Liz Carmouche Has Been Training for Ronda Rousey “From Day One” (UFC 157 Video)

The spotlight in women’s MMA has burned brightly on Ronda Rousey, especially since the UFC decided to include the women’s 135-pound division in the Octagon and named Rousey its inaugural champion.

While several women weren’t quite ready for a fight with Rousey, and Cris “Cyborg” Santos is currently unable or unwilling to come down in weight to make that fight happen, there is one woman in particular that immediately accepted the challenge. There is one woman that is uniquely prepared for Rousey.

That one woman is Liz Carmouche, who, alongside Rousey, will make history at UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche as the first two women to set foot in the Octagon and throw down.

“We’ve been training from day one, when she took the title, for this fight,” said Carmouche about the Rousey fight at a UFC question and answer session. “We just finally got the opportunity.”

Carmouche, a former Marine, unlike many of Rousey’s past opponents, doesn’t buy into pre-fight rhetoric and also seems to have Rousey’s respect.

The question now is if Carmouche can take all her confidence and preparation into the Octagon and do what no other woman has been able to: beat Ronda Rousey.

Rousey and Carmouche square off on Saturday, Feb. 23, in the UFC 157 main event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.