History was made on Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California as the first women’s bout in UFC history took place and once again Ronda Rousey won by first round armbar to retain the UFC women’s bantamweight title.
Rousey defeated Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC 157 and finished the fight will eleven seconds left in the first round.
She once again won by armbar, which she was looking for once the fight went to the ground.
Carmouche had her moment in the fight when she was able to get the back of Rousey and looked for a rear-naked choke, which she transition to a neck crank. Rousey would escape the submission attempt and would control the rest of the fight.
In the final minute of the first round, Rousey looked for the armbar and Carmouche did her best to defend the attempt. However, Rousey would be able to lock in the armbar and Carmouche immediately tapped out.
Rousey (7-0) has won all of his fights in the first round by armbar and this is now the longest fight in here career. Her longest fight prior to tonight was against Miesha Tate, which lasted until the 4:27 mark of the first round. Carmouche and Tate are the only fighters who have faced Rousey and made it past the first minute of the fight.
This lost snaps a two fight winning streak for Carmouche (8-3) and this is the second time that she has been defeated by submission. She will now have to win another fight or two to get another shot at the UFC women’s bantamweight title.
Machida defeats Henderson by split decision in #1 contenders fight
In the co-main event of UFC 157, former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida was able to do enough on the judges scorecards to win a split decision over former Pride and Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson.
Just like in many of his fights, Machida (19-3) forced Henderson to come after him and he was unable to contact with his over hand right. Machida would land more significant strikes throughout the fight, but Henderson landed more total strikes. Henderson would be able to take the fight to the ground in the third round, but was unable to mount much offense in the position.
After the final bell sounded, two of the judges scored the fight 29-28 for Machida and the one judge saw the fight 29-28 for Henderson. Machida is now expected to be the next title contender for the UFC light heavyweight title, which current champion Jon Jones will be making his next title defense in April against Chael Sonnen.
Faber stops Menjivar in the first round by submission
Former WEC champion Urijah Faber may have been fighting for his job at UFC 157 against Ivan Menjivar and he had one of his best performances in the octagon as he won by submission in the first round.
The fight would go to the ground very early and “The California Kid” began to work his ground game. Menjivar would be able to get back to his feet, but Faber would get on the back of his opponent which would be the beginning of the end of the fight. Once on Menjivar’s back, Faber would lock in a rear-naked choke and Menjivar would tap out.
Faber (27-6) now improves to 3-2 in the UFC and his last two wins in the organization have come by submission. With the victory, he showed that he is still one of the top contenders in the UFC bantamweight division and puts himself back into title contention.
The full UFC 157 results are below:
Main Card: (PPV)
Ronda Rousey def. Liz Carmouche via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:49
Lyoto Machida def. Dan Henderson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Urijah Faber def. Ivan Menjivar via submission (RNC) – Round 1, 4:34
Court McGee def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Robbie Lawler def. Josh Koscheck via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:57
Preliminary Card: (FX)
Brendan Schaub def. Lavar Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Michael Chiesa def. Anton Kuivanen via submission (RNC) – Round 2, 2:29
Dennis Bermudez def. Matt Grice via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Sam Stout def. Carlos Fodor via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Card: (Facebook)
Kenny Robertson def. Brock Jardine via submission (knee bar) – Round 1, 2:57
Neil Magny def. Jon Manley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Nah-Shon Burrell def. Yuri Villefort via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)