Ronda Rousey isn’t one to allow her opponents to control the trash talk going into her title defenses, but to date, it’s been Brazilian fighter Bethe Correia controlling the conversation.
She has said that she would “knock the mole off” Ronda’s face, and in a recent interview with Combate , Correia even joked about Rousey’s father’s suicide with this statement.
“Under pressure, she is proving weak. When her mom put pressure on her, she ran away from home. When she lost, it was because of drugs. That’s not a superhero. She is not mentally healthy; she needs to take care of herself. She is winning, so everybody is around her cheering her up, but when she realizes she is not everything that she believes she is, I don’t know what might happen. I hope she does not kill herself later on [laughs].”
As this piece from Yahoo! Sports writer Ryan McKinnell clearly shows, Bethe is well aware of her opponent’s history, and so she almost certainly knew of the suicide.
That didn’t sit well with Rousey, who fired a tweet at Bethe this morning responding to the potshot.
@bethecorreia suicide is no joke or selling point. My father will be with me the day I hand you the comeuppance you deserve.
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) May 28, 2015
What is particularly surprising about the Ronda Rousey response is how devoid of foul language and explicit threats it is. Normally, Ronda would be a lot more colorful, so the fact she has gone with such a simple, direct response gives some indication that she’s taking her opponent’s trash talk more seriously than she normally would. Considering the fact that most fighters don’t make it out of the first round with the unbeaten UFC champ, you can’t envy Bethe Correia in this scenario, though as many on Ronda’s Twitter point out, it’s something she has brought on herself.
@RondaRousey @bethecorreia Woah!!! This is personal and suicide is really no joke. — Deadman_Inc (@Your_Und3rtaker) May 28, 2015
@RondaRousey Very disappointed after that comment @bethecorreia laughs #MMA is just a sport Suicide is real life
— Jason Jones (@ColoredSpaces) May 28, 2015
@Y2CASEY yikes, @RondaRousey is going to pain this lady so bad…. — KJSea (@xKillerKenx) May 28, 2015
While it is a fighter’s job to “sell” the fight, many agree that Bethe went overboard bringing serious issues like family and suicide into the mix. It’s the sort of thing that one would almost expect disciplinary action over, though, to date, UFC President Dana White has not indicated he would go that direction.
Perhaps, he may be thinking, letting Bethe fight Ronda Rousey is punishment enough. The whole thing goes down on August 1 at UFC 190. Will you be watching?
[Image via The Sportster ]