Liz Carmouche has a chance to not only score one of the biggest upsets of the year in her bout with Ronda Rousey, but she also believes that no one but herself can keep her from winning that fight. Mental blocks are a big part of any sport. Recently, we have seen Chael Sonnen discuss this topic on The Ultimate Fighter with Uriah Hall when he mentioned that even the People’s Champ has gone to see a sport psychologist.

“I honestly don’t think Rousey has what it takes to beat me. The only person that can defeat me is myself. Everybody asks, ‘Yeah, how do you not get armbarred?’ You just don’t get armbarred. You haven’t seen anyone be able to counter is yet so you know if she’s going to put those hands on you you’re flipped over, you’re on your back and that’s the end of it.”

Of course, no one has been able to defend that armbar so far, but there always has to be a first. How does Carmouche think she is going to accomplish this? It is simple: she does what all great athletes do, and that’s practice.

“Practice makes perfect. We’re just not getting armbarred, we’re doing arm-bar defense, attacks, counters. It’s just a matter of having enough practice. I’d definitely prefer to take this to the ground, show her that she can’t armbar me. I do think that everybody’s afraid of Rousey, that’s definitely one of those things that’s kind of hindered people. I’m not scared.”

The fear factor is what breaks people before they even enter the Octagon. The possibility of defeat has been seen to break many of Anderson Silva’s opponents before they even enter the cage, and while Rousey is not on that level yet, her track record indicates invincibility to some fighters. Carmouche is definitely confident, and she says there is one key to her victory.

“That first round is the most important part of the fight. If I can get through that, it will definitely be a defeat in her eyes. This isn’t going to be as easy for her as it was in the past, and that’s probably the biggest hurdle for her… A lot of people say I’m just an easy person to armbar, and I’m OK with that, I’m just looking forward to proving everybody wrong.”