In a history-making night for the UFC, Ronda Rousey faced Liz Carmouche in the main event at UFC 157, which was shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN in Britain.
It was the first ever women’s fight in the UFC.
Sam Stout vs. Caros Fodor
The broadcast began with the prelims as Sam Stout took on Caros Fodor in the lightweight division.
This proved to be an enjoyable encounter. There was literally no feeling-out process, mainly because these two wanted to engage straight off the bat.
Stout fought well in the first two rounds. His striking looked top notch, especially his hard lefts to the body. His best moment came toward the end of the first round when he went for an armbar. But as the old saying goes, Fodor was saved by the bell.
Fodor looked adequate with his clinching and takedowns early on, but by the time he upped his game in the third round, he’d left himself too much to do.
The judges had differing opinions as they gave Stout the split decision.
Dennis Bermudez vs. Matt Grice
It was down to featherweight for the next fight as Dennis Bermudez faced Matt Grice.
Now this fight was packed with three rounds of tremendous back-and-forth action.
We nearly saw an early finish when the fight went to the mat and Bermudez applied the ground-and-pound, tying up one of Grice’s arms in the process.
Grice managed to survive, and he roared back into the fight when he sent Bermudez crashing down to the mat. Another stoppage looked imminent, but it was Bermudez‘s turn to survive.
Grice continued with his excellent striking in the second round, and although Bermudez survived, he looked as if he were unable to put his best foot forward.
All of that changed in the third round. Someone must have lighted a fire under Bermudez. Suddenly his striking came to life, first on the ground and then on his feet.
At one point, the referee seemed prepared to stop the fight when Grice staggered around on rubbery legs. But Herb Dean let the fight continue, and Grice gradually recovered enough to reach the bell.
Once again, the judges were divided in their opinions, awarding Bermudez the split decision.
Michael Chiesa vs. Anton Kuivanen
It was back to lightweight for the next fight, which featured Michael Chiesa against Anton Kuivanen.
The only prelim that didn’t go the distance had a lengthy feeling-out period at the beginning, but as the first round went on, Kuivanen’s striking began to find its target.
It looked like it was going to be more of the same in the second round, but after some clinch work against the fence, Chiesa took his man’s back from a standing position before dragging him to the ground.
Kuivanen showed some sound defensive skills as he tried to fight Chiesa’s rear-naked choke attempt. Eventually Chiesa cinched in his hold of choice for the submission win.
Brendan Schaub vs. Lavar Johnson
The final preliminary fight saw Brendan Schaub take on Lavar Johnson in a heavyweight showdown.
This one was all about Schaub’s ground game and his attempts to avoid Johnson’s punching power.
For three rounds, Schaub took down Johnson at will. His best success came in the first frame when he attempted a variety of chokes, eventually deciding on the anaconda. While he was applying the hold, Johnson kept clobbering him with his free hand, which forced Schaub to release.
Schaub took down his man time and time again, but he failed to capitalize on his position. The referee was forced to stand the fighters up.
Even though he was on his back for the majority of the fight, Johnson still dealt his fair share of damage. His blows from the bottom busted Schaub open, making it look like Johnson was the dominant fighter.
The judges were called upon again. This time around, there was no difference of opinion as Schaub took the unanimous decision.
Josh Koscheck vs. Robbie Lawler
The main show began in the welterweight division as Josh Koscheck faced Robbie Lawler.
This was a fine example of how someone can snatch a victory out of nowhere.
Koscheck took the fight to the ground early on, and although Lawler showed some sound defensive skills, Koscheck looked to remain in charge of the action.
As the round neared its final minute, Lawler took the front headlock position. From there he connected with a big left that stunned his man. An onslaught of choice shots followed, which made the referee step in to give Lawler the TKO win.
Koscheck wasn’t too happy with the stoppage.
Court McGee vs. Josh Neer
The welterweight action continued with Court McGee taking on Josh Neer.
This one was all about the striking, with a nice bit of grappling thrown in for good measure.
McGee put on a great performance in the first round. His striking was adept, and when he connected with a body kick, Neer looked to be in trouble. Neer was also lucky to survive the first round, mainly because McGee never followed up on the body damage.
Neer looked like a different fighter in the second round. He answered McGee’s first-round striking performance with his own clinic, snapping McGee’s head back with a series of stiff jabs.
McGee retook control in the third round with several takedowns. Neer tried his best, but McGee’s ground-and-pound game was too much for him at times.
All three judges scored the fight for McGee.
Urijah Faber vs. Ivan Menjivar
Then it was down to bantamweight for the second encounter between Urijah Faber and Ivan Menjivar.
This one featured a lot of action in so little time. Menjivar took the fight to the ground with a great judo throw early on, only for Faber to reverse the position just a few seconds later.
Faber went to work with the ground-and-pound, and although Menjivar looked for a couple of submissions, Faber maintained control.
As the first round neared its end, Menjivar made it to his feet, but Faber took his back. He quickly tightened up a rear-naked choke as they backed into the fence, and Menjivar tapped to give Faber the submission win.
Kenny Robertson vs. Brock Jardine
Filler material followed in the form of the welterweight encounter between Kenny Robertson and Brock Jardine.
This certainly was an interesting bout. Jardine pulled guard early on and went for a guillotine, but after Robertson survived this attempt, he quickly took control.
Robertson took his man’s back within seconds and sought a rear-naked choke. Jardine defended well, but when he tried to shake off his opponent, Robertson reached back and grabbed Jardine’s left leg. Jardine had no choice but to tap, giving Robertson the submission win.
Lyoto Machida vs. Dan Henderson
The co-main event featured light heavyweight action as Lyoto Machida faced Dan Henderson.
I have to admit I’m not sure how to categorize this fight. It had its moments, but it didn’t set my pulse racing.
The feeling-out period seemed to last for the majority of the first round. Machida got in the better shots and scored a late takedown.
Machida had more striking success in the second round, while Henderson failed to connect more often than not when he came forward.
There was some brief ground action early in the third round as Henderson tried to go to work with the ground-and-pound, but the rest of the final frame saw Machida continue to dominate the striking game.
In the end, the judges failed to agree again, awarding Machida a split-decision victory.
Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche
The main event saw Liz Carmouche challenge Ronda Rousey for the women’s bantamweight title.
Now this was a fight. Rousey came forward as soon as the fight began, and it wasn’t long before the action went to the ground.
A few moments later, Rousey suffered the biggest scare of her short career when Carmouche took her back from a standing position and looked for a rear-naked choke. An upset seemed possible until Rousey managed shake her off.
It wasn’t long before Rousey was back in top position and controlling Carmouche’s head. The challenger, for her part, was always looking to escape.
Then the inevitable happened. Rousey moved into position to apply her signature armbar. Carmouche defended for as long as she could until Rousey wrenched her limb. Carmouche tapped to give Rousey the history-making submission win.
The show rounded out with a second showing of Dennis Bermudez vs. Matt Grice.
Conclusion
What can I say about this event? I could bring out all of the usual superlatives about history-making events, but saying that this was a great show would probably be the best way to describe things.
The prelims set the stage for what was to come, thanks in part to Dennis Bermudez and Matt Grice. When Robbie Lawler secured his comeback win against Josh Koscheck, it was a sign of things to come, especially as far as the main event was concerned.
That fight definitely lived up to all the hype. Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche put on a fight that exceeded expectations. The fact that women’s MMA has now hit the main stage is a tremendous sign for the future.
As for my fight of the night no-prize, I’m going to differ from the official judgment. While those in the know chose Bermudez vs. Grice, I select Rousey vs. Carmouche for the reasons I’ve just mentioned.
So with all of that out of the way, there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s to give UFC 157 the big thumbs up.
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