Liz Carmouche (pictured) Photo credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog
Photo credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog

The first female fight in UFC history will take place on February 23 at Anaheim, California’s Honda Center — or possibly the “Ronda Center” depending on how the UFC 157 main event plays out between 26-year-old Olympic judo medalist Ronda Rousey (6-0) and her opponent, 28-year-old former Marine Liz Carmouche (8-2).

The odds are certainly stacked against Carmouche. With betting lines at -1200 for Rousey and +775 for Carmouche, and with all nine of Rousey’s previous opponents suffering first round defeats via armbar submission, one would be hard-pressed to find anyone giving Carmouche a legitimate chance of winning aside from those closest to her.

At a recent UFC fan Q&A session Carmouche was asked what she will do different — how will she be able to do what nine other female fighters have not been able to do — even though they knew it was coming, still they could not prevent being submitted by Rousey.

Carmouche replied:

“Besides not getting arm-barred? Maybe I do a judo throw to her and manage to armbar her, no one would expect that one, right. That one comes out of left field. The training camp is a little bit different; a lot more weight training, bulking up, getting a little bit stronger. And we’re actually traveling to different fight camps and bringing people in that we didn’t necessarily do before. But for the most part it’s pretty much the same. We’ve been training from day one, when she took the title, for this fight. We just finally got the opportunity for it.”

Could it happen? Could Liz Carmouche actually submit Ronda Rousey — and by armbar nonetheless? Imagine the headlines.

Five of Carmouche’s eight wins have come via knockout and two have come via submission. She choked out Kaitlin Young at Invicta FC 2 last July. However, her only win via armbar was in her second pro fight when she submitted Aleena Albertson in May 2010. It was Albertson’s only pro fight and she hasn’t fought since.

Could Carmouche do it? Could she use Rousey’s own ultimate weapon against her — could she “Rousey” Rousey? It’s certainly possible, especially if she hurt Rousey first with strikes. Would I take that bet though?

Nope.

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