Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia: Keys to Victory for Each Fighter at UFC 190
Bethe Correia has little chance of defeating Ronda Rousey, but if she does have a slim opportunity to win, there are a few things she must do to pull off the improbable victory in the main event at UFC 190.
Here are the keys to victory for both women.
Correia's Keys to Victory
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Be Smart with Her Strikes
Correia's striking is the best aspect of her game. She lands 55 percent of her strikes. If Rousey has a weakness, it's her striking defense. She only evades or blocks 53 percent of the strikes her opponents throw.
UFC light heavyweight champion and Fox Sports analyst Daniel Cormier obviously knows a thing or two about the sport, but it's hard not to disagree more with his keys to victory for Correia. Per Fox Sports, Cormier says:
"She [Correia] needs to try to overwhelm Rousey with her striking and power. She needs to control the range of the fight."
The worst thing Correia can do is attack with reckless abandon. We saw what that got Alexis Davis and Cat Zingano. Rousey used their aggression against them, and neither fighter lasted 20 seconds.
Correia has to be smart and judicious with her attack. Prolonging the fight would at least give us a chance to see if Rousey is as devastating late in a fight as she is early on.
Avoid the Takedown Like the Plague
Correia's takedown defense has been excellent in her career at 80 percent, but she's never faced Rousey. Avoiding the rest of the women's bantamweights' attempts at takedowns and Rousey's powerful and skillful throws are two different things.
If the fight goes to the ground, Rousey will end it whenever she wants to put Correia out of her misery. Rousey's efficiency once she gets an opponent to the ground is extraordinary. She has secured 13 takedowns in her last nine fights. All but one of those fights have been finished on the ground by submission or via strikes.
Those wins have come against fighters whose ground training is far superior to Correia's. If she gets taken down, chances are she won't be standing back up until the referee is rescuing her from a submission or a series of punches.
Rousey's Key to Victory
Don't Allow Emotion to Get the Best of Her
Rousey seems determined to make a statement against Correia, but she must guard against allowing this fight to get too emotional. You can watch the path both women have taken en route to Saturday's clash in the video below.
She's simply better in every way. Perhaps the only way this bout becomes competitive is if Rousey leaves herself open to take a shot she wouldn't normally take because she's trying to put on a show.
Even then, she's likely tough and resilient enough to recover, but there's no reason to put herself in harm's way. As long as she comes to the Octagon to take care of business, Correia won't make it past the two-minute mark in the first round.
Stats courtesy of FightMetric.
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