy Miele (9-5) at the event. The fight is expected to be contested at featherweight.

BTC 13: Power looks set to be the Ontario, Canada-based promotion’s biggest card yet, as it will also feature the launch of a $10,000 bantamweight tournament.

Kaufman, born in Victoria, British Columbia, last competed at PFL 7 in 2019, losing her women’s lightweight semifinal fight against Larissa Pacheco. That knocked her out of a tournament in which many expected her to face off with Kayla Harrison in the finale.

Prior to that loss, Kaufman had won four straight fights against notable names like Jessica-Rose Clark and Pannie Kianzad. At Invicta FC 29 in May 2018, she would defeat Katharina Lehner to claim bantamweight gold, but never defended the title, instead signing on with the PFL the following year.

Miele went 1-2 in her run with Bellator MMA, and has previously competed for CES MMA. She’ll be looking to snap a two-fight losing streak against Kaufman.

In addition to Kaufman vs. Miele, BTC also announced the addition of Teshay Gouthro vs Mike Johnson to the BTC 13 card. The event takes place Saturday, November 20, 2021 at the Meridian Center in St. Catharines, Ontario.

The post Sarah Kaufman Returns, Will Face Jessy Miele at BTC 13 appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Saturday, during the promotion’s BTC 12: Unlocked event in Burlington, Ontario, promotion officials revealed a number of the participants — and of note is the fact that a pair of brothers will be among those competing. The tournament was first revealed earlier this month.

$10,000 Bantamweight Tournament ⚔️ Quarterfinals Nov 20th @ BTC 13: POWER pic.twitter.com/G7AN1clOz4

— BTC Fight Promotions (@BTCFight) September 4, 2021

Among the fighters announced for the tournament are Nate Small and Amear Bani, who faced each other during Saturday’s card. Small won the bout via rear-naked choke. Also in action will be brothers Izzudeen and Albaraa Atmeh, which could make things interesting depending on who advances in the 135lb tournament. Brackets for the tournament, which commences at BTC 13 in November, have yet to be revealed.

BTC’s bantamweight tournament is expected to play out over several months, with the $10,000 prize to the winner being a solid chunk of change for the regional scene.

Also announced for the tournament are promotion veterans Jake Geauvreau and Ariel Zuniga, as well as promotional newcomer Vinny Dias. Coincidentally, Geauvreau holds a win over Izzudeen Atmeh, which could lead to a rematch as the tournament unfolds.

BTC 13: Power is expected to take place on Saturday, November 20, 2021 in St. Catharines, Ontario. A live stream of the event will be available for purchase via BTCFight.ca

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