Brydon on Strikeforce: Analyze this

Ever play the game “20 questions”? Sarah Kaufman has, but not necessarily the fun version most people know.

Just ask her coach Adam Zugec. (But don’t tell him the question came from her.)

The former Strikeforce women’s 135-pound champion says she’s a very analytical type of person, and that means she asks a lot of questions. An “exorbitant amount.” And she said that tended to annoy the owner of Zugec Ultimate Martial Arts (Zuma) when she joined the gym in her hometown of Victoria. So he came up with a solution.

“When I first started training I asked so many questions that he started limiting me to 20 questions a day,” Kaufman said. “He really counts — so if I said, ‘Hey Adam, how are you?’ he’d say, ‘That’s one!'”

The 25-year-old does admit it was too many questions. But she’s the type of person who likes to be sure of what she’s doing.

Kaufman says that analytical nature can be both a help and a hindrance in her fights.

“Sometimes I get to the point where I get so analytical where if I’m doing something and it’s just not working exactly as I want it to, I kind of get a little bit worked up about it and focused on it,” Kaufman said. “So sometimes I can get caught in being too technical and step away from the fighting side a little bit.

“I really like the fighting side of it so it’s balancing the two and getting that aggressive side out but also being a technician.”

Ironically, she believes it was by being overly aggressive — and not relying on her training — that cost her her title back in October. She was controlling the pace against challenger Marloes Coenen before providing an opening for the crafty Dutchwoman to sink in an armbar and force a tap two minutes into the third round.

Kaufman was not happy about it.

“I got overexcited and made a big error and got caught,” she said. “I was pretty pissed afterwards at myself knowing that Adam Zugec has taught me all the armbar escapes over the years and that’s never been one of them.”

On Friday night at Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Kaufman (13-1) returns to Strikeforce for the first time since relinquishing her title and will take on American Liz Carmouche (5-1). It will be her first fight with the promotion since it was purchased by Zuffa, the parent company of its former rival UFC.

She said the transition under Zuffa has been great, especially with her tendency to ask questions.

“They have one person designated for every single specific small job so it’s easier to get a hold of (who I need to). If I need to talk about a work visa, it’s easier to get a hold of the person in charge of that because that is their sole job and they’re not trying to juggle that and matchmaking and venue organization. Everyone’s really accessible and everything’s planned out ahead of time and laid out.”

It will also be her first time fighting in Las Vegas — in fact, it is the first event in Sin City for the San Jose-based promotion, which previously stayed away from its major competition’s home base.

While she expects it to be business as usual, Kaufman also enjoys the prospect of competing in the fight capital of the world.

“For me a fight is a fight. But to have a crowd that’s so positive and I would hope they were a knowledgeable crowd because there are so many fights in Vegas, I’m excited to see what they bring and what the energy is like.”

Kaufman thinks her matchup against the 27-year-old Carmouche, who is also coming off a submission loss to Coenen, is a good one for her. And she believes a strong performance should be enough to earn her a chance to reclaim the championship.

“I’m prepared for a fast-paced fight because she’s always in shape and I’m always in shape. I really think it’s going to be a fight with lots of fireworks,” she said. “I definitely think if I have a good fight with Liz and win in exciting, decisive fashion, I deserve a shot at the belt.

“Its rightful home is at my gym at Zuma,” she added with a laugh.

Since losing her crown, Kaufman was permitted to take a fight in another promotion because Strikeforce promoters were having trouble finding her a suitable opponent. So in April, Kaufman fought in her hometown at Armageddon Fighting Championship. There she got back to her aggressive winning ways, knocking out Megumi Yabushita in the third round.

She said she was really happy to put on such a great performance, especially in front of her home crowd.

“It was totally different than fighting everywhere else,” Kaufman said. “To have half the crowd be people I knew personally, it was amazing and it really was a positive experience. And I think it was great for Victoria and for everyone who hasn’t been able to see me fight live.”

Kaufman also asked if she could say one more thing. (We’ll let that question be a freebie…)

“Thank you to everyone who supported me and to all my teammates at Zuma, and be sure to follow me on Twitter at @mmasarah,” said Kaufman, certainly cognizant of the new Twitter bonuses offered to Zuffa fighters.

Oh yes, she’s making the transition under her new employer quite well.