COMMAND & CONQUER
I was involved in the first ever women’s UFC fight and served in the US military… now I’m fighting for PFL’s $1m prize
How she became an unexpected pioneer in women's MMA
MMA star Liz Carmouche makes the walk to the cage having experienced far greater battles in her life.
Carmouche is a former Bellator champion who in 2013 made history by facing Ronda Rousey in the first ever UFC women's fight.
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Now, she is campaigning in the Professional Fighters League's $1 million winner-take-all season.
But before taking up a pro MMA career in 2010, she served five years and three tours in the Marine Corps as an aviation electrician in Iraq.
"In the Middle East, there was an acceptance that you are going out there and putting your life on the line," Carmouche said.
"You were signing a check that you may not be able to answer to.
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"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.
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"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."
Boxing world champ Savannah Marshall prepares to swap the boxing ring for the MMA cage
Carmouche is now signed to the PFL, which is MMA's only league format.
Stars in each division have two regular season bouts where points are earned per method of victory.
From then, it is win-or-go-home in the final four stages culminating in a series of finale bouts where a title and $1m prize check is on the line.
Carmouche won her opening bout against Juliana Velasquez and returns against Kana Watanabe in Connecticut.
It is the latest chapter in Carmouche's iconic career after she came out as lesbian after the military 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," she said.
"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."
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Carmouche picked up three points for her opening PFL 2024 bout against Velasquez, 37.
Japan's Watanabe, 35, also won her first bout of the season to take top spot alongside Carmouche.