MMA star Liz Carmouche walks to the cage after experiencing much bigger battles in her life.
Carmouche is a former Bellator champion who made history in 2013 when she faced Ronda Rousey in the UFC’s first women’s fight.
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Now, she’s campaigning in the $1 million winner-take-all season of the Professional Fighters League.
But before beginning her professional MMA career in 2010, she served five years and three tours in the Marine Corps as an aviation electrician in Iraq.
“In the Middle East, there has been an acceptance that you are going out and putting your life at risk,” said Carmouche.
“You were writing a check that you might not be able to respond to.
“Maybe I won’t wake up that day, but I don’t have the same feeling on the fight field. I really miss my son, my wife and our animals.
“It was a different feeling than when I went to Iraq, there was acceptance and I didn’t miss anything.
“I went there to work, I didn’t have a wife or children. There was nothing to think about.
“There are so many elements in both where you can prepare as much as possible.
“In the army you can be physically fit and do all the extra training, but at the end of the day, if something happens and a bomb falls, you have no control over it.
“Fighting is the same thing, you can say no to opportunities, but it can cost you your entire career.”
Carmouche has already signed a contract with the PFL, MMA’s only league format.
The stars of each division have two fights in the regular season, where points are earned by method of victory.
From then on, it’s a matter of win or go home in the final four stages, culminating in a series of final fights where the title and $1 million prize are on the line.
Carmouche won her opening fight against Juliana Velasquez and returns against Kana Watanabe in Connecticut.
It’s the latest chapter in Carmouche’s iconic career, after she came out as a lesbian following her military service and unexpectedly became a pioneer in women’s MMA.
“It’s definitely crazy and a big surprise when people come up and tell me I’ve had an impact on their lives,” she said.
“When I started, I wasn’t trying to piss anyone off and make a big statement.
“I was just trying to be truthful, and in doing so, I ended up being a trailblazer and mentor to others.”
Carmouche scored three points in his opening PFL 2024 fight against Velasquez, 37.
Japanese Watanabe, 35, also won her first fight of the season and took the lead alongside Carmouche.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
