Liz Carmouche praises former opponent Ronda Rousey: She ‘made women’s MMA what it is today’

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It’s been more than 11 years since Ronda Rousey helped usher in a new era of women’s sport after she debuted in the UFC with a win over Liz Carmouche at UFC 157.

Until that night in Anaheim, Calif., women had never competed in the UFC, but Rousey’s magnetism and star power finally convinced Dana White to launch a division largely based around her presence. More than a decade later, women are cemented as superstars and equals on the UFC roster, but it all started with Rousey.

Sadly, her exit from the sport ended with a dramatic thud after Rousey suffered back-to-back knockout losses and effectively retired from the sport before eventually being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Despite all her accolades, Rousey has admitted that she has a difficult relationship with MMA these days, and went as far as saying she’d expect a negative reaction if she ever walked into an arena for UFC event.

While she certainly can’t tell fans how they should feel, Carmouche — the other half of that historic 2013 fight — offered nothing but praise when addressing Rousey’s MMA legacy.

“I would hope with what she’s done in the history of this sport, whether it ended on a good note or it ended on a bad note, she accomplished so much and made women’s MMA what it is today, and we should show her the respect that she earned,” Carmouche told MMA Fighting. “Let her close it that way.

“Now, if she’s back here talking, ‘I hate MMA fans, I hate MMA,’ that’s a little bit different, but I think we need to give her credit where credit is due.”

Rousey blamed a long history with concussions as the major contributing factor to her UFC exit. She dated her first concussion all the way back to childhood swimming, but the problems only multiplied after years spent competing in judo and then doing MMA.

Rousey believes without a doubt that her concussions struggles played a part in her final two knockout losses at the hands of Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes in consecutive fights.

Of course, many believe Rousey addressing her issues now sounds like an excuse for her losses, but Carmouche understands just how debilitating a concussion can be for a fighter.

“I certainly know how much concussions can truly change a person,” Carmouche said. “It changes their chemistry, everything. So if she has proof of that and that’s what’s been happening, then I wish she would have gotten the help she needed from the beginning to hopefully change how she went out from her MMA career, to be able to go to a different chapter.”

Nonetheless, Carmouche says Rousey’s contributions to the sport are undeniable. In fact, Carmouche admits that as much as she wanted to win back in 2013, she’s not sure women’s MMA would’ve ever reached the heights it did unless Rousey was the face of it all.

“Women’s MMA wouldn’t be where it is [without Rousey],” Carmouche said. “As much as I can look back and be like, ‘I wish it had been a different outcome and I won the belt,’ I don’t think it would have played out the way it did if Ronda hadn’t been the one who won the belt.”

While Rousey hasn’t competed since 2016, Carmouche hasn’t slowed down one bit.

On Friday, Carmouche competes in the semifinals of the ongoing 2024 PFL flyweight tournament, when she faces Taila Santos with a chance to move into the championship round, where the winner earns a title belt and a $1 million prize.

Carmouche knows she’s traveled a tough road to get here — including a pair of rematches she had to endure just to make it to the PFL playoff format — but she expects being battle-tested to help her in ways that cruising to the playoffs may hurt some other fighters.

“You can’t really argue when it comes to the results that I’m getting,” Carmouche said. “With my wins, I truly deserve to be where I’m at, whereas you can’t always say that about other people.”