Bethe Correia may have a sizable task waiting for her inside the Octagon at UFC 190, but that hasn't rattled her confidence in the slightest.
The undefeated Brazilian striker will attempt to do what no other woman has come close to achieving and that's dethrone women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. The "Rowdy" one has been the picture of dominance since joining the UFC in 2013, as she's dismantled one title challenger after the next. Every opponent the 135-pound superstar has faced she's put away, with only one of her past three fights going beyond the opening minute of the first round.
Rousey's performances in those fights not only rocketed her to phenom status but also widened the gap between the women's bantamweight champion and the rest of her division. The 28-year-old titleholder has appeared invincible as of late, and that projection has played into Correia being one of the biggest underdogs in UFC history despite her fight with Rousey taking place on her native soil in Rio de Janeiro.
Nevertheless, Correia isn't concerned with the lines the oddsmakers set or what the former Olympian has done in past fights. The Pitbull Brothers representative spoke to MMA Fighting's Dave Doyle about all things Rousey and believes she will bring the long-standing champion's reign to an end in their showdown at UFC 190 on Saturday night.
They've built her up to be this invincible fighter from the United States that no one is going to be able to beat. I'm going to show that's a farce, and I'm going to beat her. ... I believe in myself. I'm going to go in there and beat her. I think I can overcome all her strong points. Her weaknesses? I'm not even worried about that. I know what I need to do in there. She doesn't trade punches. In 11 fights, she's never really shown her boxing, so I'm going to go in there and box with her.
Correia will be facing an uphill battle at UFC 190, but it's a challenge she's certainly earned the right to tackle. While the Natal resident may be lagging behind some of her peers in the women's bantamweight collective as far as name recognition is concerned, the plan of attack she employed to land a shot at Rousey's title was as creative as it was effective.
Generating a buzz goes a long way at the highest level of MMA, and the scrappy bantamweight did just that by setting her sights on Rousey's Four Horsewomen squad. The 32-year-old title challenger defeated Rousey's stablemates Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler in hopes of getting the champion's attention and staking her claim for a title shot in the process. Her plan worked so well Rousey accepted, and in turn, demanded the fight take place in Correia's home country, according to USA Today's Ben Fowlkes.
It was a move that considerably upped the stakes in the feud between champion and challenger, but Correia is confident she'll prove to be the better fighter Saturday night.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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