Ronda Rousey reportedly has her next fight.
And to the disappointment of seemingly everyone in the sporting and entertainment world who challenged Rousey to a scrap in the last month, this fight will come against an actual mixed martial artist.
Fresh off her 14-second destruction of Cat Zingano in February at UFC 184, “Rowdy” is rumored to be meeting Bethe Correia at UFC 190 on Aug. 1 from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The fight is expected to serve as the main event — although no official announcement from the UFC has been released. Brazilian outlet Tatame was the first to report the news.
Correia, 31, put herself on the MMA map last April when she defeated Rousey’s teammate, Jessamyn Duke. After defeating Duke, she held up four fingers, turned them upside down, and plunged them to the floor. The symbolic move was meant as a warning to Rousey and Duke along with teammates Marina Shafir and Shayna Baszler — a.k.a. the “Four Horsewomen.” It was a defiant move by the newcomer and it was signaling: “One down, three more to go.”
Correia made good on her proclamation in August of the same year and TKO’d Baszler in the second round of their fight at UFC 177. The Brazilian bomber has been on a verbal assault ever since, and has her sights set directly on the women’s bantamweight champion.
Rousey, 28, is truly one of the biggest and brightest stars in the UFC. Undefeated in her career, Rousey is also the first woman in American history to medal in judo at the Summer Olympics. When she isn’t remaining undefeated in the Octagon, Rousey can be scene in summer blockbusters such as “Furious 7” and the new “Entourage” movie.
The fight with Correia is something Rousey has made clear she is interested in. However, after Rousey’s last fight, it was announced she would be taking time off to star in a new movie — Peter Berg’s “Mile 22.”
Correia has criticized Rousey for being too involved in Hollywood. She said that the champ needed to defend her belt to be considered a real champion — which was a bit perplexing seeing as Rousey is one of the company’s most active champions.
Apparently Rousey’s next project won’t interfere with her fighting career too much. It will be the second time the champion has fought in 2015 and will take place in Correia’s backyard instead of Las Vegas or Los Angeles.
The “home-court” advantage may seem nice on paper. However, when you consider that Rousey has dispatched the majority (10) of her opponents in the first round, this begins to seem more like a “Ronda Rousey World Tour” showcase than a championship fight.
Hyperbole aside, this matchup features the third time Rousey will meet an undefeated challenger in the Octagon (Cat Zingano and Sara McMann were the others), and it will serve as another viable test for the incredibly dominant champion. If she can take care of Correia later this summer, then perhaps the long-rumored matchup of Rousey vs. Cristiane Justino could be the next logical opponent if "Cyborg" comes down to 135 pounds and the UFC bantamweight champion agrees to the fight.
After that, it’s anyone’s guess. However, for at least a few months, it will be nice to not have people talking about which athlete (man or woman) Rousey will square off against next.
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