UFC 190 is a big event, not just because this is an opportunity for the UFC to push Ronda Rousey to the forefront, but because this is a chance for Rousey to prove just how vital she is to the organization. Her fight against Bethe Correia headlines what is a strong UFC event on paper. But unfortunately for Rousey and everyone scheduled to compete, the UFC didn’t do the best of jobs getting fans excited about this event.
The real value of this card outside of the main event grudge match between Rousey and Correia are the fights between Jessica Aguilar and Claudia Gadelha and between Demian Maia and Neil Magny. Gadelha and Aguilar are fighting for what should be a shot at Joanna Jedrzejczyk and her strawweight title. Magny is looking for relevance in the welterweight division, which should come with a win over the former middleweight contender in Maia. Beyond that, this show is comprised of an interesting mix of ranked competitors in important matchups. However, the real conversation at this time is whether or not Rousey is going to be able to power this show towards success.
The first aspect of the equation is how well the organization has promoted this event. UFC 189 stood out because of the promotion that the matchup between Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo received well before the event was close at hand. Even though Aldo was forced off of the card, the effort was well received, as UFC 189 still managed to be one of the biggest events that the organization has put on to date. Unfortunately for Rousey and this card as a whole, the UFC did not follow up on that promotion to keep the momentum flowing into this event.
Even though Rousey has been making the media rounds (and her range of promotion is almost a standard at this point) it still was not enough to create any true excitement about this event. The fact that she’s facing a Brazilian in her home country will help entice the crowds there, but the market beyond that hasn’t received enough promotion to raise interest in this fight.
The next aspect to think about is the card itself. Outside of Rousey and Correia, this event features 10 individuals that the UFC ranks in the Top 15 of their respective weight classes. These fighters include the aforementioned Aguilar, Gadelha, Maia, and Magny, along with Rafael Cavalcante, Patrick Cummins, Antonio Silva, Stefan Struve, Mauricio Rua, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Many other UFC events do not feature a long list of ranked competitors, and the fights they will be featured in offer value to those divisions, but this card suffers from the fact that these fights were not pushed in the right way to highlight these matchups. This lack of push hurts UFC 190 overall.
In the past, Rousey has been a major draw for PPV buyrates. According to the MMA Payout Blue Book, UFC 184 brought in approximately 590,000 buys, which was a strong increase over the 350,000 of UFC 170 and the 450,000 of UFC 157. As she becomes a bigger star for the organization, the UFC will need for her to carry events on her star power alone. In the case of UFC 190, she was given a supporting cast, but the organization still chose to focus the promotion on her.
This card will be a true measuring stick to determine just how much of a star she is at this point in her flourishing career. Whether she can sustain the type of numbers she garnered at UFC 184 remains to be seen, but the overall success or failure of this event will hinge on fans’ willingness to tune in to and pay for The Ronda Rousey Show. No doubt about that.
• Ronda Rousey vs. Bethe Correia
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UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia takes place on August 1, 2015 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 190 will be.
