Preview: UFC Fight Night 193 Prelims

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Women’s Bantamweights

#15 WBW | Karol Rosa (14-3, 3-0 UFC) vs. NR | Bethe Correia (11-5-1, 5-5-1)

ODDS: Rosa (-345), Correia (+285)

Given how callous the UFC can be towards its roster, it was a pleasant surprise to see the promotion go out of its way to give Correia a proper sendoff, re-signing the former bantamweight title challenger for her retirement fight. Correia has managed to be both inspirational and an easy punchline; she is as poor an athlete as there has been on the UFC roster and has a delusional amount of self-confidence, but she has been an intelligent fighter who has managed to maximize her limited gifts. She memorably got enough wins and talked enough trash to earn a quick beating at the hands of Ronda Rousey in 2015, then held her own enough that it was a surprise when the UFC decided to cut her after a loss to Pannie Kianzad in 2020. Correia was re-signed for her retirement fight, though she gets some rough luck on the way out. She was slated for a quite winnable fight against Yanan Wu in January, but appendix surgery led to her being booked for a much tougher opponent.

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Rosa is in a similar boat as her countrywoman, making up for a lack of athleticism with a combination of acumen and grit. A training partner of Jessica Andrade, Rosa did not show much prior to her UFC career but has shown out since coming to the Octagon, beating Lara Procopio in a ridiculously high-paced war before leaning on her wrestling in wins over Vanessa Melo and Joselyne Edwards. On the plus side for Correia, she represents the toughest test of Rosa’s career to date and is at her smallest athleticism deficit in a good while. However, Rosa is still the better athlete and more willing to push the pace, even through any damage that Correia can inflict. The pick is Rosa via decision.

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