Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has said April will be the month that two previously announced eight-women tournaments will take place. The tourneys will feature women in the 145-pound and 135-pound weight divisions. They will start taking place at the Strikeforce Challengers event that month.
“We’re looking for the next women to fight the Gina Caranos and the Cris Cyborgs of the world,” Coker said.
The tournaments were originally scheduled to kick off at the end of last year.
“With the Fedor (Emelianenko) deal, the (Dan) Henderson deal, the EA deal, we just started getting bombarded with these large acquisitions and transactions,” said Coker. “The female tournaments kept getting pushed back, which is fine, because we wanted time to get them right.”
One name who will be missing from the 135-pound tournament will be Sarah Kaufman (10-0). Strikeforce is expected to match her up against Takayo Hashi (12-1) for the vacant 135-pound title.
“I think that fight’s happening sooner than later — February or March, for sure,” Coker said.
The women who come out on top in their tournaments will likely face the champions in their respective divisions.
FanSided
The Cruelest Sport
[...] will be starting tournaments in the women’s 135-pound and 145-pound weight classes. Tate will be returning to Strikeforce action just in time to possibly compete in the tourneys. [...]