The intensity between women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Bethe Correia has amplified heading into the main event of Saturday's UFC 190.
It started innocently when Correia defeated Rousey's "Four Hoursewomen" teammates Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler.
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After she beat them, Correia held up the four fingers and then drop a finger for each one she'd battered. When she beat Baszler at UFC 177 last August, she wanted to face Rousey next and be the one to retire undefeated as champion. The curent champion obliged after decimating Cat Zingano in 14 seconds at UFC 184 in February, telling Joe Rogan she would be the one to give Correia her first loss.
In March, the fight was announced for UFC 190 in Rio. At first, the trash talk between the two was pretty basic. That all changed in May when Correia said in an interview with Combate that she hopes Rousey doesn't kill herself if she loses the title.
The comment was a reference to Rousey's father committing suicide when she was 8 years old. Correia apologized for the comments, but Rousey wasn't buying it. She has gone as far to say she will make Correia suffer inside the Octagon and prolong the fight. Her last three fights have lasted 96 seconds total; Rousey has said she ended those fights quickly because she liked her opponents.
The Brazilian believes the apology was sufficient. She also feels Rousey's reaction shows a different side of her.
"I see it as an excuse and a facade because she knows that she’s not going to be able to get through me quickly in this fight and she’s already started to make excuses for it," Correia told Sporting News. "I’m the one that's going to in there and finish this fight quickly. I’m going to fight quickly against her and it just shows Ronda’s arrogance to say that if a fight goes beyond the first round it’s because she wanted it to. She likes people to be intimidated by her and she likes to boss people around like she wants to boss (UFC president) Dana White around. That’s just the way she is and it’s a perfect example of her arrogance."
Correia in 9-0 as a professional and undefeated in her three UFC fights, but she is facing perhaps the greatest women's athlete on the planet. Regardless, "Pitbull" believes she brings something that Rousey has never experienced in her illustrious career.
"She’s never faced a Brazilian warrior, let alone a Brazilian from the north of Brazil," Correia said. "We’re very tough, we don’t give up and Brazil doesn’t have the infrastructure, the support and all the things that you can find in other countries. We are very resilient fighters, very persistent and we don’t give up easily and she’s just never faced that."
Correia said she respects the reigning champion, but she also said Rousey won't be leaving Brazil with the belt.
"I see a war playing out. She seems like a person who gives it her all inside the cage," Correia said. "She doesn't leave anything to hide. I’m twice as much like that and it’s going to be a thrill to defend the belt against a girl who really wants the belt. She sees a true war playing out and the belt is staying in Brazil."
Steven Muehlhausen is a boxing and MMA writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.