UFC 157: Breaking Down Top Performers from Promotion's Historic Night

When we look back at UFC 157, we’ll instantly remember the first women’s MMA title defense. That won’t tell the whole story of what went down in Anaheim on Feb. 23, 2013, though.

While the two ladies put on a good show for their nearly full first-round battle, other performers kept us entertained as well.

We’ll take a look at the main event as well as some other fighters who didn’t disappoint in the latest UFC pay-per-view.

Liz Carmouche and Ronda Rousey—Bantamweight Title Match

Coming into this bout, there was no reason to think Ronda Rousey had much to worry about. Her challenger, Liz Carmouche, proved quickly that line of thinking was far from the truth.

Carmouche battled, nearly submitted the champ and held on until the closing moments of the first round...until Rousey locked on her trademark armbar finisher to retain her title.

It was short, ultimately exciting and lived up to the massive expectations placed on the first women’s title match in UFC history.

Urijah Faber—Submitted Ivan Menjivar, Round 1

Local fighter Urijah Faber had the crowd cheering quickly as he made short work of his competition, Ivan Menjivar. The 33-year-old Californian has now won six straight non-title bouts but has lost his last five when hardware was on the line.

It was easy for the winner too, despite Menjivar scoring an early takedown. That early hiccup didn’t result in much more resistance for Faber as he dominated his opponent and submitted him with a standing rear-naked choke in the closing moments of the first round.

Dennis Bermudez and Matt Grice—Preliminary Bout

This great clash took away Fight of the Night honors from UFC 157 despite being originally shown on the FX undercard. MMAFighting’s Dave Doyle reported they took home the bonus after their epic three-round slobberknocker stole the show early on in Anaheim (via Twitter):

Stealing the show is putting it mildly. The two featherweights were at each other’s throat from the first bell to the final moments of the action.

It was hotly contested, too, as a result of the back-and-forth action. Both men deserved to take home the $50,000 bonus for their entertaining performance.