UFC 157 is in the books and Ronda Rousey lived up to expectations by defeating Liz Carmouche in the first round to retain her UFC bantamweight belt.
Rousey sealed the deal by applying her signature armbar with 11 seconds left in the first round to emerge victorious over Carmouche.
The challenger appeared to have Rousey in trouble early on in the round as she had control of Rowdy’s back and neck. Things began to get dicey for Rousey as her face turned red and legs began to wobble when Carmouche nearly locked in her submission while hanging on Rowdy’s back.
But Carmouche couldn’t finish the deal and Rousey would go on to shake her off to survive the onslaught.
Eventually, Rousey took the fight to the ground and gained an advantageous position with a side headlock that resulted in several crushing strikes to Carmouche‘s face, which was the beginning of the end.
Rousey would gain the top position on Carmouche and attempted to lock in her patented armbar. Carmouche didn’t give up without a fight, however, and fought valiantly to free herself from the hold.
Carmouche proved to be unsuccessful in her attempt and ultimately became the latest victim of Rousey‘s devastating finisher. She might have lost, but there’s absolutely no shame in the way Carmouche performed against the champ.
This was no doubt a historic evening as the UFC introduced its first women’s matchup in the history of the sport. This pay-per-view event will no doubt leave people talking for weeks to come.
Let’s see what Twitter had to say.
Twitter Reaction
The UFC’s official Twitter page gave a shoutout to Rousey after her victory, which was historic:
Simply UNSTOPPABLE!@rondarousey retains her title win another first round armbar victory.History has been made. #UFC157
— UFC (@ufc) February 24, 2013
Larry Brown of LarryBrownSports.com gave Rousey‘s armbar a high form of praise:
Ronda Rousey‘s armbar is just like Mariano Rivera’s cutter. You know it’s coming, but it’s so overpowering you still can’t beat it
— Larry Brown (@LBSports) February 24, 2013
Bleacher Report shared a photo of the finishing move that capped off the evening:
Ronda Rousey defeats Liz Carmouche via armbar in Round 1 at 4:49 to become the first UFC Women’s Champion! twitter.com/BleacherReport…
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 24, 2013
Jarrod N. Rudolph of RealGM.com gave props to Carmouche as well, which was well-deserved for her gutsy performance:
So much respect for both @rondarousey and @iamgirlrilla. Both women are incredible.
— Jarrod N Rudolph (@JRudolphSports) February 24, 2013
Former WWE wrestler Lance Storm knows a good fight when he sees one and noted how exciting the Rousey-Carmouche bout was:
Even in 1 round the women were freakin awesome thank you @rondarouseyand @iamgirlrilla #UFC157
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) February 24, 2013
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