A ranked strawweight tilt is likely to be added to the UFC’s biggest card of the year, UFC 239 in July, with Claudia Gadelha taking on Randa Markos.
The UFC’s International Fight Week is always stacked with the biggest fights of the year, and this year is no exception. UFC 239 already has two title fights, with Jon Jones defending his light-heavyweight title against Thiago Santos, and Amanda Nunes defending her bantamweight title against former champion Holly Holm. Other top-tier matchups include Ben Askren taking on Jorge Masvidal, and Francis Ngannou squaring off against Junior Dos Santos.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, a big strawweight fight is coming to Las Vegas this July, as the UFC is targeting top-ranked strawweights Claudia Gadelha and Randa Markos for the event. This is a crossroads fight for both of them and an important fight for a crowded 115-pound division.
Randa Markos has always been an up-and-down fighter in the UFC, however, she has done very well as of late. Going 2-1-1 in her last four fights, last time out she earned a big win over Angela Hill, in March. The Canadian defeated the former Invicta champion via first-round submission in Nashville.
Claudia Gadelha has not been doing as well as the aforementioned Markos. Gadelha has lost two of her last three bouts, with the sole win being a controversial split decision win over Carla Esparza in June. Prior to her recent struggles, she was seen as one of the top fighters in the division, having two close bouts with former dominant champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
UFC 239 takes place July 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event of the stacked card features Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos for the light heavyweight title.
