Over the past few years, Rio de Janeiro has become a favored destination for UFC, and on Saturday, the company will once again occupy the HSBC Arena.
UFC 190 will begin with the UFC Fight Pass preliminaries at 7 p.m. ET and work its way up to the main card, which is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. ET.
From top to bottom, the pay-per-view card doesn’t offer a whole lot, but sometimes the more underwhelming shows on paper turn out to be pleasant surprises once they get underway.
Here’s a look at the full card for the PPV, followed by brief previews for three of the bigger fights at UFC 190.
UFC 190 Card
Forecasting Saturday’s Biggest Fights
Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia
Ronda Rousey is basically John Cena at this point. “Cena wins LOL” has become a meme for WWE fans since it’s a near guarantee Cena will overcome the odds and win his biggest matches, especially when he’s paired with a wrestler who has a smaller profile.
Calling Rousey the favorite ahead of her UFC 190 bout would be a massive understatement. She is superior to Bethe Correia in in every single facet of MMA.
Like Cena is essentially forced to do in order to build drama, Rousey basically moved the goalposts during an interview on America’s Pregame. via Fox Sports’ Damon Martin, when discussing her definition of an underdog and how she fits under the designation:
In these individual fights I might be a heavy favorite; in the end goal I’m not a favorite at all. I’m a huge underdog. The end goal is I want to retire undefeated and be remembered as one of the most dominant athletes of all time. There’s these athletes that have come up and been really dominant for a period and seemed indestructible for a period, but that time came to an end and eventually they had to retire.
You can kind of see where Rousey is coming from with regard to the entirety of her mixed martial arts career and overall legacy. But there isn’t a bigger individual “overdog” in sports today.
The gulf in class between Rousey and Correia looks to be gargantuan, and it would be a surprise if their fight went beyond the second round.
Prediction: Rousey wins, first-round submission
Mauricio Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira put on a classic when they fought in PRIDE. Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden joked that fight might serve as a great replacement for their upcoming bout on UFC 190:
Quite a bit has changed in the 10 years since they last met in a competitive match. “Shogun” is 33 years old and the loser in four of his last fights. Nogueira, meanwhile, is 39, having fought twice between UFC 140 in December 2011 and now.
In a way, you can envision this being the best fight on the card. Neither guy has anything to lose, and they’re both relatively at the same level talent-wise. Sometimes, it can be a lot of fun watching two older stars throw caution to the wind and simply go after each other.
You can make a strong case for either Rua or Nogueira to win. “Shogun” might have a little more left in the tank, and he also has much more to fight for Saturday following his string of defeats.
The two will fight to a near-stalemate, with Rua just edging out his opponents on the scorecards.
Prediction: Rua wins, decision
Antonio Silva vs. Soa Palelei
Desperate men can do desperate things.
Antonio Silva hasn’t won a fight since knocking out Alistair Overeem at UFC 156 in February 2013. He has lost three fights—none of which went past the first round—and drawn with Mark Hunt, which was immediately followed by Silva’s failed drug test.
The 35-year-old needs a win against Soa Palelei in the worst way, and that might force him to be much more aggressive in the Octagon than he was on his last few fights.
Even then, Silva still might not have enough to finish off Palelei, who’s 4-1 since coming back to UFC in August 2013.
The biggest factor in the bout will be whether Palelei can get Silva down on the mat. If he does, then he’ll go to town on the Brazilian with a flurry of punches. Few fighters are stronger than Palelei, so Silva won’t stand much of a chance if he gets clocked by one or two big blows.
Simply put, you can’t look past Palelei here. Since returning from suspension, Silva has been helpless in the Octagon. Maybe he gets lucky Saturday night, but he looks way past it.
Prediction: Palelei wins, second-round knockout
Note: UFC 190 odds are courtesy of Odds Shark and up to date as of 11:50 p.m. ET Friday.
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