Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman
| Company type | MMA event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed martial arts |
| Founded | August 18, 2012 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California , United States |
| Products | Mixed martial arts fights |
Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman was an MMA event organized by Strikeforce on August 18, 2012, hosted at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California. The event was available live via Showtime and Showtime Extreme broadcasts.
Background
The headline bout featured a contest for the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship between the reigning champion Ronda Rousey and the former titleholder Sarah Kaufman. The fight card consisted of nine officially sanctioned mixed martial arts matches. On August 17, the official weigh-ins took place and were accessible to the public.
To build excitement for the matchup, Rousey made appearances on Conan, participated in Showtime's documentary series "All Access: Ronda Rousey," and appeared on the cover of ESPN's Body Issue. During the pre-fight press conference, Rousey heightened interest by expressing her determined mindset toward facing Kaufman.
After the cancellation of Strikeforce's subsequent two events and following their last card featuring solely male competitors, this marked the final Strikeforce event to include female fighters. Additionally, it was the last Strikeforce broadcast featuring commentator Mauro Ranallo, who had been absent from the previous event due to personal reasons.
Salaries
The total disclosed fighter compensation for Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman amounted to $368,000, not accounting for any bonuses or sponsorship deals.
Preliminary card
- Bobby Green: $16,000 (split as $8,000 to appear and $8,000 as a win bonus)
- Matt Ricehouse: $5,000
- Germaine de Randamie: $15,000 ($7,500 show money plus $7,500 win bonus)
- Hiroko Yamanaka: $8,000
- Adlan Amagov: $20,000 ($10,000 to show and $10,000 for winning)
- Keith Berry: $2,000
- Miesha Tate: $38,000 ($19,000 show money and $19,000 win bonus)
- Julie Kedzie: $5,000
Main card
- Ovince St. Preux: $34,000 ($17,000 guaranteed plus $17,000 victory bonus)
- T. J. Cook: $3,000
- Anthony Smith: $6,000 (comprising $3,000 to show and $3,000 to win)
- Lumumba Sayers: $7,000
- Tarec Saffiedine: $35,000 ($17,500 show pay with an additional $17,500 for a win)
- Roger Bowling: $10,000
- Ronaldo Souza: $94,000 ($72,000 base pay plus a $22,000 win bonus)
- Derek Brunson: $13,000
Main event
- Ronda Rousey: $40,000 (including $20,000 to appear and a $20,000 victory bonus)
- Sarah Kaufman: $17,000
Viewership
The broadcast attracted an average audience of 529,000 viewers across both live and delayed Showtime Sports airings. It ranked as the highest-rated Strikeforce event on Showtime for that year and was sixth overall in viewership.
At its peak during the main event bout, viewership reached 676,000. When factoring in the Sunday replay of Rousey vs. Kaufman, total cumulative viewers reached 908,000.