White to Rousey: Calm down lady, your contender list is long
Dana White: “And I said, ‘Calm down, lady. You’ve got other people to fight. We’ll figure it out.’ So Ronda wants that fight, too. We’ll see how this thing plays out.”
The issue of pre-fight hype in MMA is contentious, and it came to the fore when Nova Uniao head coach Andre Pederneiras said his fighters were going to stop behaving like honorable martial artists who let their fighting speak for itself, and instead spice things up. The next day UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo shoved Chad Mendes at a press event.
In an interview with UFC.com, UFC president Dana White said that fighters who can talk up a fight are rare, and if you can’t do both, it is best to concentrate on the fighting side.
I think that guys just shouldn’t try, said White. Chael had it. Conor McGregor has it. This guy can fight and talk. I think some of the guys that can’t talk as well as others think they have to talk more. No you don’t. You need to be a great fighter. As long as you’re a great fighter, nobody gives a s— about that other stuff. Yes, some guys may stand out a little more, but if you have the talent you’re going to get where you want to go anyway.
Saturday night at UFC 177 Bethe Correia beat her second Horsewoman, knocking out Shayna Baszler in the second with a brutal flurry. As Correia has noted, Marina Shafir is just getting her pro career off the ground, so realistically the only Horseman left is UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
The name “The Four Horsewomen” is of course directly from pro wrestling, and Correia’s march through them has a slightly manufactured feel.
Before the fight Rousey tweeted a message of support to Baszler, in the form of a quote from Sir Rudyard Kipling – “Four things greater than all things are – women and horses and power and war.”
In the cage after the fight Correia called for shot at Rousey’s title.
“I’d love to have a chance at the title, I’d love to be champion,” said the Brazilian. “I have three fights in the UFC I’m undefeated right now. I feel like if I would have the chance at the title I would go in there and I would make the most of it.”
Immediately after Correia spoke, Rousey reached out to White.
“As soon as she started talking, [Rousey] texted me and said, ‘I want that fight, I want it now,'” said White. “‘I want it before someone else beats her.’ And I said, ‘Calm down, lady. You’ve got other people to fight. We’ll figure it out.’ So Ronda wants that fight, too. We’ll see how this thing plays out.
White also said that if Correia gets a title shot, it won’t be because of the Revenge of the Fourth/Alpha/Rick Flair Horsewoman angle.
“I don’t think Bethe moves up because of the rivalry; I think Bethe moves up because of what she did tonight,” said White. “That was crazy. The punches she hit (Baszler) with, I haven’t seen anything like that since Baroni and Menne. She looked good tonight. That’s what’s going to get her a fight with Rousey.”
