5 Defining Moments: Liz Carmouche

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.