Sarah Kaufman Injured; Leslie Smith Steps In Against Kaitlin Young At Invicta FC 3

An injury has forced Sarah Kaufman to withdraw from her Invicta FC 3 bantamweight scrap with Kaitlin Young (7-6-1) on Oct. 6, setting up a rematch between Young and Leslie Smith (3-2-1), promotion officials announced on Monday.

Both seasoned strikers, Young and Smith engaged in an all-out slugfest for three rounds at the inaugural Invicta FC event on April 28, before a majority draw was declared.  Young and Smith were awarded “Fight of the Night” honors for their valiant efforts and the possibility of a rematch has since been a recent topic of discussion.

To date, the 27-year-old Young has earned six of her seven professional wins by KO.  In her third start, she scored a memorable KO on former Strikeforce bantamweight champion Miesha Tate with a head kick just 30 seconds into their matchup.

Smith, a 31-year-old product of the Cesar Gracie Academy, went unbeaten (3-0) as an amateur before turning pro on March 6, 2009 and scoring a third round TKO on Louise Johnson with a series of punches.

Invicta FC 3 takes place on October 6 at the Memorial Hall on Kansas City, Kansas, and is headlined by a atomweight (105-pounds) scrap between Jessice Penne and Naho Sugiyama to crown the promotion's first champion.

(Pictured: Leslie Smith)