UFC 190 Rousey vs. Corriea betting preview

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is quickly becoming the face of the sport and can etch another chapter in her burgeoning legacy with a victory over challenger Bethe Correia at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this Saturday. Here’s some MMA fight odds and a betting breakdown of that bout as well as the matchup between Brazilian legends Maurício Rua and Antônio Rogério Nogueira.

Ronda Rousey (-1,500) vs. Bethe Correia (+750)
Rousey’s price tag is pretty hefty, but who are we to deny her dominance in the UFC. Since climbing into the Octagon, she’s finished five straight opponents – most of which never made it out of the first round, let alone the first minute. The game plan is simple for the champ: Overpower Correia, take the fight to the mat, lock in her now-famous armbar. Done.

Correia will have the home crowd behind her, at least. The Brazilian is undefeated in her fight career, including a 3-0 run in the UFC but hasn’t faced any top-flight competition. She’s known for her striking and quick hands but may want to play it cool when it comes to the bigger Rousey. Correia will want distance between the champ, and her best chance of winning this bout is to play tag with Rousey as long as she can.

Maurício Rua (-190) vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira (+165)
The names on the marquee may be enough to interest fight fans, but both these Brazilian heroes are well past their primes and a long way from their original meeting over a decade ago. “Shogun” enters Saturday with just one win in his last five fights, most recently losing to Ovince Saint Preux via TKO back in November. Rua is damaged goods since suffering a stunning KO loss to Jon Jones back in 2011 and is always at risk of a knockout.

“Little Nog” hasn’t fought in about a year, losing to Anthony Johnson by way to KO at UFC on Fox in July 2014, and this is just his fifth fight since 2011. He lost the first meeting with “Shogun” during their tenure in Pride, getting edged on the judges’ cards back during the middleweight Grand Prix in June 2005, but you can’t take too much from that bout. Nogueira got roped into this matchup after coaching TUF, and while he’s close to 40 years old (which is like 80 in MMA years) he has a puncher’s chance against the questionable jaw of Rua. Hence the short odds on the underdog.