Liz Carmouche Dismisses Juliana Velasquez's Claims of an Early Stoppage in their First Fight

Bellator MMA women’s flyweight champion Liz Carmouche believes there is no doubt about the legitimacy of her first victory over Juliana Velasquez.

Carmouche (17-7, 4-0 Bellator) will face fierce rival Velasquez in the upcoming Bellator 289 co-headliner. The pair already collided at Bellator 278 in April, when “Girl-Rilla” won the first championship in her 12-year mixed martial arts professional career when she stopped her foe with elbows in the fourth frame. Former divisional queen Velasquez has expressed her disappointment about the stoppage on several occasions, stating it was early and she was still in the fight. According to Carmouche, though, the protests are unfounded since she landed a series of unanswered strikes.

“I've gone back and I've re-watched that tape and I've now seen footage from different angles as well. I had my own perspective on the fight from what I was experiencing seeing it firsthand, and then also having a chance now to see the footage. It was in no way an early stoppage. She didn't do anything to defend herself. She didn't do anything to advance her position. I hit her with the second elbow, and then she just lay there and looked up at the skies, 10 more rain down on her face. That, to me, is not an early stoppage. In many cases, if people had seen her eyes roll in the back of her head, that would be considered a late stoppage when you get 10 unanswered elbows to a flash knockout opponent. I think the call that was made was the absolute correct one.”

(00:00) Intro
(00:16) Celebrating Thanksgiving away from her family
(01:00) Preparing for Velasquez
(02:05) Moving to Virginia Beach, Virginia, for this camp
(02:34) Winning the Bellator women’s flyweight championship
(03:41) Facing Velasquez again
(04:24) Accusing her opponent of running away in their first fight
(04:46) Commenting on Velasquez’s complaints about the stoppage
(05:43) Anticipating a different Velasquez
(06:05) Her sparring partners
(06:55) Her mysterious training partner
(07:41) Walking out to ‘Satisfaction’ by Benny Benassi
(08:38) Picking Raufeon Stots vs. Danny Sabatello
(09:32) Outro