Bethe Correia On Ronda Rousey: No One Is Invincible
No. 10-ranked UFC women’s bantamweight Bethe Correia picked up her second win in the Octagon last Saturday (April 26, 2014), defeating Jessamyn Duke via unanimous decision at UFC 172 from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
The win was especially important because it not only earned her a two-spot jump in the Top 15 rankings, but also instantly put her on the radar of UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey, a good friend and training partner of Duke.
That’s just fine with Correia, who told MMAFighting.com that she was looking to send a message to Rousey at UFC 172:
“I know that they are close friends. They live and train together, and they call themselves the ‘Four Horsewomen’. It’s like ‘one for all and all for one’, so I knew that my win would affect all of them.
Ronda didn’t shake my hand, so I wanted to show her that I’m going after her little group.”
Undefeated at 8-0, “Pitbull” knows where the title lies, and she won’t rest until she’s fighting for it. Correia continued on about her lofty goals in UFC:
“I want to be the champion and I’m going after that. I know that one of the four girls is Ronda and that’s why I said that. I want to fight them, especially Ronda.”
Correia wants to fight Rousey, but she knows that “Rowdy’s” teammate, longtime WMMA veteran Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler, might be next on her list. That simply doesn’t matter to Correia, who’s looking to defeat any and all of her opponents:
“I will wait for their call, but my goal is climb the rankings and prove that I’m better after every fight,” she said. “I’m going after the title. I’m not here to play. If they put me against Shayna, I will defeat her. I will beat whoever they put in front of me. Nobody will stop me from achieving my dream. I hope the UFC gives me a good fight because I want to get there.”
Never one to be shy with her take on things, Rousey noted that with two UFC wins, Correia might be more deserving of a title shot than her former archrival Miesha Tate was, and could provide an interesting match-up for the belt one day. However, she put her faith in Baszler to hand Correia her first-ever loss:
“I’m saying, if Miesha Tate can get a title shot and she hadn’t even won a single match in the UFC then this chick who’s undefeated and beat two of my friends could be a very interesting fight for me.
I’m 100% behind Shayna. I think Shayna could f***in’ handle it and will shove the s**t in this girl’s face. There’s no lose in this situation.”
Not surprisingly, the champ is willing to take on the challenge. Last seen finishing fellow Olympic medalist Sara McMann with a vicious first round TKO at UFC 170 on February 22, Rousey has finished all of her opponents and is seemingly getting better each day.
But Correia isn’t buying into the hype, noting that no one is unstoppable:
“Nobody is invincible. I’m sure that my will to become champion makes me ready to fight anyone, either Ronda or any other girl better than her. My mission on Earth is to be the champion. I’m not here to be just another one.”
Rousey may not be invincible, but no one has the blueprint how to defeat her in MMA as of yet. Will the confident Correia be the first to stake that claim?
Photo: Tommy Gilligan for USA TODAY Sports
