Ronda Rousey Opens as Massive 15-to-1 Favorite vs. Liz Carmouche at UFC 157

Once again, oddsmakers are betting heavily on Ronda Rousey.

Just yesterday at the UFC on Fox 5 pre-fight press conference, the mixed martial arts megastar was awarded the UFC's first women's bantamweight championship belt as Dana White made his first fight announcement for Rousey.

Instead of an expected superfight against former Strikeforce featherweight champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino, Rousey will face top-ranked bantamweight Liz Carmouche in the main event at UFC 157.

According to Best Fight Odds, Rousey will walk into the bout as a historic -1500 favorite against her first opponent in the UFC. Those odds come from European betting site 5Dimes, which also pegs Carmouche as a notable +700 underdog.

However, those aren't even the longest odds for the challenger.

American site SportsBet only rates Rousey as a -1380 favorite (still extremely lopsided odds nonetheless), but lists Carmouche as an +800 underdog.

To date, this is the biggest betting gap between Rousey and an opponent in her entire MMA career.

For most of her fights, Rousey has been the clear favorite in most sports betting groups, with her closet odds coming up against former Strikeforce bantamweight champion Miesha Tate.

Ronda Rousey's first UFC title defense against Carmouche takes place at the Honda Center in Anahiem, California, on February 23rd. It will have two significant marks in the history books: Not only will UFC 157 be the first event in the promotion's history headlined by a women's MMA fight, but it will also feature its first openly-gay female fighter in Carmouche.