Kim Couture

Hey everyone! This week I will be writing about Kim Couture, also known as “Sugar Free.”  She was born in a small town named Walsenburg, Colorado on December 18^th, 1975. When she was younger she grew up on a horse and cattle ranch in the middle of nowhere. When Kim was old enough to start school, the family decided to finally move into the city. She was a straight “A” student all through school. Kim was interested in basketball, volleyball and track. When she wasn’t playing sports, she was helping her family with a rodeo. A week after graduating, she married her high school sweetheart and ended up being pregnant with a boy. This marriage didn’t end up lasting very long. Kim had another relationship and got pregnant again with a baby girl. At the age of 21 she became officer of the law and got a job offer in Las Vegas. Not a year later she moved to Nevada.

                In 2004, Kim began to train in mixed martial arts as just a way to stay in shape. She never thought she would make it as a career but in 2007 she made it happen. Gina Carano inspired her to fight. Kim is 5’7’’ and weighs 135. This is considered a welterweight fighter. Her record is 1-1-0. This mean she has won 1 of her fights and lost the other. She hasn’t had very many fights in her career but they were professional and not amateur. Her style of fighting is submission wrestling and boxing and fights with team is Xtreme Couture. Xtreme Couture is a gym that she and Randy Couture opened together. She met Randy at a party in 2005 and in 2006 they happily got married.

              Kim’s first fight was against Jessica Cruz on August 5, 2008. She kept her hands held high and won her first fight! Watch the fight here! Two months later she had another fight against Kim Rose. This fight had 3 rounds that lasted five minutes, which is kind of a long time in the octagon. Kim had her jaw broken within the first few seconds of the fight. She was bleeding badly during all the rounds. This fight made people wonder if women should even be allowed to fight. I personally think that Kim is really tough and a good fighter. All these women mixed martial artists makes me want to fight as a profession.

Liz Carmouche

Hey everybody! This week I will be talking about Liz Carmouche, also known as “Girl-Rilla.” She was born on February 19, 1984 in Lafayette, LA but was raised in Okinawa, Japan. In 2010, she began her professional career in mixed martial arts. Before becoming a mixed martial artist, Liz served in the United States Marine Corps for five years. She actually had to go on three tours in the Middle East. Liz is currently going to school for kinesiology. This is also known as human kinetics which is the scientific study of human movement.

                Liz Carmouche competes for Strikeforce. She is 5’6’’ and weighs 135 pounds. This is considered a welterweight fighter. Liz’s fighting style is Vale Tudo. Vale Tudo means “everything allowed” or “anything goes.” This is a style of fighting where there are very few rules. It became very popular in Brazil during the 20^th century. Her mixed martial arts record is 5-2. This means she has won five of her fights and only lost two. Three of these fights were won by knockouts, one by submission and another one by decision. This isn’t a bad record at all since she is ranked 8^th in the world according to Unified Women’s MMA rankings. The style of fighting Liz prefers is Judo, Kickboxing and Wrestling. Liz has a yellow belt in Kenpo and a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu. She fights out of San Diego, California from her team, “Team Hurricane Awesome.”

                The reason Liz started mixed martial arts was for a physical challenge and an outlet. She has never won a title or held a rank. She tells Strikeforce that “It is an honor. This means being considered the best in this sport.” Liz’s favorite grappling technique is an armbar and her favorite striking technique is the left cross. Strikeforce asks, “What do you consider to be the key fight is your career, and why?” She says, “Currently, I think the key fight in my career was my fight against Marloes Coenen. For me it was the opportunity of a lifetime.”