Rousey defends her title in first UFC octagon bout
Women’s UFC debut headlined fight card
There was a sense of déjà vu at UFC 157 on a night fight fans saw something for the first time.
It was a history-making night as women competed inside Ultimate Fighting Championship’s octagon for the first time. Not only were Americans Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche on Saturday’s card in front of a sold-out crowd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., they were in the main event slot with Rousey’s bantamweight title on the line.
But not everything about the night was new. Much of it was familiar — painfully familiar, in fact, for Carmouche. Rousey — the trash-talking, arm-snapping phenom — starting her evening to the strains of Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation, and then finishing it with the most feared submission hold in mixed martial arts.
Rousey, who leading up to the fight was profiled by media outlets ranging from The New York Times to HBO and ESPN to Forbes, let her actions do the talking Saturday. After surviving the biggest scare of her pro career, the 2008 Olympic judo bronze medallist locked in an armbar to submit Carmouche at 4:49 of the first round and retain her UFC championship.
The media blitz was overwhelming at times, admitted Rousey, but it never distracted her from the big picture.
“It was different but there’s no amount of press that can save these girls from me,” said Rousey (7-0).
“I feel like we really did live up to the hype of all of it.”
For years, UFC president Dana White insisted that a women’s division wasn’t happening. He was intrigued by Gina Carano, and considered bringing her into UFC’s sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) a half-decade ago, but a deal was never done.
Instead, UFC watched as the likes of Carano, Julie Kedzie, Marloes Coenen, Miesha Tate, Sarah Kaufman, Cris Santos and more turned heads competing for promotions such as Elite XC and Strike force. But when the charismatic Rousey came upon the scene, going from unknown rookie to world champion in a year, White was sold. He makes no bones about it: Rousey was the spark for the company to create the women’s division.
A beauty outside the arena, she’s a beast inside the cage.
White looks at her and sees a transcendent superstar. The media storm in the lead-up to UFC 157, and her performance against Carmouche, confirmed his feelings.
White even poked fun at himself for his past comments about how women would never compete in UFC. “Those two went in and delivered tonight,” White said at the post-fight news conference.
“I knew it deserved to be the main event ... I felt this thing was going to be big.”
The atmosphere in front of 15,525 fans was electric as Rousey charged after Carmouche in the opening seconds, looking for a quick tie-up and finish. But Carmouche scrambled away f rom Rousey, quickly took her back and looked for a submission. For those fleeting moments, time slowed down as the sold-out crowd collectively held its breath, while at the same time roaring as a gigantic upset suddenly seemed possible. Carmouche locked her in a neck crank, riding Rousey like a backpack, squeezing her as tight as she could, before Rousey managed to escape.
“That was the most vulnerable a position I’ve been in so far in my career. That was pretty tight, that neck crank, and I was very happy to get out of it,” said Rousey.
Carmouche said she thought she had Rousey “but she’s the champion for a reason.
“I had that neck crank very tight, but I had the choke across her mouth and couldn’t get it to her neck,” said Carmouche (8-2), the former Marine and first openly gay fighter in UFC.
“You make a mistake. It turns things around.”
The fight over, both women had a moment to exhale and appreciate the moment of which they were part. Rousey was mobbed by her friends and family backstage.
“I’m honoured to be a part of it ... It might take a while for it to really sink in.”
In other pay-per-view matches at UFC 157:
Elusive as ever, former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (19-3) used his defence to frustrate Dan Henderson (29-9) on his way to a split-decision victory in the co-main event.
Showing that he remains in the bantamweight title mix, Urijah Faber (27-6) bounced back from an interim title loss last summer to Renan Barao to dominate Canadian mixed martial arts pioneer Ivan Menjivar (25-10).
In another preliminary matches at UFC 157,
London, Ont. native Sam Stout (20-8-1) ground out a split decision over Carlos Fodor (7-3) in a lightweight match. All three judges scored the bout 29-28, with two giving the nod to Stout thanks to strong mat work in the first round and solid bodywork throughout.