Outside of a few trolls, I can't remember anyone in the mixed martial arts (MMA) community picking Bethe Correia to defeat Ronda Rousey in the UFC 190 main event earlier this month in Brazil. In fact, I don't think anyone expected it to be anything but a one-round laugher.
HIGHLIGHTS!
HIGHLIGHTS!
Didn't stop combat sports fans from purchasing the pay-per-view (PPV).
"Rousey vs. Correia," which took place on Aug. 1, 2015 inside HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, returned in excess of 900,000 buys, the largest number for a UFC PPV since UFC 168: "Weidman vs. Silva 2" -- where Rousey co-headlined -- according to MMA Fighting.
Rousey fight's success at that level was hardly expected. While Correia did her part to hype the fight, and there were a number of storylines in place, UFC 190 had little in the way of what would be considered strong undercard support... In addition, it came only three weeks after a far more heavily promoted show that was held in Las Vegas [UFC 189]... Still, the key is that Rousey may have become the company's biggest drawing attraction to date. Fighters like Brock Lesnar, Georges St-Pierre and Chuck Liddell, the previous biggest draws, all needed top level opponents as well as good stories to hit numbers like that.
Rousey will move on to fight undefeated ex-boxer Holly Holm in the UFC 195 PPV event, expected for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, 2016. While that slot originally belonged to Miesha Tate, it appears "Rowdy" will draw regardless of her opponent.
That's good to know, in light of this revelation.