UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche Results And Review

 

 

 

She did it again. Liz Carmouche knew it was coming and could do nothing to stop her. Ronda Rousey retained the UFC women's bantamweight championship against Liz Carmouche in the first female fight in UFC history. UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche was as much as a success as it was historical as all the fighters came to win and acted in a professional manner even when they lost. Lawler jumped back into the UFC in a big way, Faber is on the hunt for gold again and Rousey did what she does best. As for Henderson and Machida, well let's just say that fight could have been a bit better. Let us take a look at what went down last night at UFC 157.

 

The first fight of the night on the main card was the fight I most wanted to see other than the obvious. Robbie Lawler made his UFC return after a 9 year absent and boy did he make a statement. "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler is back. Lawler wasted no time in bringing the fight to Koscheck who managed to use his wrestling game to take the slugger down on multiple occasions. At one point Koscheck had Lawler in a bit of trouble as he worked for a rear naked choke. Lawler defended well and managed to work his way out where he unloaded on Koscheck who got rocked. Lawler pounced to finish the fight landing massive blows to Koscheck who looked to actually be coherent and defending well. The referee felt otherwise and stepped in to call a halt to the bout at just 3:57 of the first round due to TKO. Some say it was an early stoppage and some say it was justified. The fact is Koscheck was not in a good position and Lawler was most likely going to finish Koscheck before the round expired. Koscheck is has now dropped two in a row and will need to take a serious look at his approach to fighting if he plans to continue to fight on the world's biggest MMA stage. Lawler will now look to his next opponent and you can bet every fighter in the welterweight division took note of his power.

 

The next fight was a candidate for fight of the night as "TUF" Champion Court McGee went to war with respected veteran Josh Neer. The two men stood toe to toe for much of the fight exchanging powerful striking combinations. Neither man wanted to give any ground, but it was McGee who was able to establish control with well-timed takedowns and striking. McGee was able to rock Neer on multiple occasions in which he almost had the fight stopped only to battle back and take the fight to Court. In the end it proved not enough as McGee took home the victory by unanimous decision. Neer has now dropped three straight fights inside the Octagon. This will most likely see him demoted to the b leagues where he will try to make his way back to the show, or he will retire before it is too late. McGee has secured his job for the time being and looked his best in a long time. His opponents will only get harder now and quest to be the best will be that much tougher. If McGee's life history is any indicator then he will meet this challenge head on like he has everything else.

 

This fight was a reminder that you cannot count out a former champion. Urijah Faber proved as much when he submitted Ivan Menjivar in the first round by rear naked choke.  Faber's UFC career has been up and down so far as he has tried to find his stride as he did in his days of domination in WEC. The former WEC featherweight champion has stated many times that his ultimate goal is to wear UFC gold before he calls it a day in this beautiful sport of ours. He most recently tasted defeat against Renan Barao in a fight for the UFC interim bantamweight championship. Faber has also fought for the UFC bantamweight title against current champion Dominick Cruz in which he tasted defeat there as well. His determination shined through Saturday night as he dominated his opponent from start to finish. Not once did Faber let up and his transition on the back of Menjivar leading to the standing rear naked choke was a thing of beauty. Faber is indeed on the right track and may very well wear UFC gold on day. Menjivar fought hard, but came up short on that night. His days are still ahead of him and he will go back and adjust his mistakes and come back stronger than ever. 

 

The co-main event was a frustrating fight in my eyes. The fight was a good fight as both fighters landed hard punches throughout the fight and Machida's foot work was a thing of beauty. My point of frustration comes, as the fighters never were able to engage long enough to finish the fight. Machida used his footwork to keep himself from being hammered by Henderson's right. Machida was able to keep Henderson at a distance with his continuous front kicks and leg kicks. The two men would clinch, but before Henderson could really employ his famed dirty boxing Machida would slip away. The fight went this way till the end in which Machida was declared the victor by split decision. The fight was very close and now Machida will go on to face Jon Jones again if Jones can get past Sonnen. Henderson is now left scratching his head wondering what just happened. Things are going to get interesting for both these fighters. Just wait and see.

 

The main event was spectacular as "The Rowdy One" defended her UFC women's bantamweight championship for the first time against Liz Carmouche in the first female fight in UFC history. Rousey came in looking ready to go and I have to say Carmouche looked like she may have been a victim of the dreaded UFC jitters early on. Those Jitters went right out the window as the fight started. Carmouche has little opportunity to worry about butterflies as Rousey brought the fight quick and fast. Rousey landed a nice uppercut and then executed a sweet head and arm throw. Carmouche showed her grit as she managed to take Rousey's back after the throw and almost pulled off a rear naked choke and then a nasty looking neck crank. Rousey looked to be in real pain, but managed to work her way out and start to attack on the ground. As you would expect Rousey soon found an arm and worked on it like a dog on a bone. Rousey finally managed to extend the arm and get the tap with just 11 seconds left on the clock in the first round. Absolutely incredible! Rousey has now one every one of her amateur and professional MMA fights by way of arm bar in the very first round with only one going past the first minute. That is mind blowing for a man or woman. Ronda Rousey is ready for anyone and looks like she can beat anyone. This is going to be a career worth following. Let the fun continue.

 

This was a great night of fights and one I will be able to tell my children about when I’m older when they ask their daddy what he use to do. I will be able to tell them about this night and show them that they can do anything they want to if they just put their heart and mind to it. The fight sold out and brought in a gate of $1.4 million proving that women can headline a UFC card and bring in the money. Thank you for reading this events review. Conflict Fighting appreciates your support. See you all at the next event and we wish you a good day.

 

Main Card (Pay-per-view 10PM ET)

• UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title Fight: Ronda Rousey def. Liz Carmouche via submission (armbar) at 4:49 of Round 1
• Lyoto Machida def. Dan Henderson via split decision
• Urijah Faber def. Ivan Menjivar via submission (standing rear-naked choke) at 4:34 of Round 1
• Court McGee def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision
• Robbie Lawler def. Josh Koschek via TKO at 3:57 of Round 1

Preliminary Card (FX 8 PM ET)

• Brendan Schaub def. Lavar Johnson via unanimous decision
• Mike Chiesa def. Anton Kuivanen via submission at 2:29 of Round 2
• Dennis Bermudez def. Matt Grice via split decision 
• Sam Stout def. Caros Fodor via split decision 

Preliminary Card (Facebook 6:30PM ET)

• Kenny Robertson def. Brock Jardine via submission at 2:57 of Round 1
• Neil Magny def. Jon Manley via unanimous decision 
• Nah-Shon Burrell def. Yuri Villefort via unanimous decision