When I was younger, I spent some time training with the Navy Boxing Team, in Ventura, California. On the team was a scrappy female fighter, a Mexican-American from Oxnard, named Martina. Martina was small, tough, had a vicious hook. She was constantly underestimated, always fought a bout of attrition, was strong, and gave as much blood as she spilled.
Liz Carmouche reminds me of Martina, not only because of her short, muscular stature, not only for her military background, but for the underdog stigma she seems to carry with her everywhere she goes.
At Anaheim's Honda Center, Carmouche hoped to change that.
It's February 23, 2013. She's facing off against Ronda Rousey: tall, gorgeous Olympian, arm-bar specialist, confident to the point of cocky, but cocky with style. They're fighting for the UFC women's Bantamweight Championship of the world, the first women's fight in the history of the organization. And "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey, the undefeated former champion of Strikeforce, is the heavy favorite.
They face each other across the cage, champion and challenger. It's been a great card so far, from the preliminary war between Nah Shon Burrell and Yuri Villefort (Burrell, unanimous decision), to the awesomely violent brawl that showcased every reason I love fighting between Dennis Bermudez and Matt Grice (Bermudez, split decision, and, if there's justice, Fight of the Night), to the co-main event between Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida, where we watched Machida side-step and counterpunch his way to a split-decision rematch against John Jones.
And it's all led up to this. The main event. Both have something to prove. Carmouche wants the title, and Rousey wants to legitimize it. The whole crowd is on their feet. There's an electricity at this fight unlike any I've experienced. It's almost surreal, as Big John McCarthy steps back, and these neo-Valkyries come together.
Immediately they collide. Rousey, seizing Carmouche, scores an early takedown, landing topside. Rousey goes for the arm-bar, her signature move (in six fights and less than eight total minutes of fighting, Rousey has won all her bouts by first round submission). Carmouche has other plans.
She rolls to Rousey's back, putting the champion in more danger than any contender before her. As she tries to lock in a standing rear-naked choke, her forearm slides up and down Rousey's face, in a moment eerily reminiscent of a prior fight this evening, that of Urijah Faber and Ivan Menjivar.
But, Rousey, astoundingly, shrugs her off, like a weighty rucksack, and starts throwing punches. This bit of ground and pound transitions to Rousey taking side control, softening Carmouche's defenses with short, crisp blows. The round wears down.
They begin to roll. Once again, you can see Rousey attempting to pry Carmouche's arm out from her chest. The seconds tick away. It seems as if Carmouche will be the first in Rousey's MMA career to make it out of the opening round.
14, 13, 12
And then, with the suddenness of a shark attack, the fight is over. Carmouche's elbow is pointing towards the ceiling, there's a hellacious roar from the crowds, and Big John is forced to intervene.
Rousey is our winner. Arm-bar in the first round. 7-0 with the same move.
It was a historic moment for the UFC, fighters, and female athletes the world over. To see how the sport has progressed is simply incredible. What was once considered a spectacle, a show, something akin to midget's boxing in the roaring 20's, has now transcended into the realm of accepted sport. To remember Martina, and to see where things stand now, is nearly mind-boggling. Rousey took the blows, conducted herself with style, and cranked her way to a paradigm-setting victory.
Also on the card tonight we got to see the submission skills of Kenny Robertson, the emergence of a new and improved Sam Stout, the vicious reintroduction of Ruthless Robby Lawler (although, admittedly, that fight was stopped prematurely
My condolences, Koscheck), and a standing-rear-naked choke by the California Kid. It was an entertaining card, punctuated by moments of knuckle-throbbing brilliance, a card that feels like the start of something.
In addition, Brendan Shaub, Michael Chiesa, Neil Magny, and Court McGee won their fights. UFC 158 will feature a championship bout between Georges Rush St. Pierre and Stockton-born bad boy Nick Diaz.
Rousey's hands are being raised, a smile stretched across her face. And the crowds are clapping, clapping. And the belt, like her smile, is being stretched across her waist. It gleams in the light, and the sound of cheering drowns out all else.