Bethe Correia has wasted no time trying to get Ronda Rousey's attention, and it seems to have worked. Rousey said Saturday that she's interested in fighting Correia and that she's willing to fight her in her home of Brazil.
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"I want to fight Bethe," Rousey said while speaking to reporters at UFC Fight Night 51 in Brazil. "I would love to fight Bethe in Brazil, actually. I think that would be an amazing event and I want to be part of it."
Correia is an up-and-coming contender who likely needs a few more wins before she can challenge Rousey for her UFC bantamweight championship. But "Pitbull" took a unique road towards title contention, calling out Rousey in the media and defeating Rousey's training partners and "Four Horsewomen" teammates Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler.
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Rousey said she respects Correia's tactics, as she herself used trash talk as a way to earn her first title shot when she fought in Strikeforce.
"I think it's extremely intelligent of her," Rousey said. "I think it's one of the things that was missing in women's MMA before I came along and I'm glad the girls are taking the hint and making themselves a lot more interesting for the fans. The storylines and the backstory is extremely important because the fight becomes more than just about who is athletically better. It becomes about who is right. So the fan's favorite, it becomes very personal as well. I think it's very smart what she's doing, she's not going to get away with it, but she's very smart."
Rousey still doesn't have an opponent or date for her next title defense but said she hopes to fight on Jan. 3 at UFC 182, which is headlined by Jon Jones defending his light heavyweight championship against Daniel Cormier.
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