Up-and-coming UFC women's bantamweight fighter has been very vocal about her desire to fight champion Ronda Rousey. Until this point, Rousey has remained silent about her, and openly discussing other opponents who aren't even signed to the UFC yet.
But after Correia dispatched of Rousey's friend and training partner Shayna Baszler in very impressive fashion Saturday at UFC 177, it seems Rousey is now interested in fighting her.
"As soon as (Correia) started talking, (Rousey) texted me and said, 'I want that fight; I want it now,'" UFC president Dana White said in the post-fight press conference. "'I want it before someone else beats her.'"
Baszler is the second of Rousey's "Four Horsewomen" teammates to lose to Correia. While Rousey is looking for revenge, White doesn't seem too interested in making that fight yet.
"I said, 'Calm down, lady. You've got other people to fight. We'll figure it out,'" he said.
The "other people" White is referring to could be Gina Carano, who has been rumored to be signing with the UFC for the past few months. New UFC signee and former world boxing champion Holly Holm is also in the mix, but she hopes to get her feet wet with a few tune-up fights before jumping into the octagon with Rousey. Former top contender Cat Zingano is returning at UFC 178 in September after spending over a year on the sideline with injuries and personal issues, and a win over Amanda Nunes could vault Zingano right back into the title conversation.
So despite her 3-0 record in the UFC, Correia might have to defeat another top-10 opponent before getting a shot at Rousey. "Pitbull" looked outstanding on Saturday, pushing Baszler against the fence and throwing hard striking combinations that forced the referee to stop the fight in the second round, her first win by stoppage in the UFC.
"That was crazy," White said. "The punches she hit (Baszler) with, I haven't seen anything like that since (Phil) Baroni (against) (Dave) Menne. She looked good tonight. That's what's going to get her a fight with Rousey."
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