Ronda Rousey will defend her UFC women's bantamweight title on Saturday night in Brazil against Bethe Correia in the main event of UFC 190. This is a grudge match as the two women have traded mean-spirited comments at one another over the past month. That trend continued at Thursday's press event, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports.
It'll all come to a head on Saturday night.
In the co-feature, Brazilian legends Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will renew acquaintances. The two men battled in one of the sport's most legendary contests when both were in PRIDE back in 2005. Rua won a hard-fought unanimous decision, but it was a back-and-forth battle.
Fans and the UFC are hoping Rua and Nogueira pick up where they left off 10 years ago.
When: Saturday, August 1 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
TV: Fox Sports 1 for preliminaries, PPV for main card
Live Stream: UFC Fight Pass for early prelims
Here's a look at the complete card with predictions for each bout.
Rousey Will Punish Correia
Correia is not backing down from Rousey and she deserves credit for her courage, but the bravado will be short-lived. Amanda Salvato of the UFC spoke with Correia about her preparation for the biggest fight of her life.
There is really no conceivable way Correia can defeat the champion. Barring something completely crazy like Rousey slipping on the Octagon steps, or getting her foot caught on the cage during the bout, Correia will lose.
It's really just a matter of how badly and in what manner she'll be beaten. While Correia is a good striker with accuracy at 55 percent, she's never had to throw hands with an opponent who could make her pay in as many ways as Rousey can.
Whether it's with a counter from her ever-improving striking, or a nasty judo takedown, Correia's margin for error is about as slim as Christian Bale in The Machinist. Correia doesn't have the power to make the few opportunities she might have during stand-up exchanges count.
Thus she has to fight the perfect fight just to keep it competitive. That won't happen. She'll be wiped out by a determined and destructive Rousey in the first round.
Little Nog Will Win the Rematch
Quite honestly, the battle between Rua and Nogueira is a matchup between two shot fighters at the end of their careers. That might sound like a downer for a potentially amazing fight, but it's the truth. Andrew Richardson of MMA Mania is blunt and truthful about the dynamics of this bout:
He's [Rua] lost four of his last five bouts and was finished in three of those losses, meaning even his once iron chin has started to crack. If the Brazilian can't get a victory here, he may be at the end of his career. If Nogueira were to remain healthy for more than a few months a time, he'd likely be on a similar slide to "Shogun." Regardless, the younger Nogueira brother also really needs this victory, otherwise he'll be in Rua's current position.
Rua is only 33 years old, but with 32 professional fights and a good number of wars during his career, he's a shell of the guy he used to be.
Nogueira is 39 and he's been in his share of bloody battles as well. His speed and defensive instincts have declined noticeably.
With all that said, this fight should still be spectacular. Both guys are proud Brazilians who will want nothing more than to put on a show in front of their countrymen. Expect a stand-up war and a victory by Nogueira.
He's always been the more technically sound striker and despite being older than Rua, Little Nog likely has more tread remaining on his tires.
Magny Will Score the Biggest Win on the Card
Demian Maia will not want to lose in front of his people, but Neil Magny won't give him another choice. The American has won seven fights in a row and he's the most improved fighter in the promotion over the last three years.
His wrestling and submissions skills have grown by leaps and bounds. He used a dominant ground game in his last two fights that resulted in stoppage wins over Hyun Gyu Lim and Kiichi Kunimoto. Magny is also blessed with an extraordinary 80" reach that makes it difficult to out-strike him.
Maia might be the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artist in the sport, but his striking isn't on par with Magny's. Because of Magny's constant improvement on the ground, Maia doesn't hold a significant advantage there. Magny will win this one by one-sided unanimous decision or second-round TKO.
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