Miesha Tate

Aina Grabs DQ Win Over Evangelista at Strikeforce Challengers Debut

Billy Evangelista (right) was disqualified for kneeing Mike Aina in the head when Aina was down in the main event on the premiere Friday of Strikeforce Challengers on Showtime. Photo by Daisy Rosas/Strikeforce.

CONTROVERSIAL BLOW DISQUALIFIES BILLY EVANGELISTA FROM MAIN EVENT MATCHUP WITH MIKE AINA, UNBEATEN SARAH KAUFMAN OUTPOINTS MIESHA TATE

FRESNO, Calif. –  Previously unbeaten hometown favorite Billy Evangelista lost by disputed, controversial second-round disqualification to Mike Aina Friday in the main event of the inaugural Strikeforce Challengers telecast on Showtime.
At the finish, neither fighter was satisfied with the outcome at the Save Mart Center.
Evangelista (9-1), of Fresno, was disqualified for “intentionally” kneeing Aina (12-6-1), of Hilo, Hawaii, in the head while the Hawaiian fighter was down. The rule is a fighter can knee a downed opponent to the body, but not the head.

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Kaufman Tapped to Face Tate on Showtime

NEW YORK — Undefeated power puncher Sarah Kaufman (8-0) will fill the void left by Kim “Sugar Free” Couture and throw down with fellow rising star Miesha Tate (6-1) in a 135-pound contest during the Showtime televised portion of the inaugural Strikeforce Challengers mixed martial arts (MMA) event at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., on Friday, May 15.

Couture’s withdrawal last week created an ideal opportunity for the 23-year-old Kaufman, who is in fighting form after stopping Sara Schneider in the second round of their matchup on April 23.  Kaufman has never been taken the distance in a professional fight. 

“I’m very excited about this fight because I’ve been hearing about Miesha Tate for quite a while,” said Kaufman, a former dancer who hails from British Columbia, Canada.  “I know she has good wrestling and she’s been pretty active.  She’s probably going to want to take the fight to the ground and I’ll want to stay standing so it should be an interesting matchup.”

Punching and kicking opponents is a far cry from Kaufman’s former passion.  She’s been dancing since the ripe age of two. At eight years old, the five-foot, five-inch Kaufman joined a dance company and soon after began performing in musicals, dancing to everything from ballet to jazz to hip-hop.

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Kim Couture Withdraws From Tate Fight

Kim Couture, the wife of former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture, has withdrawn from her scheduled bout against Miesha Tate, which was slated to take place at the inaugural Sho MMA “Strikeforce Challengers” event next month.

Strikeforce officially announced the change this morning. According to a press release that was sent out to the media, the promotion is “working to replace the fight and finalize the card”, meaning that there remains a chance that a replacement opponent may not be able to be found for Tate in time for the show.

A reason for Couture’s withdrawal was not given, but a recent bulletin put out by Tate via her MySpace account (which has since been removed) suggests that the Couture’s may be having marital problems. I won’t speculate on that at all. This isn’t TMZ.

The press release can be seen in full after the jump.

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