Carmouche Dismisses Notion of Title Fight Jitters Against Coenen
Mike Whitman Mar 4, 2011
Liz
Carmouche is headed into the most important bout of her nascent
mixed martial arts career, but her title bid at Saturday’s
Strikeforce “Feijao vs. Henderson” is far from the biggest
fight of her life.
Prior to taking up a career as a fighter, Carmouche (Pictured) served for more than five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, where she accompanied soldiers near the frontlines of battle.
“I was an electrician on helicopters. I did three tours of Iraq,
and the last one I was attached to grunt unit [infantry],” said
Carmouche during a media conference call last week. “That allowed
me to do something that appealed to me, that most women don’t have
the opportunity to do, because women aren’t allowed to be grunts
for the military. So it got me as close to front line as I could
get.”
On Saturday, Carmouche will take a crack at Strikeforce 135-pound women’s champion Marloes Coenen at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Coenen was originally slated to meet top contender Miesha Tate, but Carmouche was called on 11 days’ notice after Tate suffered a knee injury in training.
In addition to simply staying in shape, Carmouche believes that the military training she endured provides her with a mental advantage when she steps into the cage, as well as in her life outside of MMA.
“I think something all [soldiers-turned-fighters] have in common is the inability to give in to the word ‘can’t.’ We kind of push it out of our [minds] in the military, and I think that transfers over to our fighting career,” said Carmouche. “If there is anything in front of us that we feel is a challenge, it pushes us that much harder to achieve it. At no time will we ever stop.”
Nicknamed “Girl-Rilla” by teammates for her physical strength and demeanor in the cage, Carmouche gives special credence to the principle of equal rights among the genders, even when it comes to doing battle.
“In the military, you train and work so hard. To be told you can’t do something is a slap in the face as a woman, because you work just as hard as the men. Because you can’t be on the front lines, it’s just horrible. It shuts down everything you worked for,” said Carmouche. “So to achieve that was just one more check in the box for me. It’s the same thing in MMA. I don’t ever want to be told I can’t do something, so I work as hard as I can to be the best fighter and person I can be.”
Unbeaten, but with only five professional bouts to her name, some might expect Carmouche to come out gun-shy in a title fight against a competitor as seasoned as 22-fight vet Coenen. Asked if she was worried about any “big fight” jitters, the San Diego-based Team Hurricane Awesome standout responded simply, “No, there isn’t.”
“I think one thing that goes in my favor is my military experience,” Carmouche said. “Jitters is something you can’t really have when you’re out in Iraq with your weapon. So that has definitely worked in my favor, and I don’t see that being a problem at all.”
Prior to taking up a career as a fighter, Carmouche (Pictured) served for more than five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, where she accompanied soldiers near the frontlines of battle.
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On Saturday, Carmouche will take a crack at Strikeforce 135-pound women’s champion Marloes Coenen at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Coenen was originally slated to meet top contender Miesha Tate, but Carmouche was called on 11 days’ notice after Tate suffered a knee injury in training.
“I respect Marloes Coenen. She’s the world’s best, and this was an
opportunity that I just couldn’t refuse. I’m excited for this
fight,” said Carmouche. “I had no hesitation [in accepting the
bout]. I try to stay in shape all year ‘round, so when I got the
notice, I was ready for it.”
In addition to simply staying in shape, Carmouche believes that the military training she endured provides her with a mental advantage when she steps into the cage, as well as in her life outside of MMA.
“I think something all [soldiers-turned-fighters] have in common is the inability to give in to the word ‘can’t.’ We kind of push it out of our [minds] in the military, and I think that transfers over to our fighting career,” said Carmouche. “If there is anything in front of us that we feel is a challenge, it pushes us that much harder to achieve it. At no time will we ever stop.”
Nicknamed “Girl-Rilla” by teammates for her physical strength and demeanor in the cage, Carmouche gives special credence to the principle of equal rights among the genders, even when it comes to doing battle.
“In the military, you train and work so hard. To be told you can’t do something is a slap in the face as a woman, because you work just as hard as the men. Because you can’t be on the front lines, it’s just horrible. It shuts down everything you worked for,” said Carmouche. “So to achieve that was just one more check in the box for me. It’s the same thing in MMA. I don’t ever want to be told I can’t do something, so I work as hard as I can to be the best fighter and person I can be.”
Unbeaten, but with only five professional bouts to her name, some might expect Carmouche to come out gun-shy in a title fight against a competitor as seasoned as 22-fight vet Coenen. Asked if she was worried about any “big fight” jitters, the San Diego-based Team Hurricane Awesome standout responded simply, “No, there isn’t.”
“I think one thing that goes in my favor is my military experience,” Carmouche said. “Jitters is something you can’t really have when you’re out in Iraq with your weapon. So that has definitely worked in my favor, and I don’t see that being a problem at all.”
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