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UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey returns to the Octagon on August 1st to take on Brazilian Bethe “Pitbull” Correia in the main event of UFC 190 in Brazil.
Bad Blood
More than the belt, it’s bad blood between the two which fueled this fight. Bethe Correia earned her UFC stripes by beating two of “Rowdy” Rousey’s stablemates in Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler. At UFC 172, She easily outpointed Duke to win by unanimous decision then at UFC 177, she punched out Baszler to an impressive 2nd round TKO. With two of the UFC’s “Four Horsewomen” on her resume, Correia then trash talked her way to fighting the leader of the quartet.
Correia started calling out Rousey since she beat Duke, but only got Ronda’s attention when she beat Baszler and started talking personal things about her. Even when the UFC already gave the #7 ranked bantamweight the next title shot, the Brazilian Pitbull was relentless in her personal attacks against Rousey, forcing Rousey to declare that she will humiliate and disfigure her challenger.
Best in the Planet
Ronda Rousey is the best female mixed martial artist on the planet today. In fact, she may be the most dominant UFC champion ever, man or woman. She has virtually been untouchable inside the Octagon, winning all of her 11 bouts by stoppage. Nine of those wins have come via armbar submission and only Miesha Tate has lasted more than one round with Rousey. Rousey’s last three title defenses have lasted a combined 1 minute and 36 seconds with her most recent win over #1 contender Cat Zingano lasting just an incredible 14 seconds. So if Rousey is this good, what chance does Bethe Correia have?
Ronda Rousey opened as a 15-1 betting favorite over Correia and the lines haven’t improved for the challenger. Currently, Rousey is a +750 and Correia at -1400. With the way things look, those lines aren’t gonna change as the fight gets closer. Rousey is in the most dominant run the sport has ever seen, and with the way she’s continued to improve her striking game, it doesn’t appear she is going to lose anytime soon.
Who Takes This?
Not many are picking Correia to win, much more last the distance against the dominant champion. But Correia has one thing that none of Rousey’s previous opponents had: Ronda’s attention. Rousey wants to beat her so bad that she could lose her focus and that is to defend her belt. We’ve seen Ronda go personal with Miesha Tate, but her feud against Correia is something else.
Correia is an elite striker and she outstruck Duke 100-55 with an excellent mix of punching combos. To have a shot against Rousey, she must keep the fight on the feet. Even then, Rousey will be tough to beat with her much improved striking game. Rousey has all the advantages in this fight and the only question experts are asking is if her personal animosity against Correia changes her focus. But if Ronda channels that anger in the correct way, we may be about to see her greatest handiwork to date.
