Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Powerhouse former Marine, Liz Carmouche, will look to upset women’s Flyweight roost-ruler, Valentina Shevchenko, this Saturday (Aug. 10, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 156 from inside Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Carmouche has proven something an overlooked figure at 125 pounds. While Shevchenko was always seen as the future champion of the division, Carmouche did establish herself as one of the toughest outs at Bantamweight, even while being undersized. Since dropping down, Carmouche has proven more effective with her clinch takedowns, allowing her to pick up a pair of consecutive victories. Since there are few other contenders at Flyweight, Carmouche’s decade-old victory opposite “Bullet” grows in importance. It was enough to push her into a title shot here, and we’ll find out if she can repeat the performance.
Let’s take a closer look at her skill set:
Striking
It’s unlikely that Carmouche will ever grow into a natural striker, particularly at 35 years of age. Despite nearly a decade in the sport, Carmouche remains a bit too stiff — a possible result of her incredible musculature. However, Carmouche has still improved over the years, showing a much better understanding of distance.
Carmouche has always been more comfortable as a kicker than boxer, and kicks have played a big role in her recent Flyweight victories. At range, Carmouche no longer feels forced to charge forward or trapped on the outside. Despite being the shorter woman often, Carmouche makes up for the range disadvantage with hard low kicks.
Lately, Carmouche has been switching stance more often, but often the strategy of flicking out a jab or feint before digging into the leg remains the same. In addition, Carmouche often looks to kick as her opponent steps into a punch, which can be risky but is quite effective if timed properly. Lastly, Carmouche has played around with a neat low kick setup that involves placing a hand on the mat and almost sliding into the calf kick, Eddy Gordo-style.
Carmouche will occasionally kick high or to the mid-section as well, but her general focus is on low kicks. This was true the last time I wrote about her as well (in 2013!), but she tends to set up and time the kicks much better.
Carmouche can punch reasonably hard. Her boxing is not super complicated, but Carmouche can send a nice one-two combination down the middle and crack an opponent if the head remains still. In general, Carmouche does a nice job of responding to her opponent’s punches, flurrying with alternating hooks when her foe does land clean.
One of the areas Carmouche frequently looks for is the A Frame position in the clinch. Whether with an overhook or underhook on the near side, Carmouche will frame her foe’s face with the forearm. From this position, she can land short elbows or knees, and Carmouche generally does a very nice job of pummeling between the A Frame and body lock.
Wrestling
Though Carmouche has no official wrestling background, it is definitely her best aspect. Carmouche utilizes her low center of gravity well, hiding entries behind a big flurry of punches to wrap arms around the waist and overpower her opponents. From the body lock position, Carmouche has generally found great success in dragging her foe to the mat, tripping out a leg, or slipping out the back door (notably against Ronda Rousey).
In this week’s technique highlight, we discuss the likely battle between Carmouche’s body lock and Shevchenko’s throws:
In addition to her clinch work, Carmouche wrestles well along the fence. There’s nothing overly complicated here, but Carmouche will maintain good pressure and posture while transitioning between the single- and double-leg takedown. If she’s able to force her foe down, Carmouche will immediately look to step over the legs and lock a triangle.
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Interestingly, catching kicks is something of a double-edged sword for Carmouche. On the whole, she scores many takedowns by denying opponents easy offense then catching the kick when the overreach to the land. Earlier in her career, however, Carmouche frequently struggled in having her own naked low kicks caught, and that habit is not completely fixed.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Despite her Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, we don’t often see a lot of offensive jiu-jitsu from Carmouche. Generally, her plan of attack on the mat is to triangle the legs and use that position to advance into mount, where she can end the bout with strikes. That exact transition did lead her to a recent arm bar attempt of Lucie Pudilova, but the clock ran out on her.
Defensively, Carmouche has only been submitted by a pair of greats in Ronda Rousey and Marloes Coenen, and both defeats were fairly early in her professional career. Since those losses, Carmouche has been able to safely navigate top position against other black belts without issue.
Conclusion
For the second time, Carmouche will emerge suddenly to receive a title shot at an extremely dominant champion. Last time, she was able to exceed expectations, but unfortunately the win eluded her. Can “GirlRilla” change her fortune in this Flyweight title shot.
Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In addition to learning alongside world-class talent, Andrew has scouted opponents and developed winning strategies for several of the sport’s most elite fighters.