Ronda Rousey dismissed Correia’s challenge with a brutal first-round knockout, as she retained the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight title in the UFC 190 “Rousey vs. Correia” main event on Saturday at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The end came 34 seconds into round one, with Correia face down and motionless on the canvas.
The confident Rousey did not pursue a ground fight, forgoing a far safer route. Instead, she stood with the Brazilian brawler, walked through her punches, backed Correia towards the cage and let her quick, powerful hands fly. A left hook seemed rattle Correia before the champion followed with a knee to the body and had her looking for an escape. She found none. Rousey connected with a thudding right to the temple that sent an unconscious “Pitbull” crashing face-first to the mat, her arms by her side, the crowd in an uproar.
The indomitable Rousey has taken care of her last four challengers -- Correia, Cat Zingano, Alexis Davis and Sara McMann -- in 34 seconds, 14 seconds, 16 seconds and 66 seconds. Their combined record at the time they fought Rousey: 41-5. Correia, Zingano and McMann were all undefeated.
In wake of UFC 190 “Rousey vs. Correia,” here are six matchups that ought to be considered:
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Ronda Rousey vs. Cristiane Justino: While talk will undoubtedly turn to a trilogy match with Miesha Tate, Rousey can quiet her few remaining detractors by facing -- and defeating -- Santos, the reigning Invicta Fighting Championships featherweight titleholder and her chief rival by proxy. “Cyborg” has thus far been unwilling or unable to meet Rousey at her preferred weight of 135 pounds. However, UFC parent company Zuffa has deep pockets and could conceivably lure the two women’s MMA superpowers to the table for a catchweight bout by sweetening the pot. Let us hope, lest we be left with Rousey-Tate 3.
Mauricio Rua vs. Quinton Jackson: No one will confuse the “Shogun” of today with the force that tore through Pride Fighting Championships a decade ago, but Rua nevertheless got the job done at UFC 190. The Rafael Cordeiro protégé survived a first-round blitz from Antonio Rogerio Nogueira to take a unanimous decision in the co-main event, which served as a rematch to their unforgettable 2005 slugfest. Leg and body kicks were Rua’s chief weapons and helped keep Nogueira at bay. Jackson returned to the UFC on April 25, pocketing a unanimous decision over Fabio Maldonado. Rua handed “Rampage” arguably the worst loss of his career under the Pride banner a little more than 10 years ago.
Stefan Struve vs. Mirko Filipovic: Struve played the role of villain, as he spoiled the homecoming of Brazilian icon Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The towering Dutchman lit up Nogueira with wicked leg kicks, front kicks to the body, stinging jabs and occasional power punches en route to a unanimous decision. According to preliminary FightMetric figures, Struve out-landed the former Pride champion by a 93-59 margin in the significant strike department and denied all but one of his 14 takedown attempts. The 40-year-old Filipovic finds himself in the midst of a late-career resurgence, having scored consecutive finishes against Gabriel Gonzaga and Satoshi Ishii (twice).
Claudia Gadelha vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk: Gadelha bridged the final gap to a rematch with women’s strawweight champion Jedrzejczyk with a one-sided unanimous decision over former World Series of Fighting titleholder Jessica Aguilar. The Nova Uniao standout bloodied Aguilar with crisp punching combinations and controlled virtually every second of their 15-minute encounter. The unbeaten Jedrzejczyk, who remains the only woman ever to defeat Gadelha, successfully defended her 115-pound championship in a third-round technical knockout against Jessica Penne on June 20.
Demian Maia vs. Gunnar Nelson: Still one of MMA’s premier submission grapplers, Maia came through with one of the finest performances of his career, as he systematically dismantled Neil Magny. The 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist ran circles around Magny before tapping him with a second-round rear-naked choke, thus halting his run of seven straight victories. Maia has quietly pieced together a three-fight winning streak and remains a factor at 170 pounds. The once-beaten Nelson rebounded from a split decision loss to Rick Story to submit Brandon Thatch at UFC 189 on July 11.
Bethe Correia vs. Sarah Kaufman: The gulf that exists between Correia and the woman who rules the bantamweight division was as vast as many pundits had feared. Rousey preyed on the overmatched Brazilian in the main event, handing the “Pitbull” her first career setback in emphatic fashion. Many doubted whether or not Correia had validated her place as the No. 1 contender -- her three previous wins came against fighters with a combined 1-7 record in the UFC -- and those doubts only grew with her performance against Rousey. Kaufman, a former Strikeforce champion, last fought at UFC 186 in April, when she submitted to a second-round armbar from Alexis Davis.