Bethe Correia wanted it and she got it. In Los Angeles at UFC 176, Correia will fight one of the dubbed “Four Horsewomen” of WMMA when she takes on Shayna Baszler in the women’s bantamweight division, according to the UFC’s official Twitter account.
Correia gets this fight on the heels of a win against Jessamyn Duke at UFC 172 last month. After securing the unanimous decision win over Duke, Correia held up four fingers, representing the four horsewomen, and confidently dropped one. This signified one down, three to go.
She now has her chance to take out the second of the four ladies of the famed group. That means that Ronda Rousey and Marina Shafir are the only other two for Correia to fight after Baszler, if she in fact wins.
Obviously, it will be tough for her to take out all four, as Shafir is not only unsigned by the UFC, but she resides in the 145-pound featherweight division.
Nevertheless, this fight brings some good intrigue.
Correia thus far has opted to strike in both UFC outings she has had. She narrowly defeated Julie Kedzie in her debut fight in Australia before clearly beating a much larger fighter in Duke at UFC 172. Both wins were via decision.
As for Baszler, she has not fought officially with the UFC yet. Her last pro bout was a submission loss to Alexis Davis in Invicta, a bout in which saw an amazing back-and-forth bout that earned both ladies Fight of the Night honors.
She then moved onto The Ultimate Fighter 18, where she defeated Colleen Schneider to get into the house. However, in the quarterfinals, she was upset by Julianna Pena in a tough fight that saw her come in overconfident.
This bout represents a real clash of styles. While Correia is a striker, Baszler is a catch wrestler who runs with the likes of Josh Barnett and obviously the Rousey crew.
A win for Correia would definitely create a great amount of hype for a potential title fight. Sure, she probably wouldn’t be the actual top contender, but two wins over Rousey teammates would be enough of a backstory to warrant a shot, especially in Rousey‘s eyes.
It is not clear where this fight will be on the card in regard to the main portion or on the prelims. However, given the storyline and implications it holds, it would be a solid addition to the main card, possibly the opener or second bout.
Stay tuned for more UFC 176 news as it becomes available.
UFC 176 Confirmed Fight Card
- Featherweight Championship: Jose Aldo (c) vs. Chad Mendes
- Women’s Bantamweight: Shayna Baszler vs. Bethe Correia
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