Liz Carmouche Prepares For Underdog Role At UFC 157

Ronda Rousey has stolen headlines as the star attraction of UFC 157, the company’s first pay-per-view to ever showcase a women-only main event.

While most MMA fans are familiar with Rousey and who she will be fighting on February 23, the general public hasn’t heard much about Rousey’s opponent.

But that could change should heavy hitter Liz Carmouche score an upset in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night. Just who is this female MMA fighter, who allegedly won the slot based on a Twitter campaign?

Like Rousey, Carmouche began her cage-fighting career with six consecutive wins making short work of her opponents.

She lost her seventh fight to veteran Marloes Coenen, who trapped Carmouche in a triangle choke submission at 1:29 of the fourth round, according to Sherdog.

A second loss followed, this time via unanimous decision in a July 2011 contest against Sarah Kaufman, who in August 2012 was herself victimized by Rousey via first-round armbar submission.

Carmouche has since recovered with two consecutive victories: a first-round technical knockout (TKO) of Ashleigh Curry and a second-round submission victory via rear-naked choke against Kaitlin Young.

Still, the losses against Kaufman and Coenen, who was submitted by first-round Rousey victim Miesha Tate, has caused MMA fans to label Carmouche the underdog.

Carmouche seemed unaffected, according to a Saturday report from Yahoo! News. “There is no pressure for me. Being the underdog, there’s no expectations. I just go in there and whatever I do woos the crowd. … I just have to go in there and do my game.”

Carmouche said she would not fall into the trap of over-preparing for the armbar, which has managed to end all six of Rousey’s fights in the first round.

“I definitely think that’s her strong play each and every time, but I know that the champion that she is that she’s a capable fighter that has more than that in her toolbox,” Carmouche said, adding that “it’s [the armbar] not something we obsessed over.”

Carmouche continued: “Because I feel like if I only concentrate on armbar defense and only Ronda then I lose myself as a fighter and stop being an MMA fighter and well-rounded to just being an armbar defensive person.”

Do you think Carmouche will shock the MMA world Saturday night with a victory over Ronda Rousey?

[Image via The Inquisitr]