Former UFC bantamweight Bethe Correia has retired from MMA, but could still compete in other styles of fighting.
Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Bethe Correia may have retired from mixed martial arts last year, but it does not necessarily mean it will be the last time the world will see the ‘Pitbull’ compete.
Now the owner of a brand new gym in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, Correia admits to having no wish to compete in MMA again. However, should the urge to fight start acting up again, Bethe claims she could give jiu-jitsu tournaments or even bare knuckle boxing a try.
“I can’t tell you I will never fight again,” Correia said. “There’s bare knuckle boxing, there’s jiu-jitsu. Who knows, if I get that itch, I will never say never, but right now I’m focusing on the gym. Things could change with a good offer, but when it comes to MMA, I’m sure I’ve retired for good. I might compete in another sport, but I’ve hanged up my gloves in MMA forever.”
Now the owner of Team Correia, her brand new gym, Bethe hopes to develop more talent in female MMA as the business grows. In fact, the Brazilian’s intention is to find athletes who could one day fight and win belts in major mixed martial arts promotions.
“The gym will be open commercially, with jiu-jitsu classes. Edelson Silva will bring that boxing from Bahia (home state of Junior dos Santos and boxing champion Acelino Freitas). There will be Muay Thai and MMA Fitness, too. I’m beginning to work as in the management, comercial and planning departments. First of all, the focus is to improve people’s lives, but I’m working on a project focused on women’s MMA.”
“What I’ve been through in the sport was so hard,” Bethe said. “I suffered so much. I know what an athlete needs. People don’t know the first thing about MMA. I want a team to give them what I didn’t have. It’s so hard for women. People don’t recognize it. They think it’s easy. Brazil has so much wasted talent. There’s no backing, no orientation. Brazilians do it on sheer force of will. I want to build a style of class that is focused on women. MMA is a real life sport, it’s war. If it’s up to me, we’ll have champions coming out of there.”
Correia (11-6) retired from the sport following a unanimous decision loss to Karol Rosa, back in October 2021. During her UFC career, the 38-year-old shared the Octagon with some of the most notable names in women’s MMA, including Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm, to name a few. Overall, the Pitbull ended her Octagon stint with a 5-6-1 record.