Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correia will close out a card with plenty of recognizable faces at UFC 189. The crowd in Rio de Janeiro will witness some of the biggest Brazilian names to come through the sport as a prelude to the women’s bantamweight title fight.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a rematch of a bout that took place a decade ago under the Pride banner. Meanwhile, his brother, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, will take on Stefan Struve in heavyweight action.
The heavy Brazilian flavor of the card doesn’t stop there, though. Two champions of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4 will be crowned. Reginaldo Vieira takes on Dileno Lopes in bantamweight action, while Glaico Franca and Fernando Bruno will do battle for the lightweight crown.
Here’s a look at the complete seven-fight main card, along with the latest odds from Odds Shark.
Biggest Fights of the Night
Claudia Gadelha vs. Jessica Aguilar
The women’s strawweight bout between Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Aguilar might kick off the pay-per-view card, but it’s one of the most important of the night. Nathan McCarter of Bleacher Report even made a case that it should have been the evening’s co-main event.
Big Nog, Little Nog and Shogun may be yesteryear’s Brazilian stars, but wins for any of them at UFC 190 aren’t putting them in their prospective title pictures. The winner of Gadelha vs. Aguilar will certainly be in the mix for the next shot at Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
As Jesse Scheckner of MMA Owl noted, Aguilar is one of the most talented strawweights, but her welcoming party to the UFC will be a tough one.
As dominant as the champion looked in beating Carla Esparza and Jessica Penne, Gadelha fared much better against her. She actually managed to get Jedrzejczyk to the ground seven times in a split-decision loss, as noted by FightMetric.
Aguilar’s credentials are no joke. She’s on a 10-fight win streak that includes names like Esparza and Megumi Fujii. She also held a title in World Series of Fighting. She’s a well-rounded fighter who is capable of holding her own in the striking department as well as in grappling.
However, she doesn’t do anything as well as Gadelha grapples. In a battle of high-level fighters, the one who does one thing extremely well has a bit of an advantage. It should be the difference as Gadelha maintains control throughout the majority of a competitive three-round affair.
Gadelha by decision
Shogun Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
It’s been five years since Shogun Rua defeated Lyoto Machida for the light heavyweight championship. Since then, he promptly lost the title to Jon Jones and has gone 3-6. His co-main event fight against Nogueira is most likely his last shot at any semblance of relevance.
Nogueira never quite reached the level of prominence that Shogun has in his career. He hasn’t fought for a title in either the UFC or Pride. Shogun put an end to his brief run in the Pride middleweight Grand Prix in 2005.
In the same span that Rua has gone 3-6, Nogueira is 2-2. That doesn’t speak highly of his ability to stay healthy. Four fights since March 2011 isn’t ideal. It does, however, show that Little Nog might have a little more left in the tank.
These two fighters aren’t the same as they were 10 years ago, and Little Nog believes the current version of himself is more prepared to change the result.
“I’m confident, and I believe the fight could be a little different this time,” Nogueira said, via Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. “I’m stronger, heavier than when we fought the first time. I weighed 213 pounds at that time, and I weighed 227 pounds when I started my camp—and I believe I will weigh 227 pounds on fight night. I will be stronger to fight him in the clinch.”
The additional weight might not be as important as the fact that Rua has been finished in three of his last four fights. Expect what’s left of Nogueira to be better than what’s left of Shogun.
Nogueira by second-round TKO
Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia
The question of the main event isn’t really whether Ronda Rousey will win. It’s how and when.
Even though both fighters are undefeated, their respective levels of competition are simply incomparable. Rousey has picked off the majority of the top 10 in the division. Correia‘s three victories have come over fighters with a collective 1-7 record in the UFC.
There’s a reason Rousey is one of the UFC’s biggest stars. She’s a force of nature with a combination of athleticism and technique that is far more developed than the majority of fighters in the young division. The result is a fighter who has won her last three fights in a combined 96 seconds.
But will she dispose of Correia in a similar time? The only reason to believe she won’t is anecdotal. Rousey‘s ability to secure quick submissions should be an available option for her because Correia looks to do most of her damage at close quarters, where Rousey is so good at executing throws and locking in submissions.
However, as this UFC video showed, Rousey is heavily emotionally invested in this opponent:
We’ve seen Rousey fight against opponents she doesn’t care for before. Her rivalry with Miesha Tate is well-documented, as the two have fought twice, and Tate is the only fighter to survive more than a round with the champion.
If Rousey truly wants to make an example of Correia, this could go beyond the usual length for a Rousey title defense.
If the Rowdy One decides she’s not all that into making Correia suffer after all, it will be another short night. Even with Correia‘s undefeated record, she simply isn’t as athletic or technical on the ground as her opponent.
Rousey via first-round submission
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