Bethe Correia reached the pinnacle of her MMA career 15 months ago when she got the chance to challenge Ronda Rousey for the women's bantamweight belt at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro.

The most important moment of her athletic life, though, quickly turned into a huge disappointment when the judo Olympian knocked Correia out cold 34 seconds into the first round and then left the cage to the sound of Brazilian fans chanting her name.

More than a year, one more loss, and one win later, Correia looked back on the bitter August 2015 night in an exclusive interview with FloCombat/Ag. Fight, and there is a lot that the 33-year-old would do differently if she were to get a chance to face off against her rival once again.

"Today, I would fight differently with Ronda", Correia said. "Making the fight go longer is the best thing to do against her. She is a woman who delivers a lot (of output and damage) during the first few minutes, so by frustrating her a little bit you increase your chance to win."

The crushing defeat has had its upside, though, at least in the rearview mirror. In the wake of UFC 190, Correia reshaped her entire training structure, including a move to the United States. The "Pitbull" spent a few months at the renowned American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, California, putting in blood, sweat and tears along UFC stars such as Daniel Cormier, Luke Rockhold, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

According to the Brazilian, despite training in the U.S. being very proficient, the distance to her family, friends, and the high cost of living made her give up on her plans of making California her new home.

"I've been spending time abroad, but I've returned to Brazil," Correia said. "The U.S. is very good for exchanging knowledge, for improving wrestling, and the sport's infrastructure is great there. But I was lacking the support and friendship of my team. The cost of living (in San Jose) is high, and the lack of family also weighed on me a lot. It is very expensive to stay in the United States. Here in Brazil, it is easier."

After losing to Rousey in 2015, Correia lost a split decision to Raquel Pennington in April of this year before getting back on track with another split decision in September against Jessica Eye at UFC 203.