Losing in MMA is never easy. Losing in a UFC title bout is about as hard as it gets.
Ronda Rousey gave Bethe Correia a tough pill to swallow at UFC 190 in the form of a 34-second beatdown. But if you thought the challenger was going to gracefully pick herself up and go to the back of the proverbial line, well, think again. After a bit of a post-fight lull, the Brazilian returned to pre-fight form on Sunday by firing a full-spread volley of sour grapes at Rousey over Instagram.
The topics were standard fare for Correia. She claimed the media treated her unfairly. She said Rousey is given a pass on her own line-crossing smack talk (taking particular offense to a recent MMA Hour segment involving Rousey mentor Gene LeBell). And last, but probably most importantly, she said that she will beat Rousey when they next fight.
You read that right. Her exact words, to be completely clear, were, "I wanted to fight you and I got it. I'll get that chance again and I'll have my revenge at the right time!"
Rough. Hardly anyone gave Bethe a chance and she lived up to it. What kind of favorite would Rousey be in a rematch? https://t.co/bPemDFdVjU
— Josh Gross (@yay_yee) August 18, 2015
Yes, this is the same Bethe Correia that was sent face-first into the canvas by Rousey two weeks ago. Yes, the same one who only earned her first title shot based on a pro wrestling-style storyline. And yes, the same one who has literally zero chance of getting a rematch at any point in the immediate future.
There's a very fine line between standard MMA tropes and a PR nightmare. That's something Correia knows, of course. She ruffled feathers in July when she made comments about Rousey killing herself following a loss, and while she would apologize, her retroactive indignance over Rousey's "come to Jesus" promo, and attempts to draw parallels between the two, made her come off as disingenuous.
While this latest faux pas wasn't a violation of the basic tenets of human decency, it's yet another bad look for Pitbull.
The discussion of a rematch with Rousey so soon after her shellacking comes off as delusional. The complaints about being treated unfairly, quite frankly, come off as something that a sore loser would say.
Is that accurate? Is that fair? No, of course not. But perception is far more important than reality in combat sports, and Correia is not hitting the right notes to endear herself with fans.
Fighters have to walk a fine line following a loss, and far, far more often than not, the best course of action is a basic "I'll come back better than ever next time." That's the case here. Now isn't the time for Correia to say "I'll get you next time, Inspector Gadget!" Right now, Correia needs to start actually working her way back into title contention.
In spite of her previous chance to take UFC gold, and in spite of her less-than-legitimate rise to No. 5 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings, Correia is on incredibly flimsy footing when it comes to her competitive standing. Her three non-Rousey opponents in the UFC have a combined promotional record of 1-7. Even against that trio, Correia hardly looked dominant in victory, taking a coin toss of a split decision against Julie Kedzie and beating Jessamyn Duke by a decent, but only decent, margin.
Correia should be regarded as the underdog against any given fighter that could be conceivably ranked in the top 10 at 135 pounds. That goes for Holly Holm and Julianna Pena, just as much as Miesha Tate or Cat Zingano.
Until she fixes that, any discussion of a second shot at the champ is just silly.
