This fight is definitely as easy as it will get for Ronda Rousey if Cris ‘Cyborg’ or Sarah McMann are going to step in to the Octagon anytime soon. Yet Liz ‘Girl-Rilla’ Carmouche is no slouch in her own right since she is on a two fight win streak against Ashleigh Curry and a dangerous striker in Kaitlin Young.
With an overall record of 7-2, she is capable of beating high level opponents, but also losing to them as well. Both her opponents she dropped fights to were Sarah Kaufman and Marloes Coenen.
It only took Rousey less than a minute to submit Kaufmann by armbar in both of their last fights. Coenen has yet to face Rousey but since she was armtriangled by Miesha Tate who was armbarred by Rousey, sigh.. see the trend I’m alluding to not so subtly?
This one may not last long. Just check out the statistics between these two fighters accumulated by fightmetric.com.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Ronda Rousey / Liz Carmouche
Wins/Losses/Draws 6-0-0 / 7-2-0
Average Fight Time 01:36 / 12:15
STRIKING (Significant Strikes)
Strikes Landed per Min. 1.87 / 2.57
Striking Accuracy 60% / 53%
Strikes Absorbed per Min. 1.87 / 2.92
Defense 66% / 50%
GRAPPLING
Takedowns Average/15 min. 11.69 / 0.92
Takedown Accuracy 63% /21%
Takedown Defense 50% / 100%
Submission Average/15 min. 11.69/0
What stands out in my mind in the stats above is the average fight time, and the entire grappling category. Carmouche on average takes this fight in to the third round which gives Ronda a lot of time to hunt for subs.
Also, Carmouche’s takedown accuracy is 21% while Rousey’s is 63%. That tells me that this fight will hit the mat and probably not with Carmouche on top.
Then again, Carmouche’s takedown defense is apparently never tested. If she has withstood 100% of her opponent’s takedowns over the years, this fight may be more interesting than critics realize.
If WMMA doesn’t want to be set back a decade, those invested should be praying for another Rousey win. But anything can happen in a fight and Carmouche has proven she is capable of submitting and knocking out her opponents.
Rest assured she will at least be training on her takedown and submission defense until the moment she steps in to the cage on February 23rd.
A Marine Corps veteran of seven years, I’ll give Carmouche the upper hand if this was a battle of marksmanship, but unfortunately for her, M-16’s aren’t allowed in the cage.
Of course I take no credit for the lack of boldness in my prediction here, but I believe Ronda will armbar Carmouche fairly quickly in the first round.
No one really knows what it takes to stop Ronda’s Judo throws, trips, and armbar submissions at this point. So until a high caliber wrestler such as Sara McMann who took silver in the Olympics for wrestling in 2004, or Cyborg who is just terrifying enters the fray, all my money is on the “Armbar Assassin.”
Watch Dana White hand Ronda Rousey her UFC belt for the first time in the video below
Video courtesy of MiddleEasyTV.