Bethe Correia is one of the most unlikely UFC title challengers ever, a one-time accountant who four years ago had never competed in any sort of athletic endeavor.
She began to work out because she felt she’d gotten heavy not long after getting married.
Just three years after she began to train in mixed martial arts, she’s reached the pinnacle of her sport. She’ll meet women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, whom Sports Illustrated dubbed the world’s most dominant athlete, for the women’s bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro.
Even as the moment of truth arrives, Correia remains coolly confident. She has stuck to her belief that she’s going to win, despite overwhelming odds against her, and believes she’ll expose Rousey as little more than an over-hyped media creation.
“Everybody has holes in their game, and Ronda does, too,” Correia says. “You might not know it because the media doesn’t talk about it. But she has holes in her game, too.”
Perhaps she does, as Rousey is only human.
But try telling that to Cat Zingano, who entered her fight with Rousey with a 9-0 record, ranked No. 1, and in just 14 seconds was shrieking her submission in pain after being trapped in a Rousey arm bar.
Or tell that to Alexis Davis, a jiu-jitsu black belt who in just 16 seconds was thrown by Rousey, caught in a headlock and then pummeled until the referee jumped in to save her.
Or mention it to Sara McMann, an Olympic silver medal-winning wrestler who took a knee to the midsection and was disposed of in just 66 seconds.
All of those women had greater credentials, both athletically and in MMA, than Correia, and none made it out of the first round.
Yet, Correia is the picture of calm, confident her coronation as the new champion is at hand.
She’s gotten Rousey’s attention with her talk. And Rousey has intimated this fight may not be so quick because she wants to punish Correia.
“She’s going to walk out looking different than she did walking in,” Rousey said during an appearance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Correia chuckles at such talk. It’s something Rousey is good at, she said, and it helps sell the fight, but it won’t have an impact upon her.
She said she won’t make the same mistake Zingano, Davis and McMann made in their fights against Rousey.
“They got caught up in all the hype and the media talk,” Correia said. “The media kept talking about how good Ronda is and how she’s unbeatable and I think those girls were adversely affected by that. I don’t think Ronda’s unbeatable; I know she’s not unbeatable.
“But you have to go into the fight in the right frame of mind and confident in yourself. Those girls had the ability to beat her, but they didn’t have the right frame of mind to do it.”
Correia has gone so far as to trash talk Rousey, and in doing so, seemingly crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed.
Rousey’s father, Ron, committed suicide, and Correia joked about suicide with a Brazilian website when she expressed her belief she’d beat Rousey.
“I would give her a rematch so she wouldn’t cry so much,” Correia told Combate. “She can’t handle pressure. I will give her the opportunity to try and get the belt back. Please don’t kill yourself. Don’t commit suicide. I will give you a rematch.”
Correia later apologized, saying she wasn’t aware that Ron Rousey had committed suicide.
But Correia told Yahoo Sports that the whole thing was overblown and misinterpreted.
“I don’t feel anything I said was out of line,” Correia said. “I said the truth and I said the truth at the moment. I beat all of those ‘Four Horsewomen;’ I beat her teammates and I’m extremely confident in myself. I believe I can and I will beat Ronda. Regarding the suicide, that was a misinterpretation.
“I think Ronda took it out of context. She likes to be out there and make things like that up to maybe get herself ready. But I didn’t say anything out of disrespect or to get to her in any way. I would never talk about someone’s family. That’s not a part of this and it’s not what I did.”
But Rousey is training with a fury and telling anyone who will listen that she plans to punish Correia for her attitude.
Correia said she wants to fight the best version of Rousey, so she’s hoping Rousey is preparing as hard as she can.
And she knows that if she defeats Rousey, it’s all but certain that there will be a rematch.
“Ronda is a very good athlete and she has accomplished a lot,” Correia said. “But she’s not the only one. I feel I have the style, the total game, to be the one to beat her. And so it doesn’t matter if it is one, two or 10 times. I’ll fight her and beat her as much as I have to to show who is the best.”
