Bethe Correia wants to retire former UFC women’s bantamweight champ Holly Holm early.
‘Pitbull’ is a former 135-pound title challenger who suffered her first career mixed martial arts (MMA) loss to Ronda Rousey back in August of 2015 via first round knockout. Correia had been saying some rather vulgar things leading up to the matchup, at one point poking fun at Rousey’s father’s suicide.
Following that loss Correia suffered her second straight defeat to Raquel Pennington via split decision before picking up a win against Jessica Eye. Now coming off of a Majority Draw against Marion Reneau, Correia has been gifted a bout against the former 135-pound champion of the world – and she intends to capitalize on it (quotes via MMA Mania):
“I think she was a bit overrated and that’s too risky for an athlete’s career because they put you in fights you shouldn’t take,” Correia said. “Holly comes from a tough fight, a loss, and she doesn’t take time off to recover, to analyze, to breathe, to travel and see things she has to work on.
“She takes another fight and ends up risking her career. I think that, after I win, it will depend on how they will take care of her career. If they don’t take good care of it, she might retire early. It depends on her head and how people around her will take care of her.”
The Brazilian believes that Holm is overrated and hasn’t had a great performance inside the Octagon since defeating Ronda Rousey. The rest of her performances since then have just been ‘good’, but nothing that raises Correia’s eyebrow.
Feeling that she herself is very underrated, Correia is ready to take advantages of the holes she claims to see in ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’s’ game:
“I have nothing to say about her as a person,” Correia said. “As an athlete, I think she has a great potential, but I think she’s a bit overrated. Against Ronda, she fought strategically and had a great performance, but all of her other UFC fights, in my opinion, were just good. Nothing spectacular. She’s overrated. Unlike her, I’m underrated. There are a lot of holes to beat Holly. She’s overrated. She’s a great athlete, but not as great as many people considered her to be.”
Correia prides herself on her punching power and is fully confident in her ability to stand and bang with the former kickboxing champion. If the fight finds itself anywhere else, however, she is very comfortable with her overall skill set in all aspects of MMA to get the job done:
“(Boxing) is her main weapon, but it’s mine, too,” Correia said. “I always believe in my hands and I’m not afraid to stand against anyone, not even her. I have heavy hands. I have more punching power, I’m strong. If I decide to trade with Holly, it will be a tough fight. But I’m a MMA fighter and I can fight anywhere, too. A striking contest between us will be really interesting. I want to beat Holly Holm because people talk about me defeating a top-five (opponent), and I think this is the moment to show my striking qualities against a top ranked opponent,” said Bethe.
“I believe I can get a knockout. I see many holes in her striking, so I’m confident. I have nothing to lose in this fight, so I’m going straight forward. There are styles that match up well, and I believe I will grow more with Holly’s style. I feel more comfortable. That’s why I believe I can beat her standing.”
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