Ronda Rousey SHOCKER – UFC Breaking News

By Barnaby Kellaway

The UFC 179 world media tour has gifted us even more than the barbs and backbiting we expected. After Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor had finished flinging insults at one another from across the panel in the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Dana White announced Ronda Rousey’s next fight: Bethe Correia in Brazil at UFC 190.

Then to boost the already energetic atmosphere, the two women were brought on stage for a brief Q&A. If the lively Brazilian crowd hadn’t heard enough trash talking in the previous twenty minutes they were about to get another fifteen.

Despite the clear disdain between the two themselves, the feeling was not mirrored in the audience. The fans went wild when Rousey came out and even when she was being disparaging toward Correia they didn’t overtly object. It seemed like they were very happy to see her.

Astute as ever, Rousey began by reciting some Portugese for the home crowd before saying, ‘I’m happy to come down here and discipline this girl’. The challenger, slightly taken aback at the fans fondness for the American, did well to try and regain their support, ‘I’m going to beat her for you, this belt belongs to you’.

Coincidentally, Correia has achieved the title shot with a similar approach to the man she was sitting next to, Conor McGregor. Each fighter antagonising the champion until there was enough hype around the prospect of a fight that it became a reality.

With this being said, having two victories over top ten opponents, McGregor has done more within his division than Correia has in hers. The bantamweight challenger has faced no one in the top ten but finds herself in the fortuitous circumstance where Rousey has beaten anyone anywhere near her in the rankings, leaving few options.

But credit where credit is due, Correia has marketed herself well and shrewdly managed to work her way in to Rousey’s sights, something which the champ has given credit for.

In truth, the storylines surrounding this bout are more interesting than the fight itself, which should be straightforward for Rousey. It is the animosity between the two which will be enough to make it highly anticipated. This animosity stemming from Correia’s dismantling of Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke, two of Rousey’s close friends and training partners, whom she considers family.

Following the two victories the Brazilian was not shy in staking her claim for the belt and calling out the champion. Since her last fight in August she has continued to get her name out there with verbal attacks on Rousey, ‘I think she’s really selfish’ and ’I’m gonna be the peoples champ’.

The most ringing quote of the whole press conference was ‘Rowdy’s’ intimidating: ‘If you f**k with my family, you are f****d’. Surely Correia is indeed f****d.