Ronda Rousey Vs. Bethe Correia Confirmed For UFC 190

Confirming yesterday’s rumor that dominant UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey would be taking on undefeated Brazilian contender Bethe Correia in the main event of Aug. 1’s UFC 190 pay-per-view from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the fight has been made official and will indeed take place in Brazil.

UFC President Dana White unveiled the news at today’s UFC 189 World Tour Press Conference from Rio, bringing out both the champ and challenger to answer questions for the media and fans.

For her part, Rousey was not surprisingly aggressive in her stance on the bout, noting that she wants to defeat Correia, with whom she has a personal vendetta against for her wins over her teammates Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke, in decisive fashion in her home country to send her a message:

“My best performances in my whole career have been in Brazil. I’ve been booed in Brazil, I’ve been cheered in Brazil, but I’ve always fought above myself, and what I really need when I fight is passion, and this is the most passionate country I’ve ever been to perform in front of.

“It’s a real pleasure to be here, whether as a bad guy or a good guy, whatever.

“And I felt like If I’m really going make an example out of Bethe, I think what I want her to do, I don’t just want to defeat her, I want her to leave that arena embarrassed, and the best way to do that is to come here and beat her in her own backyard.”

Strong words from the transcendent champion, who’s finished off three of the absolute best female fighters in the world in a grand total of 96 seconds in her most recent fights. Most aren’t giving Correia much of a chance to be the exception to that rule. Are you?

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports