Originally written for publishing on March 3, 2013.

UFC 157 on Feb. 23 marked the first women’s fight in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The fight was between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche.

It proved to be a bout between polar opposites. Rousey is the reason that UFC president Dana White decided to finally start up a women’s division.

She had finished all six of her pro fights up until that point via first round arm bars. She is not afraid to talk up a fight, and has a tremendous fan base. There has never been a woman in the sport of MMA who has garnered the attention that Rousey has.

Carmouche on the other hand has been a staple in women’s MMA for longer than Rousey, but does not have the star potential. She has proven, however that she is a dangerous fighter that can beat anybody on any given night.

Going into the fight, many people believed that if Rousey did not win, that people would see their golden girl lose, and the UFC women’s division would fold just as quickly as it began. I think that it would have stuck around for a little while, but would have folded soon.

Early in the fight, the UFC’s worst dreams almost came true. Rousey was going for her patented arm bar and Carmouche was able to take her back and sink in a choke. Although Rousey said after that she wasn’t, the champion was clearly in danger.

However, Rousey was able to keep her cool, get the fight back into her element and win with another arm bar right before the end of the round.

In some ways, this fight may prove to be one of the most important fights in UFC history. Now, White is already talking about expanding the womens’ weight classes. Not to mention, the fight was purchased somewhere between 450,000 and 500,000 times on pay per view.

White has continued to sign women, and there is a respectable division at 135 pounds and a lot of people who want a shot at Rousey.

There is an upcoming fight on April 13, between Miesha Tate and Kat Zingano that will determine who fights Rousey next. If Tate wins, the most highly anticipate rematch in the history of women’s MMA will occur.

Tate and Rousey fought previously and a lot of words were exchanged. Tate believed that Rousey did not deserve to fight her and thought that she talked her way into a title shot, and Rousey proved her wrong by breaking her arm in the first round.

With potential matchups like this, there is a lot of hype surrounding women’s MMA. As of now, the division is booming and is beginning to look like it will be a staple in the UFC for a long time to come.