Of all the trash talk in MMA, Bethe Correia's latest zinger is perhaps the strangest.
Speaking at a Q&A session in Goiania, Brazil, ahead of UFC Fight Night 67, Correia fielded a variety of fan questions, answering them with equal parts seriousness, humor and hyperbole.
MMAFighting.com's Guilherme Cruz was on site to translate some of Correia's responses, and one in particular stands out. The Brazilian, who faces UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey at UFC 190 in August, believes she only needs two punches to finish the longtime women's champ.
Only one of those punches will actually send Rousey to the land of the unconscious, though. The other one serves a different purpose entirely.
"I will only need two punches to beat her," Correia said. "The first punch will be to knock that mole off her face. I want to take that mole out of there. And the second punch will be to knock her out. I need two punches."
The 9-0 fighter is certainly not lacking confidence heading into the biggest fight of her life, eh?
Since coming to the UFC in December 2013, Correia has posted a 3-0 record with one stoppage. She eked out a split-decision victory over Julie Kedzie in her debut, then posted more impressive wins back-to-back against Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler.
Looking at this competition, one thing becomes clear: Rousey is on a different planet, and Correia will have to perform perfectly at UFC 190 if she wants to sport a shiny new belt by night's end.
Bethe Correia says she won't crack under pressure against Ronda Rousey like Vitor Belfort at UFC 187 http://t.co/xDsqmih5fX
— MMATorch (@mmatorch) May 29, 2015
That said, Correia clearly isn't shying away from the challenge. She believes she can knock Rousey out, and she also believes she'll be fine if the fight goes to the canvas—the place where Rousey drags her foes before ruthlessly finishing them.
"I have a good team around me, good jiu-jitsu and judo trainers, a good team working on my striking, and I will be able to defend her armbars," Correia said at the Q&A. "I won’t fall into her game and make the same mistakes the other fighters who fought her before did. I will make her fight my fight."
When the lights go down August 1, we will see. Many women have spoken a nice game leading up to a fight with Rousey, and the champ has tossed them all back to the curb with ease.
Can Correia be the first person to change that? Personally, I don't think so. I see this one ending via first-round submission like so many of Rousey's fights, and I'm not sure what Correia can do to change that.
What do you think? Can the Brazilian pull off the upset? Sound off below and we'll discuss this title fight.
