Despite being the dominant champion that she is, Ronda Rousey will head into her opponent’s home country to defend her bantamweight belt at UFC 190 this weekend.
En route to an undefeated 9-0 record, Bethe Correia has gotten Rousey‘s attention. The Brazilian has called Rousey out on multiple occasions and seems to have gotten under the champion’s skin.
Giving Rousey extra motivation may not be the best way to go, though. It didn’t work out well for Miesha Tate, but time will tell how Correia fares against the dominant titleholder.
While Rousey and Correia should be competing inside the Octagon for years to come, some UFC 190 competitors could be battling for their roster spots this weekend. Here are the individuals sitting on the hot seat heading into Saturday’s event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Both Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira are ranked among the Top 15 contenders in the light heavyweight division. However, that says more about the lack of depth in that weight class than it does about either competitor’s recent accomplishments.
At 33 years old, Shogun has been knocked out in two straight bouts. This is the lowest point in his MMA career, and one has to wonder whether 12 years of fighting with the violent style that he has is beginning to catch up with him.
Nogueira, meanwhile, has not lost consecutive contests. Though, he has been out of action more than 12 months and has not had his hand raised in more than two years.
Rua and Nogueira have had excellent careers, but it would seem that there is a good chance that this rematch could end up being the last appearance for the loser in the event of a lopsided result.
Stefan Struve and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
The heavyweight division needs all the big names it can get, but Stefan Struve and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are both in desperate need of a win nonetheless.
It is great to have Struve back and competing relatively regularly after a heart problem threatened to end his MMA career. That said, he’s been knocked out in two straight outings, leaving him with five pretty nasty knockout losses inside the Octagon.
Should Struve suffer another stoppage defeat this weekend, it might be in his best interest to take some time to work things out on a smaller show. After all, he is still only 27 years old.
At 39 years old, Nogueira has to know the end of his career is nearing. However, I’m guessing he’ll want to end his career against a more historically significant opponent than Struve.
That said, should Nogueira end up with a third straight stoppage loss against Struve, he may have the decision to end his UFC career made for him.
Antonio Silva
About two years ago, Antonio Silva was battling Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight championship.
Things have gone downhill in a hurry for Bigfoot, though. With his bout against Mark Hunt overturned to a no contest, Silva has technically been knocked out in three straight official outings.
Soa Palelei will be a big step down in competition for Silva at UFC 190, so he’ll need to win in order to have any chance to remaining a contender in the heavyweight class. If he doesn’t, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the UFC shed his price tag and allow Silva to walk to a promotion like Bellator MMA.
Guido Cannetti
Despite failing to reach the competition finals as a TUF: Latin America contestant and losing in his UFC debut, Guido Cannetti has been given another shot to prove himself inside the Octagon.
Cannetti was submitted by Enrique Briones in his first official UFC bout. However, in earning Fight of the Night honors, Cannetti secured this chance to compete at UFC 190 against Hugo Viana.
Viana is a tough opponent to face in a must-win situation, but it’s hard to image the UFC brass keeping Cannetti around should he lose once again this weekend.
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