11 June 2024 , 16:58
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Ex-Army veteran and women's MMA pioneer Liz Carmouche is fighting for the chance to win $1million at the age of 40.
Carmouche spent five years in the United States Marine Corps and completed three tours of combat in Iraq working as an aviation electrician. The Marine made a drastic career switch by taking up fighting full-time and even competed in the first women's MMA match in the UFC when she fought for a world title against fellow legend Ronda Rousey.
Waking up with her life on the line in the Middle East was something that Carmouche found easier than training for a fight. "In the Middle East, there was an acceptance that you are going out there and putting your life on the line. You were signing a check that you may not be able to answer to," she said.
Liz Carmouche was a aviation electrician in the Marine Corps (https://www.facebook.com/lizcarmouche)
The 40-year-old now has the chance to win $1million (PFL MMA)"Maybe I don't wake up that day, but I don't have that same feeling in fight camp. I really miss my son, my wife and our animals. That was a different feeling from when I went out to Iraq, there was the acceptance and I wasn't missing anything. I was going there to do a job, I didn't have a wife or a son. There was nothing to think about."
"There are so many elements with both of those where you can prepare as much as possible. In the military you can be physically fit and do all the extra training, but at the end of the day if something happens and a bomb comes in, you have no control over that. Fighting is kind of the same, you can say no to opportunities but that could cost your entire career."
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Carmouche won her PFL debut in April and now looks to reach the quarter-finals of the promotion's illustrious $1million tournament when she fights Kana Watanabe on Thursday in Connecticut. Carmouche came out as lesbian after her military career and unexpectedly became a pioneer for women's MMA.
"It's definitely crazy and a huge surprise when people reach and tell me that I've had an impact on their lives. Going into it, I wasn't trying to ruffle any feathers and make a big statement. I was just trying to be true myself and by doing that I ended up being up a pioneer and mentor for other people," she added.