Liz Carmouche

“Everybody has strong feelings and they back what they believe, and they have the right to.”

“My training is always the same. A few things might change for me from fight to fight, but it's really the same regimen.”

“I'm one of the tiniest 135ers.”

“Depending on what I'm training for, I might do more defensive moves, more counters, more attacks.”

“Growing up, I never thought that I would fall into any category. I felt like I didn't fit in anywhere.”

“When I went to Iraq, I was the lowest person on the totem pole. If everyone else was inside and was relaxing, I was the one working for eight hours straight.”

“Of course, I'm always my biggest critic. So I'll never be completely satisfied with my performance, win or lose, even if I come out with a knockout or submission; I'm still going to wish that I did some things differently.”

“The hype around Ronda is incredible and it's created this aura of invincibility. If you let that play with your mind, you'll be beaten before the bell rings. She's a great fighter, but I know I can beat her and I don't let that aura of invincibility bother me.”

“It went from 'I was a nobody on the street, just another person.' It turned into something completely different. People were coming up to me, they knew who I was us, requesting pictures.”

“I can't freeze when I go in the cage.”

“The way I was raised, I didn't have a role model who was openly out.”

“That's one thing that's always helped me as a fighter is that I haven't focused on one thing, like, 'let's make you a jiu-jitsu fighter' or 'let's make you a Muay Thai fighter.' I had nothing when I started, and we work on everything at the same time.”

“If there's anything I've learned, it's that I need to take the opportunities when they come.”

“I definitely was not out as a marine. The 'don't ask, don't tell' policy was still in effect, and the people around me did not seem to be open to the idea to begin with.”

“At 135 I always floated too close to my actual weight. I was always trying to keep my weight up to 135. And every time I faced off with an opponent, I could never believe how large they were after they blew up after weigh-ins. I would always just be the same size.”

“In society, it's hard for some to view women getting hit. They see the women as different figures rather than as athletes and fighters.”

“Somebody showed me a fight where somebody had gotten cut on the forehead and was just gushing blood and kept going throughout the fight. I couldn't grasp the concept that anybody would want to do that.”

“My nickname was Liz Lemon. When I would go for a takedown or get in there to 'ground and pound,' I would make this disgustingly horrible face like I sucked on a lemon.”

“After growing up in a military family and going to an Evangelical Christian school, to look around and see lesbians and gay men of all ages and colors living their lives openly, it was awesome.”

“I had to wonder if I lost out on fight opportunities and sponsorships. But at the end of the day, I'm the one who has to go home at the end of the day and be okay with myself. I have a son. I have to answer to my son.”