Fresh off of her win over Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke, Bethe “Pitbull” Correia faces another member of the Four Horsewomen stable on August 2nd at UFC 176: “Aldo vs Mendes 2” in Los Angeles, California. Correia battles veteran submission specialist Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler.
UFC officials announced the bantamweight bout on Monday. Correia earned her second Octagon win this past month when she defeated Duke. Baszler took exception to Correia’s actions after the bout and she requested a fight against the Brazilian. She now faces Correia in her official UFC debut.
Correia (8-0-0) has quickly become one of the UFC’s most promising female bantamweight fighters. In December, she made her Octagon debut against the much more experienced Julie “Fireball” Kedzie and walked away with a hard-fought Split Decision victory. She returned to the cage this past month to face Duke at UFC 172 and showcased her underrated striking skills en route to a well-deserved Unanimous Decision win. Following the fight, Correia sent a “one down, three to go” message to the rest of the Four Horsewomen stable and she will look to take out another member of the group in August.
Baszler (15-8-0) is one of the most experienced female fighters in MMA today and she has battled a who’s who of the sport during her ten-year pro career. After capturing titles for Freestyle Cage Fighting and The Cage Inc., Baszler made her Invicta FC debut on the promotion’s second card and dropped a contentious decision to Olympic medallist Sara McMann. She split her next two Invicta FC bouts and subsequently tried out for The Ultimate Fighter 18. However, in the season’s biggest upset, Baszler was submitted by eventual TUF 18 winner Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña.
Having now recovered from an injury that forced her out of a planned rematch with Sarah Kaufman, Baszler looks to pick up her first UFC win and gain a measure of revenge for her teammate when she faces Correia on August 2nd. Correia, who has her sights set on conquering the Four Horsewomen stable, will move another step closer to a UFC title fight if she can get past Baszler this summer.
UFC 176: “Aldo vs Mendes 2” takes place on August 2nd at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The event is headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship rematch between José “Scarface” Aldo and Chad “Money” Mendes.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
IMO, Baszler is way past her prime and will get Pena-ed again.
I saw Julie Kedzie’s fight against Bethe, and I scored it 30-27 to Correia. She also picked Jessamyn Duke apart standing.
Shayna, on the other hand, has shown some serious cardio issues in the past. If Correia gets past the first round, Baszler is toast,
I just haven’t been that impressed with Correia. She’s 8-0 and has a ton of confidence, but I think Baszler’s best days are ahead of her. She’s been living and training with Rousey and has tremendous edge in experience. Where Jessamyn Duke failed against Bethe, I think Shayna will succeed and take this via stoppage.