UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Liz Carmouche has been close to winning a major MMA championship, but come up short on more than one occasion.
There was the Strikeforce bantamweight title fight that she lost to Marloes Coenen in 2011, the history-making UFC women’s bantamweight title fight against Ronda Rousey in 2013, and her UFC women’s flyweight title shot against Valentina Shevchenko in 2019.
Will Carmouche’s stint in Bellator prove to be different? That’s her hope, but first she has to earn a title shot, which she believes she did Friday night with a unanimous decision win over former Invicta FC champ Vanessa Porto at Bellator 256.
“I’d be disappointed (if I don’t get a title shot next), of course,” Carmouche said during the post-event news conference at Mohegan Sun Arena. “I came in here with the hopes that I would work up the ranks to fight for the title. I just need to know what I need to do. If you tell me who I need to beat to get there to get the (title) fight, then I’ll do it. And I certainly hope that taking somebody that has more fights than I do and beating her tonight would put me in contention for that belt.”
Carmouche got the victory for the second time in as many Bellator bouts, but she likely didn’t earn any style points. The idea was to get a finish and leave no doubt about her status as the next title challenger, but things didn’t pan out that way.
“I knew she was gonna be a strong adversary,” Carmouche said. “Normally she kind of bum-rushes forward, and she didn’t do that with the intensity that she usually does. That was kind of incorporated into my game plan, that she was gonna come forward a lot and rush into it and give me those openings. She wasn’t doing that as much. I thought on the cage she would try and pressure, and I could use that (against) her, but she was pretty comfortable staying with her back there, and I didn’t expect any of that.”
Despite not getting the finish she hoped for, Carmouche said she “absolutely” wants to fight for the title next.
“As soon as they say I’m clear and I’m good, I’m ready to get back into fighting camp and go for the belt,” Carmouche said.
“(Winning a Bellator title) would mean the world. It’s something that I’m always trying to pursue. I’m trying to be the best version of myself, and it’s in pursuit of holding the belt and showing what a champion should be as a titleholder. That hasn’t changed. For me to actually have that title, have the opportunity to do that and take that back home to San Diego, it would mean the world to my family, to myself, to my wife and my son, and that’s always what I’m going for.”
Liz Carmouche after Bellator 256: ‘I’m ready to get back into fighting camp and go for the belt’
