It took 20 years for women to work their way into the UFC. It took 4 minutes and 49 seconds for them to prove to doubters why they belonged.
Ronda Rousey, the former Olympian who rose from obscurity to stardom in the blink of an eye, defended her UFC bantamweight strap on Saturday night, adding the right arm of Liz Carmouche to her growing collection in the main event of UFC 157. The result was admittedly predictable, but the execution was undeniably electric.
Carmouche seized Rousey’s back midway through the first round, nearly securing a choke then a neck crank that would have stunned the world, before tumbling off and succumbing to Rousey’s trademark armbar. The moment not only served as vindication for Carmouche, who many said didn’t stand a chance, but also Rousey and women’s mixed martial arts as a whole. The 26-year-old displayed the heart of a UFC champion, and ultimately, WMMA couldn’t have asked for a louder, more emphatic, introduction to the masses.
Ronda, armbar Rnd. 1. We should all probably get used to hearing that. #UFC157 #ufc #mma
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 24, 2013
Great fight! @rondayrousey fought like a worthy champion! Welcome to the @ufc women! 🙂
— Siyar The Great (@SiyarTheGreat) February 24, 2013
@vitorbelfort @rondarousey your arm bar is great u got to teach me so when I fight #jonjones next time I will take that arm home
— Vitor Belfort (@vitorbelfort) February 24, 2013
Pretty amazing moment in time tonight Rousey vs Carmouche #UFC157
— Sean Shelby (@seanshelby) February 24, 2013
whoever said that Hendo vs Machida was “the real main event”, I wonder if they’re glad that it wasn’t. Ronda n Liz WERE the real main event.
— Vinny Magalhaes (@VinnyMMA) February 24, 2013
Man doesn’t girls know how to defend an arm bar yet, one fight at time they will get better.
— Roy Nelson (@roynelsonmma) February 24, 2013
Congrats to @rondarousey ! I need to learn those armbars!! Great technick !
— Demian Maia (@demianmaia) February 24, 2013
Congrats also to Liz @iamgirlrilla . Those girls deserve our respect.
— Demian Maia (@demianmaia) February 24, 2013
Roust by armbar OMG
— mark richard hunt (@markhunt1974) February 24, 2013
I love #wmma
— Kyle Kingsbury (@Kingsbu) February 24, 2013
Wow Liz had @rondarousey in trouble for a second & almost took her to the second round. #Almost #ufc157 Ronda is a stud.
— Yves Edwards (@thugjitsumaster) February 24, 2013
That was pretty bad a** ….
— Raphael Assuncao (@RaphaAssuncao) February 24, 2013
We were moments away from a wardrobe malfunction#UFC157
— Phil Davis (@PhilMrWonderful) February 24, 2013
wow! @rondarousey just killed it
— Andy Ogle (@thelittleaxe) February 24, 2013
She’s a woman among girls bro… #ufc157
— Jason High (@KCBanditMMA) February 24, 2013
That was a real fight Ronda is badass
— Ross Pearson (@RossTheRealDeal) February 24, 2013
These girls r more jacked than I am, hahaha #UFC157 #mma
— Dennis Bermudez (@MenaceBermudez) February 24, 2013
Both @rondarousey & @iamgirlrilla were on point & def made history by basically walkn on the moon by enterin the octagon by wmma standards
— Michelle Ould (@MichelleOuldMMA) February 24, 2013
Congrats @rondarousey ! And Liz for being game and up for the challenge.
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) February 24, 2013
You can’t stop it, you can only hope to contain. #RondaArmlock #RondaLock
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 24, 2013
Damn! Good fight for the women! @ufconfox
— Pablo Garza UFC (@PabloGarzaMMA) February 24, 2013
@rondarousey Congrats… 1st round armbar!? Who would have thought. Lol
— Ben Saunders (@bensaundersMMA) February 24, 2013
Wow another armbar by Ronda… Crazy..
— Douglas Lima (@PhenomLima) February 24, 2013
Ronda fought through that rnc like a champ.
— MIKE RICHMAN (@MikeUSMCRichman) February 24, 2013
Hella fights tonight!!! @ufc #UFC157 Def a memorable experience! Congrats Champ! @rondarousey
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) February 24, 2013
Sock in mouth right now @thebobbyrosales
— David Rickels (@TheCaveman316) February 24, 2013
Wow that Ronda rousey fight was amazing!
— Reuben Duran (@ReubenDuranUFC) February 24, 2013
I knew it Ronda is THE BEST AROUND IN THE WORLD!!!!@ufc & @danawhite just found GOLD #awesomeChamp
— kurt pellegrino (@kurtpellegrino) February 24, 2013
Congrats to @rondarousey for a historic win tonight #props
— Will Brooks (@illwillbrooks86) February 24, 2013
First round arm bar!! crazy good fight #girlsarestealingtheshow
— lloyd woodard (@mmacupcake) February 24, 2013
This is sad to admit but i think ronda rousey and liz carmouche are stronger than me lol 🙁
— Nam Phan (@NamPhanMMA) February 24, 2013
I gave 100% tonight. Thank you for your support! I shall return. #lizbos
— LIZ CARMOUCHE (@iamgirlrilla) February 24, 2013
MACHIDA OUTPOINTS HENDERSON
Dude didn’t come to fight @danhendo !
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) February 24, 2013
There are very few things on Earth I dislike more than Machida’s fighting style…
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) February 24, 2013
I disagree with the @danhendo score! I thought Dan won that fight.
— Cung Le (@CungLe185) February 24, 2013
@danhendo score a ton of inside leg kicks
— Cung Le (@CungLe185) February 24, 2013
I’d like to see Machida on Dancing with the Stars
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) February 24, 2013
I know that’s not what fans (or myself) wanted to see but that was extremely technical stand up. Surprised Dan didn’t try more takedowns.
— Kyle Kingsbury (@Kingsbu) February 24, 2013
So does Loyoto get a title shot now or do you guys wanna wait to see what happens between the Gustafsson and Mousasi fight? @ufc
— Ulysses Gomez (@uselessgomez) February 24, 2013
LMAO at Chuck Liddell asking @joerogan if Hendo and Machida landed anything at all? #ufc157
— Siyar The Great (@SiyarTheGreat) February 24, 2013
That fight SUCKED! #UFC157
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) February 24, 2013
Good job by @lyotomachidafw, but @danhendo is still the man in my book. #mma #UFC
— Mark Bocek (@MarkBocek) February 24, 2013
Why are they booing?
— Akira Corassani (@AkiraCorassani) February 24, 2013
What a beautiful display of Karate! Parabens @lyotomachidafw #Bushido #MartialArts
— Akira Corassani (@AkiraCorassani) February 24, 2013
Boring…looked like a pissed off drunk dad fighting his kid’s Karate teacher.
— War Machine (@WarMachine170) February 24, 2013
Love hendo one of my all time fav’s …respectmachida… but that fight sucked… #ufc #Bellator #MMA
— Brian Rogers (@BRogthePredator) February 24, 2013
Machida footwork & efficiency won him the fight but not an exciting one. Gotta respect Hendo’s right hand tho. Smart fight. #UFC157
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 24, 2013
Well here’s the prob. If someone fights defensively & still out scores u, then u lose. As annoying as it is, it will win fights. #mayweather
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 24, 2013
Waiting for Dana to press a button and the octagon shrinks to the size of the bud light sign for Hendo vs. Machida
— John Cholish (@JohnCholish) February 24, 2013
Not sure how that gets scored for Henderson. #ufc157
— Jason High (@KCBanditMMA) February 24, 2013
Judges r retarded, Hendo all the way!
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) February 24, 2013
Machida out there doing an aerobics routine #UFC157
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunsonMMA) February 24, 2013
I dnt even know how to score that fight. And honestly dnt want to. It sucked
— George Roop (@GeorgeRoop) February 24, 2013
Everyone is booing but i thought it was fair. What do you guys think?
— Nam Phan (@NamPhanMMA) February 24, 2013
Apologize to my fans for a boring fight, wont happen again. I appreciate the support…be back soon!
— Dan Henderson (@danhendo) February 24, 2013
FABER CHOKES OUT MENJIVAR
Pretty excited do this Faber and Menjivar fight.I was at their first fight and was a like 2 squirrels fighting over a nut.
— Chris Clements(@menaceclements) February 24, 2013
I think we’re seeing vintage Uriah with these elbows from the guard
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) February 24, 2013
It’s nuts in here!! Faber wins by RNC
— Alexis Davis (@AlexisDavisMMA) February 24, 2013
@urijahfaber u desserve the Black Belt u look amazing congrats
— Vitor Belfort (@vitorbelfort) February 24, 2013
Best celebration ever? #UFC157 @ufc instagr.am/p/WGjuhSKbz7/
— Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) February 24, 2013
That was badass!!! Congrats @urijahfaber
— chad mendes (@chadmendes) February 24, 2013
Great performance from @urijahfaber guess his job is safe!lol
— Ross Pearson (@RossTheRealDeal) February 24, 2013
Daaaamn that was crazy. #ufc157
— Jason High (@KCBanditMMA) February 24, 2013
Guaranteed entertainment with @urijahfaber in the ring! Epic victory pose while still on Menjivars back! You da man Fabes. #SOTN
— Joseph Benavidez (@JoeJitsu) February 24, 2013
Menjivar = not an easy guy to submit. Faber slipped in a beautiful #RNC #UFC157
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 24, 2013
Awesome submission urijah. You did it 🙂
— Nam Phan (@NamPhanMMA) February 24, 2013
That’s to bad I was hoping Ivan would’ve pulled it off. Great job to faber!
— Pablo Garza UFC (@PabloGarzaMMA) February 24, 2013
So is it safe to say that @urijahfaber is going to win SOTN unless Rhonda wins by armbar?
— Ulysses Gomez (@uselessgomez) February 24, 2013
Awesome work by Faber.. Yeah i personally know his strong back control &next time around wouldn’t let it quite be the same. :))
— Raphael Assuncao (@RaphaAssuncao) February 24, 2013
Hi thanks for the support! I am ok no injuries sorry or the fast fight that’s is the game 🙂
— Ivan Menjivar ufc (@Ivanmenjivar) February 24, 2013
LAWLER FLATTENS KOSCHECK
THAT’S MY BOY!!! twitter.com/matthughes9x/s…
— Matt Hughes (@matthughes9x) February 24, 2013
Way to go @ruthless_rl you looked vicious. #UFC157 powerful strikes.
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) February 24, 2013
Damn Lawler beast, I thought a little premature stoppage but whoa… #UFC157
— Mark Bocek (@MarkBocek) February 24, 2013
A lot of people are giving Herb Dean a tough time for stopping the Robbie/Kos fight but remember he was the ref fot the Bermudez/Grice fight
— Ulysses Gomez (@uselessgomez) February 24, 2013
No matter if that was early stoppage there was only going to be one outcome after them bombs!!
— Ross Pearson (@RossTheRealDeal) February 24, 2013
Robbie Lawler looked like he was on a mission tonight! Looked like old-school Lawler. #ruthless #UFC157
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 24, 2013
I agree with @joerogan it looked a little premature. But congrats to Robbie.
— Kyle Kingsbury (@Kingsbu) February 24, 2013
Nothin premature about that stoppage at all. #ufc157
— Jason High (@KCBanditMMA) February 24, 2013
Wowzer Strikeforce strikes again #UFC157
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunsonMMA) February 24, 2013
Kos just gave up… Robbie took his will! #ufc157
— Siyar The Great (@SiyarTheGreat) February 24, 2013
Robbie Lawler was always one my favourite fighters. @ufc Welterweights look out Ruthless is back. Shit…Wait a min I’m a #ufc welterweight
— Chris Clements(@menaceclements) February 24, 2013