How far has MMA come in the eyes of the mainstream media? The recent Strikeforce Challengers event from this weekend actually made ESPN Sportscenter’s “Plays of the Week”. And it wasn’t even a men’s fight that was featured. It was the “Power Bomb” that Sarah Kaufman gave to Roxanne Modafferi, and it came in at #4.

Anchor Stuart Scott then said he wants to see Kaufman fight “Christy Cyborg”, at least that’s what it sounded like to me. OK, not her name and also not the same weight class, but props for knowing the baddest female MMA fighter on the globe. And for putting women’s MMA on your plays of the week.

According to MMA Junkie, the Kaufman vs. Modafferi fight received the most viewers of any bout on the card. At one point their fight had 254,000 viewers. The main event of Lolohea Mahe vs. Shane Del Rosario landed just over 225k viewers.

It’s not earth-shaking to MMA or where it’s going, but it’s pretty cool and somewhat significant that the Kaufman/Modafferi bout landed on the ESPN highlights and also was the most-watched fight of the night. I think women’s MMA is awesome, and often times more entertaining than the men. I’m surprised that Dana White hasn’t yet started a women’s division, if only to bite out of Scott Coker and Strikeforce’s apple.

h/t: Bloody Elbow