According to a Feb. 19 report from MMA Fighting, Liz Carmouche wants no part of the classic gamesmanship that usually comes along with a Ronda Rousey fight, as she prepares to enter the cage with her on Feb. 23 in the main event of UFC 157.
Carmouche has publicly expressed her appreciation for what Rousey has done for the sport of women's MMA, and the star judoka returned the favor by calling "Girl-Rilla" a hero due to her service time with the Marines.
"I messaged her on Twitter and I said hey, I see everything that you're doing in the media and I think it's great, everything you're doing in women's MMA and how you're marketing yourself and getting attention," Carmouche said. "I don't know if other women's fighters have done that. But I've given Ronda respect and she's done the same for me.
"On top of that, I asked for the fight and I think she knows that I'm not the type of person who plays head games," Carmouche continued. "I'm not going to say things to make a point, I let my actions do so. I'm not willing to engage in that animosity and doing that type of thing, I think she knows if you're trying to do something like that with someone who's been in combat in the Marines, it's not going to go well for you."
Rousey has shown Carmouche nothing but respect heading into the fight, and one can only wonder how that will affect pay-per-view sales.
If there's one thing MMA fans love, it's a good rivalry. Most supporters of mixed martial arts get sucked into the story-lines leading up to a fight, and then purchase the pay-per-view to watch the fighters settle the score inside the cage.
It's a proven fact that true UFC "rival fights" do far better pay-per-view sales than non-rivalries. The Jon Jones vs Rashad Evans UFC 145 pay-per-view drew over 700,000 buys, and the UFC 148 tilt between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva drew at least one million pay-per-view buys.
Rousey has a legitimate rivalry with both Miesha Tate and Cris Santos. A fight against either of them would have been hyped up by plenty of pre-fight trash talking, which would have driven pay-per-view sales.
UFC officials will find out for sure at UFC 157 just how much a true rivalry plays into driving pay-per-view buys.
"My girlfriend gets riled up about some of the things that are said in the forums," Carmouche said. "I say, let people have their opinions, and let the fight speak for itself. By getting involved with them, you're going to give them exactly what they're looking for, and you're going to take away from the actions during the fight by using your words to start engaging them. I plan on letting my actions do the talking."
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