UFC 157 weigh-in: Rousey, Carmouche raring to go with historic bout now official

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 | 5:50 p.m.

Dana White, who’s known for granting more than a few wild requests, laughed at this question.

A fan asked the UFC president, who held a Q&A before the UFC 157 weigh-in at the Honda Center, if he’d be able to take a picture with one of the fighters about to hit the scale.

“The guys sitting back there right now waiting to come out and weigh-in are miserable, nasty and (expletive) mean right now,” White answered. “They’ve been training for eight weeks. They’ve been away from their homes, their families. They’ve been dieting and cutting weight for two days. Today is the day you don’t (expletive) with these guys.”

White may want to add “girls” to that response, especially after the first two women fighters in his promotion’s history were among the most intense at Friday afternoon’s weigh-in.

Ronda Rousey, who came in 0.4 pounds under the bantamweight limit at 134.6, glared at challenger Liz Carmouche (133.6) throughout the process all the way through the usual posed photo opportunities. Carmouche broke into a smile when she faced the crowd, but Rousey stayed stone-faced.

The two shared no handshake or hug.

“I honestly don’t think Rousey has what it takes to beat me,” Carmouche said in a video that aired at the weigh-in.

Carmouche expressed gratitude and excitement in her final comments before tomorrow night’s main event. Rousey re-iterated that she doesn’t consider herself the true UFC champion until she wins a fight in the octagon, but also said she’d bring the same mindset into every bout.

“I’m going to take out every single girl that anyone even mentions as competition to me,” Rousey said in the video. “That’s just the way it is.”

The rest of the weigh-in went off with relative calm. Even though the crowd filled into the upper deck, they didn’t rise to their feet and give a major response until legendary 42-year old Dan Henderson (205) from nearby Temecula came out on the stage.

Henderson and Machida (202) were cordial, keeping their distance and embracing after finishing up their photos. Other fighters who the fans welcomed warmly included Urijah Faber (136), who meets Ivan Menjivar (135.6), and “The Ultimate Fighter: Live” champion Michael Chiesa (156), who fights Anton Kuivanen (156) in his first bout outside of the reality show.

The only fighter to miss weight was Nah-Shon Burrell, who was nearly five pounds over the welterweight cutoff at 175.8 pounds. Burrell will forfeit a portion of his purse to opponent Yuri Villefort (170).

The two clash in the event’s first bout, which was booked less than two weeks ago. The short notice likely contributed to Burrell not getting down to 171 pounds.

Check below for full results from the UFC 157 weigh-in.

Women’s bantamweight championship bout: Ronda Rousey (134.6) vs. Liz Carmouche (133.6)

Light heavyweight bout: Lyoto Machida (202) vs. Dan Henderson (205)

Bantamweight bout: Urijah Faber (136) vs. Ivan Menjivar (135.6)

Welterweight bout: Court McGee (170) vs. Josh Neer (171)

Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck (171) vs. Robbie Lawler (171)

Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub (243) vs. Lavar Johnson (255)

Lightweight bout Michael Chiesa (156) vs. Anton Kuivanen (156)

Featherweight bout: Dennis Bermudez (145) vs. Matt Grice (145)

Lightweight bout: Sam Stout (155) vs. Caros Fodor (155)

Welterweight bout: Kenny Robertson (170) vs. Brock Jardine (170)

Welterweight bout: Jon Manley (171) vs. Neil Magny (171)

Welterweight bout: Nah-Shon Burrell (175.8) vs. Yuri Villefort (170)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.