UFC 190 broadcasted from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 1. The preliminary fights showcased the evident talent of competitors from reality series "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil," with the show’s rival Brazilian coaches Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira entering the cage to settle whose style is superior. Rua won by a unanimous decision by the judges. The event’s headlining performance was not your typical testosterone-rage induced defense of male egos. UFC 190’s headline bout was between UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship titleholder Ronda Rousey and supposed contender, Brazil’s own Bethe Correia.
Ronda Rousey’s journey in mixed martial arts began when she was a teenager. Before beginning her professional tenure as a professional fighter, Rousey is credited with qualifying for two U.S. Olympic teams (2004, 2008) in women’s judo, earning a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing games at the age of 21. She entered the professional fight circuit in early 2011, winning her first two fights before signing on to Strikeforce, a subsidiary development league owned by UFC President Dana White. Rousey rose to Strikeforce’s elite, earning and defending her own bantamweight belt, later becoming Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first signed female fighter in late 2012.
Up until UFC 190, Rousey has defended her bantamweight title six times. Her record stood undefeated at 11-0, with nine submissions by armbar, one knockout, and one technical knockout. Determined to carry through the length of her career undefeated, Rousey knew she would have to bring out her signature, yet tactical, aggression when fighting Correia, who needed the same fierce intensity in her fighting to match that of her smack-talk.
Depending on viewer expectations, UFC 190 can be categorized as a major disappointment or what exactly everyone was rooting for. Preceding the starting bell, Correia stared down Rousey while in their corners, eyes locked in an expression of sportsmanlike contempt for one another. The starting bell rings. They meet each other in the center of the octagon. Rousey throws the first punch, a cross barely connecting with Correia’s head. A short flurry of loose punches is unleashed, breaks of paused milliseconds between each encounter. Ten seconds in.
Grabbing for Correia’s head and neck, Rousey tries to set up a direct power punch, inflicting maximum damage. Correia tries to break free, attempting to force away Rousey’s hold over her. Both swing at each other, seemingly fighting for their lives right from the get-go. Correia reaches for Rousey’s face. Arms are intertwined, Rousey bends away from her opponent’s reach, fisting upwards right into Correia’s chin. Bent into a low position, Rousey punches and pushes into Correia’s legs, knocking her to the floor. Twenty seconds in.
More of a technical fighter, relying on split-decisions by the judges to award her victory, Correia somersaults into an upright position. Afraid of Rousey’s grappling and scary armbar techniques — Rousey dislocated two opponents’ elbows while fighting for Strikeforce — Correia springs to her feet. A Rousey blow reaches Correia’s face just as she returns her attention to the force of nature. Correia falls back into the chainlink cage of the octagon. Trapped and cornered, Correia cannot escape the full impact of attack, unlike Muhammad Ali’s cushioning rope-a-dope strategy. Rousey walls her against the cage, wailing on her with nothing but headshots.
Correia tries to enter another offensive by grabbing for Rousey’s hips. Rousey uses the leverage she has to knee Correia’s side. Correia slides away from the fence, pushing off Rousey and edging backwards. Crushing any hopes to turn the tides of the fight, Rousey throws a jab. Jab. Cross. Correia leans against the octagon for the final time that night, falling and faceplanting on the floor. Rousey walks away as the referee determines Correia to be ineligible to continue fighting. Rousey, almost aware of events predetermined before going into the fight, has won the fight by a knockout punch. Still undefeated. In 34 seconds.
Abrupt, swift defeats delivered by Ronda Rousey are not uncommon by any means. Let's not forget Rousey's 54-second armbar victory over Sarah Kaufman from 2012, or her 25-second win in her very first professional fight. And who could forget her last two fights: UFC 184 fighting against Cat Zingano ended in with a submission in 14 seconds, and UFC 175 left Alexis Davis KO'ed by a punch in just 16 seconds. Only three fights have ever made it past the first minute: Sarah McCann was TKO'ed in 1:06 into the first round, Liz Carmouche was arm-barred 11 seconds before the first rounds end with Miesha Tate being the only of Rousey's competitors to survive the first round, making a stand lasting a minute into the third round before tapping out to a submission.
Except, in these circumstances, the short length of the fight was more emotionally motivated by Rousey. Correia made extremely distasteful personal comments to Rousey concerning her family life. Referencing Rousey's father's death which she openly speaks about in interviews, Correia saying "I hope she does not kill herself later on." Correia certainly sized herself up with a disgusting bark, yet could not summon up the strength or courage to fight Rousey with a bite of her own. Correia attempted to apologize for her offhand remarks pre-fight, which Rousey refused to accept. The cocky fighter got what she deserved, humiliated in her home country, as Rousey practically displayed her zero tolerance for such personal attacks:
Currently, Rousey holds many titles: her own Bantamweight championship, "The World's Most Dangerous Woman."In her post-fight interview with comedian and MMA commentator — and occasional Dana White Mini-Me — Joe Rogan, "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey made mention of dedicating her UFC 190 fight to wrestler "Rowdy Roddy Piper, a hero of hers who proudly accepted her emulation of his nickname, and who'd died the day before.
One moniker I believe Rousey to be a true testament to is "The Most Electrifying Woman In Sports Entertainment," opposite of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's similar title from his wrestling days. From her ambitions in the realm of MMA fighting to the back and forth exchanges between classless Floyd Mayweather — which may actually end in them touching gloves someday — it is evident that Rousey refuses to be caged in and submit to any of life's adversities. Whatever Rousey decides to do next, whether it is accepting Cris "Cyborg" Justino's challenge with the same dominant mentality she approaches all of her confrontations or get her own Expendables spin-off movie, she certainly has our attention.
