Author: Jordy McElroy

Lying facedown on the canvas, Bethe Correia saw things clearly for the first time in a long time. If only for a few, hazy milliseconds—trapped between the conscious realm and the unconscious one—Correia’s cloud of puffery dissolved, setting up a thunderous crash back down to Earth.

Three long hours of waiting for Ronda Rousey to finally take the cage against Correia culminated in a 34-second rout on Saturday night at UFC 190. For all of the talk surrounding judo and armbars, Rousey’s right hand was the weapon of choice.

A sniper shot behind the ear closed the book on the most nonsensical women’s bantamweight championship bout in UFC history.

Let’s call it like it is: Correia wasn’t ready to be in the cage with Rousey. All of Correia’s previous UFC bouts came against opponents with a combined UFC record of 1-7. She had never even faced a top-10 opponent. The only sticking point the UFC had to go on was Correia’s undefeated record and god-fearing knockout power, despite the fact that she had never knocked anyone out.

“Bethe Correia has tools. She’s got skills. She’s got power. If this becomes a standup fight, she will have an advantage,” UFC commentator Joe Rogan said in the UFC 190 extended preview. 

The very idea that Correia had an advantage anywhere against Rousey was folly. It was exaggerated hype. As Nick Diaz would say, “they’re selling you all wolf tickets people, and you’re eating it right up.”

There is no doubt in my mind that Correia’s conviction was sincere. She truly believed she’d be the one to shock the world and send Rousey packing. But Rousey is simply on another level. The gap between Rousey and the rest of her division is the size of the equator.

We have gone from bona fide threats to circus fights. People are no longer placing wagers on whether or not Rousey will win a fight. Instead, we are tuning in to see how she wins. Will it be by knockout or submission? Will it be in 36 seconds or 14 seconds?

It’s like throwing a man into a cage with a grizzly bear and paying to see if something spectacular happens. It’s Mike Tyson-esque. For the younger readers out there, Tyson was the titular juggernaut in professional boxing from the mid-’80s to mid-’90s.  

As a kid, I can vividly remember the poor soul with glazed eyes lying facedown on the floor after a Tyson fight. My mother had a mean left hook, and my father kept spending money on fights that only lasted 30 seconds.

Even in a lopsided attraction, a promoter’s job is to sell the fight. There are some athletes surfing the cosmos with their talents, while the rest spectate from below through binoculars.

Rousey is that fighter in the women’s bantamweight division. She has finished her last four opponents in less than three minutes combined. People are paying $60 to watch her finish challengers quicker than I can pump out a set of push-ups. Luckily for the UFC, the world is infatuated with Rousey’s greatness. She could literally sell out an arena fighting American Olympian Lolo Jones.

Is that the direction we’re headed with the Rousey phenomenon—fictitious hype for bad paper matchups? It’s a real possibility considering Holly Holm is the only prospect out of a long line of beaten contenders.

Rousey is currently gearing up for a trilogy with longtime nemesis Miesha Tate, who she has already submitted twice.

According to UFC President Dana White, who spoke at the UFC 190 post-fight press conference, Rousey and Tate is slated for Cowboy Stadium in Dallas as the co-headliner to the prodigious featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor. There are definitely no marketing concerns for that event.

As for Correia, she’ll have a soapbox to stand on again soon, assuming she continues to get the right fights and say the right things.

When that day comes, it’ll be as though she never left.

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ronda Rousey is the biggest star in MMA history. That much can’t even be argued. She’s in magazines, commercials and blockbuster Hollywood movies. You can rest assured an ESPN camera is around the corner every time she fights.

She has single-handedly broken into the mainstream sports world. Young women on hand to see her workout in Rio last week had tears of joy streaming down their faces. A small child ran past security with his heart set on sneaking in a hug from the reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion.

Rousey’s star power isn’t fixated around young men and hardcore MMA fans. It goes way beyond that. Rousey is the one fighter your mother and grandmother are talking about. She’s the reason for the old, grumpy neighbor’s momentary infatuation with MMA. She’s the reason LeBron James remained seated at the ESPYs.

No, there is no bigger star than Ronda Rousey in MMA.

But superstardom aside, Rousey broke down another barrier on Saturday night at UFC 190, where she dusted off top women’s bantamweight contender Bethe Correia in 34 seconds with a highlight reel knockout.

She has now positioned herself along the likes of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo as quite possibly the greatest MMA fighter of all time.

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole argues:

If there were a male UFC champion who was 12-0 and had won his last three fights in 16, 14 and 34 seconds, that man would almost by acclamation be proclaimed the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world as well as the greatest who ever lived.

Iole is absolutely right in that regard. Rousey has annihilated the competition. The path to the queen’s throne at 135 pounds is covered with trampled hearts and the skeletal remains of missing limbs. She has finished her last four opponents in less than three minutes combined.

Imagine if Aldo was doing this to opponents. What would people be saying about him?

Of course, the notion that Rousey is the greatest of all time does have serious cracks. She isn’t facing nearly the same level of opposition as Aldo and other world champions. There is no reason to feign as if Correia was a proven contender heading into the fight. All of Correia’s UFC opponents up until that point had a combined UFC record of 1-7.

Rousey isn’t staring down a murderer’s row of contenders. The women’s bantamweight division has only existed in the UFC for two years, which means the level of talent isn’t that deep yet. But as time goes by, Rousey’s dominance will encourage more and more women to get involved in MMA, and the overall talent in the division will grow.

Rousey isn’t the greatest of all time, but her name holds weight. She is one of the best—man or woman—to ever put on a pair of four ounce gloves. But if we’re talking greatest of all time, we’re going to need a herculean feat inside the cage.

Perhaps a move to 145 pounds to challenge Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino would do the trick.  

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com