5 Best Reasons to Watch UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche

At UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche, history will be made. It will be the first time a women’s champion will be crowned in the UFC, and there is no better way to usher in a new era than with a main event bout. 

Ronda Rousey has showed tremendous ability in her past fights through her top team of trainers, whereas Liz Carmouche has a more blue collar training program. Regardless of who is training these women, there are sure to be fireworks when the bell rings. 

While these two women are receiving much media attention, there are many other quality fights on this card. We will see the return of Robbie Lawler to the UFC’s welterweight division when he takes on Josh Koscheck. 

These matchups and many more will surely add up to another great UFC pay-per-view. 

Here are the five best reasons to watch UFC 157. 

5. Knockout Potential of Schaub vs. Johnson

Two of the UFC’s better heavyweights will clash during the prelims for UFC 157. Brendan Schaub, a former TUF participant, has been known for his knockout ability as well as athleticism. 

After suffering two consecutive losses (both by first-round knockout), Schaub will be trying to get back to his winning ways. 

Lavar Johnson is also coming off a loss to the towering Stefan Struve at UFC 146. 

When Johnson and Schaub square off, huge shots will definitely be thrown right away as both fighters will try and finish early on. 

Out of their combined 25 victories, 10 of those came by way of knockout. 

These are two guys with some serious power who like to throw hands a lot. Expect this fight to end sooner than later. 

4. Robbie Lawler's Return

UFC 157 will mark the return of one of the better welterweights to fight in the UFC. 

While he has had a streaky career over the past eight years, Robbie Lawler looks to make a triumphant return to the UFC against Josh Koscheck. 

Lawler has recently been competing at middleweight in other MMA franchises but will be back at welterweight in his return to the UFC. 

He has a chance to reassert himself as a top contender in the welterweight division with a victory. While Kos is coming off of a controversial split-decision loss, his previous two fights were victories and he is still very relevant in the division. 

When these two welterweights square off this weekend, it will surely be a fun fight to watch.

3. Light Heavyweight Legends Square Off

Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson will square off in a fight to decide who will be the top contender for Jon Jones and his light heavyweight title. 

Despite all three of Machida’s career losses coming in his last five fights, Machida is still one of the best fighters in the division and will be a tough test for the veteran Henderson. 

That is certainly not to say that Hendo is not equally dangerous, though. He has won his last four fights including a huge victory over the world’s former top-ranked fighter Fedor Emelianenko. 

This bout could very well end up being the fight of the night as both of these fighters are on a crash course toward being the division’s No. 1 contender.

2. Historical Significance

UFC owner Dana White has done a great job of revolutionizing the sport of MMA. 

By adding a women’s division to the UFC, he is not only expanding the potential fanbase for the sport but is also allowing more of the greatest athletes in the world to come together in one united company. 

UFC 157 will be the beginning of a new era in the UFC. Rousey and Carmouche will not only be making history by squaring off for the first women’s title in the brand’s history, but it will also mark the first time an openly gay fighter has stepped into the Octagon. 

Carmouche has shown great courage in being an openly gay fighter. It’s hard enough being a female fighter in a male-dominated sport, but it must be even harder to be a gay female fighter in a male-dominated sport. 

Despite the historical significance of Carmouche’s sexual orientation in this fight, that’s not what matters. What matters is that the fans will get to see one of the best fighters in the world take on another one of the world’s best. 

At the heart of any sport, the love of pure competition is all that matters.

1. Redefining "You Hit Like a Girl"

Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche’s matchup will be a groundbreaking bout for the UFC. 

Aside from the obvious fact that this is fight is for the very first women’s championship, at the very core it is also a good matchup. Rousey is an Olympian who has a tremendous knack for scoring armbars quickly, and Carmouche is a gritty striker that is a tough matchup for almost anyone. 

While Rousey has had the most dominant past (only one match has lasted longer than 60 seconds), Carmouche will likely put up a good fight in this main event. 

As long as she doesn’t allow herself to be susceptible to Rousey’s signature armbar, then she has a good chance at pulling out a victory. 

These two will definitely put on a show and will hopefully portend all the excitement that the women’s division will hold in the future.