Ronda Rousey wants Bethe Correia, but Dana White says there's 'a long list'

SACRAMENTO – Following a brutal stoppage of veteran Shayna Baszler (15-9 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC 177, Bethe Correia (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is closer than ever to a shot at the UFC women’s bantamweight title held by Ronda Rousey (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC).

She might have to wait a little bit, however.

“There’s a long list for Rousey waiting right now, so we’ll see what happens,” UFC President Dana White said after the event on Saturday at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. “She’s on the list. It’s a short list.”

Correia, who fought Baszler on UFC 177’s pay-per-view main card, might not be on the top of White’s list, but she might be on Rousey’s after she watched the Brazilian rain punches on her teammate Baszler and then call her out.

“As soon as (Bethe) started talking, she texted me and said, ‘I want that fight; I want it now,'” White reported. “‘I want it before someone else beats her,’ and I said, ‘Calm down, lady. You’ve got other people to fight. We’ll figure it out.’

“So Ronda wants that fight, too. We’ll see how this thing plays out.”

There’s currently no frontrunner to vie for the belt, although the UFC is working hard to change that. The promotion is pushing for a bout with ex-Strikeforce star and movie actor Gina Carano, and it just signed former boxing champ turned MMA fighter Holly Holm. White also mentioned Cat Zingano, who earned a title shot in April 2013 before an injury scrapped an appearance on “The Ultimate Fighter 18? opposite Rousey in advance of a coaches’ fight.

What’s clear is that White won’t push Correia to the front of the line because of her rivalry with Rousey and the oft-publicized “Four Horsewomen,” which includes Rousey, Baszler, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, who Correia previously beat to spark a rift with the quartet.

Fights with built in storylines rarely develop organically in MMA, and they often prove lucrative at the box office. But White said he isn’t interested in any kind of feud.

“I don’t think Bethe moves up because of the rivalry; I think Bethe moves up because of what she did tonight,” White said. “That was crazy. The punches she hit (Baszler) with, I haven’t seen anything like that since (Phil) Baroni (versus) (Dave) Menne. She looked good tonight. That’s what’s going to get her a fight with Rousey.”

Wherever she sits on the list, Correia insists she’s ready for the opportunity to fight Rousey, despite her relative lack of time in the sport. In fact, she competed in her first pro bout just three months after the UFC champ submitted Miesha Tate to become a titleholder and star in the now-defunct Strikeforce.

“I feel that I was born a fighter,” Correia said. “It just took a while to find myself in the sport, and just to compete in the UFC is a huge feat for anyone. To fight Shayna, she’s fought a lot of the top-10 fighters out there and beaten them, so it’s a huge feat for anyone to do that, and I want a chance at Ronda at some point.”

For complete coverage of UFC 177, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Sacramento.