FanHouse Sarah Kaufman

The Sarah Kaufman vs. Takayo Hashi fight, which was originally scheduled for the Nov. 20 Strikeforce Challengers show, will now take place in mid-January 2010.

The undefeated Kaufman (10-0) informed FanHouse on Thursday that the organization told her that the highly anticipated 135-pound fight will happen on a yet-to-be announced show early next year.

Strikeforce has put the finishing touches on the televised portion of their Nov. 20 Challengers show, and it features a solid mix of up-and-coming stars.

Welterweight prospect Tyron Woodley (4-0), who defeated Zach Light at last month's Challengers event in Oklahoma, will face Strikeforce newcomer Rudy Bears in the main event. Bears (10-3) has won his last six fights in a row.

Gina Carano had the weight of a sport on her shoulders. Often referred to as "the face of women's MMA," Carano almost single-handedly carried the promotion leading up to Saturday night's Strikeforce event. But now, it's someone else's burden to carry, after Carano suffered a first-round TKO at the hands of Cris "Cyborg" Santos.

In some ways, it would seem like this is the worst possible outcome for Strikeforce with its poster girl losing, but there's another possibility here, that Cyborg's win adds another major drawing card to the company's improving roster.

Make no mistake: Carano is still a star, even in losing. She has such a magnetic personality and natural star power that the loss will not slow her down. Really, are you going to skip her next match?

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Joey Villasenor beat Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos by split decision Friday night in the main event of the Strikeforce Challenger Series event in Kent, Washington, providing an exciting, fast-paced conclusion to a good MMA show.

It's been almost a year since we've seen Shayna Baszler compete in an MMA cage. Following her last fight, a highly-visible loss to Cristiane Santos on CBS in July 2008, the 28-year-old was forced to sit on the sidelines while Pro Elite figured out what they were going to do with their contracts. Once Strikeforce purchased most of the significant ones in February, it was only a matter of time before Baszler got back to work and resumed her promising career.

At Friday's "Strikeforce: Challengers" event in Kent, Wash. (Showtime, 11 PM ET/PT), Baszler (9-5) will face undefeated star Sarah Kaufman. Kaufman (9-0) made her successful 135-pound Strikeforce debut last month, defeating Meisha Tate via unanimous decision. FanHouse spoke to Baszler about her time off and preparing for Kaufman. The full interview is below.

News and notes from around the world of mixed martial arts:

* A heavyweight bout between Tim Sylvia and Paul Buentello has been penciled in for "Affliction: Trilogy," a source close to Sylvia informed Fanhouse on Friday. A member of Buentello's camp told FanHouse that he already signed the bout agreement and Sylvia will be doing the same shortly. Sylvia was last seen losing in 36 seconds via rear naked choke to Fedor Emelianenko at the first Affliction event last July. Meanwhile, since losing the Strikeforce heavyweight title to Alistair Overeem in November 2007, Buentello has won his last two fights in a row.

Miesha Tate and Sarah Kaufman have a mandate, and that's proving to the world that women's MMA goes deeper than just Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg.

The pair gets the opportunity to do so on May 15's Strikeforce Challengers event in Fresno, Calif., broadcast on Showtime.

Tate was originally booked to fight Kim Couture on the event, but after the latter dropped out due to personal reasons, she was replaced by Kaufman, who openly campaigned for the fight and got her wish granted when Strikeforce president Scott Coker moved her from a June 19 match with Shayna Baszler. Barring injury, the winner of the Tate-Kaufman bout will face Baszler.

Less than a week after Kim Couture pulled out of her scheduled May 15 bout against Miesha Tate at Strikeforce: Challengers, the San Jose-based promotion has found a more than suitable replacement. FanHouse has learned that Sarah Kaufman, 8-0, has agreed to step in on short notice to face Tate (5-1).