Ronda Rousey continued her reign of dominance at UFC 184 with a swift submission finish over Cat Zingano.
That may be underselling the finish. It was 14 seconds long, an incredible performance.
A fight like that may scare away some challengers, but in the women’s bantamweight division, two are still clamoring for a championship opportunity with the most dominant fighter in the UFC today. Their names are Bethe Correia and Jessica Eye.
Both women were in Los Angeles for the event.
Eye was doing several press events for the UFC during fight week. Correia flew to the venue and was hanging out backstage throughout the evening. UFC President Dana White said at the post-fight press conference that both want the next title shot. Will they get it? Do they deserve it? Those are different questions.
Correia is ranked as the No. 7 contender in the division. She holds no wins over Top 10 bantamweights. What she does bring to the table is a built-in storyline of picking off Rousey‘s teammates. Correia may not be the most qualified challenger, nor may she deserve a title fight, but she is the only fighter on the roster who has any sort of backstory to work with.
It is something fans love. The story of Correia beating Rousey‘s teammates adds something to the potential fight. If the UFC puts Correia in the cage against top contenders like Miesha Tate or Cat Zingano, it risks losing that potential fight.
You also have Jessica Eye, who is ranked No. 6 in the division.
Where Correia is an undefeated fighter, Eye is not. In fact, Eye is not even on a winning streak. She is 1-1 with one no-contest in her last three fights. She dropped a split decision to Alexis Davis in their title eliminator.
Conventional wisdom would say that she needs at least one more win to earn a title shot, but with Rousey‘s dominance, she is right there in the mix.
Eye brings an aggressive style that is pleasing to the fans. She also has natural charisma that makes her marketable. The struggle is building her into a respectable challenger coming off just one win. The UFC would have to be creative in how it markets the fight.
Rousey said at the press conference that she will be taking time off to film another movie. That should give the UFC time to sort out who should be the next title challenger. A potential fight between Correia and Eye would make sense. It clears up who, of the two, deserve that chance.
The silver lining is that these women are not scared of Rousey. They relish the challenge. They believe they have what it takes to dethrone her. That is a special quality, one some may define as insane. But to be a prize fighter that steps inside the cage, you have to be a little insane.
Whomever gets that call to face Rousey will be facing a steep challenge, but the UFC at least has two women who are ready to test their abilities against one of the most special athletes of our generation.
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