Now that
Liz
Carmouche has arrived in the penthouse, she undoubtedly wants
to take off her shoes and stay a while.
The 38-year-old Californian will defend her
Bellator
MMA women’s flyweight championship for the first time when she
rematches former titleholder
Juliana
Velasquez in the
Bellator 289 co-main event on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena
in Uncasville, Connecticut. Carmouche has won all four of her
fights since she touched down in Bellator a little more than two
years ago. She last appeared at Bellator 278, where she dethroned
Velasquez with a burst of elbow strikes in the fourth round of
their April 22 confrontation. Velasquez, meanwhile, has compiled a
7-1 record in eight Bellator assignments. Wins over
Denise
Kielholtz,
Ilima-Lei
Macfarlane,
Bruna Ellen
and
Alejandra
Lara highlight the
Team Nogueira rep’s resume.
As Carmouche prepares for her forthcoming sequel with Velasquez at
125 pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have come to
define her:
1. A Near Miss
Strikeforce
women’s bantamweight champion
Marloes
Coenen survived a serious scare from the previously undefeated
Carmouche when she submitted the former Marine with a triangle
choke in the fourth round of their Strikeforce “Feijao vs.
Henderson” co-main event on March 5, 2011 at Nationwide Arena in
Columbus, Ohio. Coenen sealed the deal 1:29 into Round 4, rallying
for a dramatic comeback. Carmouche bullied the Golden Glory
standout for much of the matchup. A late replacement for the
injured
Miesha Tate,
she took down, mounted and punished the seasoned titleholder with
ground-and-pound in the second and third rounds. Coenen looked
uncharacteristically out of sorts off her back, as Carmouche twice
moved into a high mounted position and unleashed relentless volleys
of punches and hammerfists. Her right eye visibly swollen, Coenen
again had to fight from her back in the fourth round. This time,
however, she turned the tide in her favor. Coenen trapped Carmouche
in full guard, snaked her legs around the challenger’s neck,
tightened the triangle choke and waited for the tapout. Carmouche
fought to free herself, but with no means of escape, surrender
became her only option. A reluctant tapout followed.
2. B-Side to History
Ronda
Rousey retained her
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight
championship in the UFC 157 main event when she submitted Carmouche
with a first-round armbar before a raucous crowd that had assembled
to see the first-ever showdown between two females inside the
Octagon. Carmouche tapped out with 11 seconds remaining in Round 1,
her right arm hopelessly entangled in the champion’s web. She
provided the Rousey with her sternest test yet. Carmouche
transitioned to the Olympic bronze medalist’s back a little more
than a minute into the bout and tried to spring a shocking
submission, first with a standing rear-naked choke and then with a
gruesome neck crank. The decorated judoka could not hide the fact
that she was in distress, but managed to free herself from danger
and forced Carmouche into a far less advantageous position. Rousey
powered into top position and assaulted the Team Hurricane Awesome
representative with a series of punches to the face, setting the
stage for the finish. Soon, Carmouche was trapped and her efforts
to escape proved fruitless, as Rousey isolated the arm after a
prolonged struggle and secured the tapout.
3. Sense of Belonging
Carmouche dispatched Brazilian prospect
Jessica
Andrade with some serious second-round ground-and-pound in the
second round of their UFC on Fox 8 women’s bantamweight showcase on
July 27, 2013 at KeyArena in Seattle. Andrade succumbed to blows
3:57 into round 2. Carmouche was in prime form. The Lafayette,
Louisiana, native struck for multiple takedowns and weathered an
attempted guillotine choke from Andrade in the first round. In the
second, Carmouche delivered another takedown, passed to side
control, mounted the Parana Vale Tudo export and threatened her
with a rear-naked choke before unleashing her ground-and-pound.
Transitioning between back control and full mount, Carmouche
dropped heavy punches and sharp elbows with authority, ultimately
forcing the stoppage with an accumulation of blows. It was the
first of her five victories inside the Octagon.
4. So Close, Yet So Far Away
Valentina
Shevchenko played chess to another would-be successor’s
checkers and retained her undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship
flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Carmouche in the UFC
Fight Night 156 main event on Aug. 10, 2019 at Antel Arena in
Montevideo, Uruguay. All three judges scored it 50-45 for
Shevchenko, as she maintained her stranglehold on the 125-pound
weight class and avenged a September 2010 defeat to the
“Girl-Rilla.” Carmouche connected with nothing of consequence
across 25 minutes, a fact to which statistical data can attest. She
failed to land more than seven significant strikes in any one
round, whiffed on all four of her takedown attempts and surrendered
nearly eight minutes of control time. Shevchenko toyed with the
Team Hurricane Awesome standout at times, leaping in and out with
punches and even obliging her with a few ground exchanges. Nothing
Carmouche tried worked, and she walked away from what was perhaps
her final UFC appearance empty-handed.
5. Statement Made
Carmouche established herself as the No. 1 contender for the
Bellator MMA women’s flyweight crown when she shredded the unbeaten
Kana
Watanabe with punches less than a minute into their Bellator
261 co-headliner on June 25, 2021 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in
Uncasville, Connecticut. Watanabe, who stepped into the cage with a
10-0-1 record, checked out 35 seconds into Round 1. Carmouche
soared from the start, firing punches and kicks at the
Rizin Fighting Federation veteran with no regard for what she
might encounter in return. She staggered Watanabe with an overhand
right, pushed her to the fence and buckled her with a clean right
hook. More punches followed, and referee
Kevin
MacDonald intervened to prevent additional bodily harm. It
remains the only sub-minute finish of Carmouche’s career.