Bethe Correia was extremely confident heading into her fight against Ronda Rousey last weekend, but that didn’t stop her from getting knocked out just over 30 seconds into the first round.
Miesha Tate was not stunned by the result.
Tate, a longtime rival of Rousey’s who could be in line for a third fight against the champ, said Wednesday that she was only surprised by Rousey not extending the fight more so she could pound on Correia.
“It was a pretty quick fight, which I kind of anticipated,” Tate said on an appearance at the MMA Hour, per Anton Tabuena of Bloody Elbow. “I actually thought she might finish it at the end of the first round because I know she really wanted to punish Bethe. But Bethe ended up going down like a sack of potatoes before Ronda could really punish her like she wanted to.”
While Rousey is clearly a better fighter than Correia, Tate noted that Bethe didn’t do herself any favors when she made some wisecracks about suicide before the fight. Tate said she actually “sympathized” with Rousey after that, as Ronda’s father committed suicide when the bantamweight champion was 8 years old.
“I really thought that Bethe overstepped some personal boundaries that she just shouldn’t,” Tate said. “I mean, Ronda and I are probably never going to get along. We’re probably never going to be friends, but there’s a certain amount of respect that one another should have for each other, as fighters, if nothing more.
“No matter how much you dislike someone, there are personal lines you just don’t cross. I think Bethe did that, and so I think she got what was coming to her.”
Rousey made it very clear how she felt about Tate’s suicide comments, and the frustration definitely helped her inside the Octagon.
Tate went on to say that she doesn’t view Correia as “that good” of a fighter yet. Correia obviously disagrees, as evidenced by the guarantee she made earlier this week.
