It’s been announced that Ronda Rousey (11-0) is to defend her UFC bantamweight title on August 1 against Bethe Correia (9-0) at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the challenger’s home nation.
Although the promotion is in Rio this weekend for its Fight Night 62 event, plans for the next visit to the city have already been drawn up, with ‘Rowdy’ slated to face rising Brazilian star Correia.
With the bantamweight queen fast running out of worthy opponents after already disposing of the majority of the contenders in her division, she’ll be sent into the notoriously hostile territory of Brazil for her next title defence.
After Rousey defeated her last three opponents in a combined time of just 1:36, and with suitable competition already becoming an issue despite the fact the women’s bantamweight division is still in its infancy, the UFC will be hoping Correia can provide a legitimate challenge to the champion.
The fight has an interesting subplot, with Correia branding herself the ‘Horsewoman Killer,’ a reference to the fact she’s defeated two of Rousey’s training partners, who refer to themselves as the ‘Four Horsewomen.’
After her win against Jessamyn Duke last year, ‘the Pitbull’ raised 4 fingers to the camera before knocking one down, signaling her intention to take out the whole crew, which is spearheaded by Rousey.
During the post-fight interview of her last defence against Cat Zingano at UFC 184, when asked who she’d like to face next ‘Rowdy’ declared her intentions to take out Correia in Brazil, stating it’d be the best way to get payback for her friends.
It appears each fighter will have their wish granted on August 1st.
Article by Darly Rigby