Tuning in for a Ronda Rousey fight is unlike tuning in for most UFC main events.
When paying for a main event, fans usually expect a competitive fight. Generally, the biggest fights are powered by the unknown—the intrigue of finding out just who is the better of two equally matched elite fighters.
But that isn’t what fans will be paying for at UFC 190. They will tune in to witness dominance. They will tune in to see the champion whose last three title defenses took a combined one minute and 36 seconds. They will tune in to see just how quickly she can do in her next challenger.
In this case, they’ll want to see just how much damage Rousey can inflict on Bethe Correia. Here’s a look at how the two stack up and the latest odds from Odds Shark.
Predictions
As the long odds might indicate, it’s tough to find anyone who’s backing Correia in this fight. It’s difficult to find people who are even rooting for her.
The UFC encouraged its more than 2.5 million followers to retweet an image to show their support for Correia. Only 190 have done so at the time of writing:
Still, Correia doesn’t see that as reason to doubt herself. She is known for pushing the action in her fights and aggressively closing the distance. It’s a strategy she intends to employ against Rousey.
“I’m not worried…I don’t have to respect anything she’s going to do in there because I’m going to be imposing my game and overcome anything that she can do in there,” Correia said, per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. “I don’t have to think about anything she’s doing.”
That’s all well and good as pre-fight trash talk, but the few fans backing Correia in this fight should hope that’s just pre-fight banter. Coming right at Rousey and hoping to impose her will is the strategy that Cat Zingano tried to bring to her title shot.
It didn’t work out well.
Rousey promptly ended the fight via armbar in 14 seconds.
Although it’s unrealistic to expect her to do that every time out, if an opponent is willing to barrel into Rousey’s clinch game, a quick finish is always on the table. In fact, it’s expected. A look at the staff predictions from MMAJunkie, Bloody Elbow and Bleacher Report reveals that not a single soul is taking Correia to pull off the massive upset.
Sean Smith of Bleacher Report summed up the reason for such an overwhelming majority:
Until she meets Cristiane Justino, I probably won’t even consider picking against Rousey. She’s a class, maybe three, above everybody else in the UFC women’s bantamweight division right now. Correia has done a good job selling this bout, but she isn’t beating the champion, who will probably look to punish the Brazilian by showing off her improved striking.
Rousey, TKO, Rd. 1
This isn’t Rousey’s biggest test to date, but it will serve as a nice legacy-builder for her. Whether by TKO or submission, this thing isn’t going to see a second round.
Prediction: Rousey by first-round submission
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