Claudia Gadelha, who twice fought Joanna Jedrzejczyk — the second time with the UFC women’s strawweight championship on the line — has informed the promotion of her retirement. News of the her exit from active competition was first reported by MMA Fighting. That’s after Twitter account UFC Roster Watch, an automated service that monitors changes to the UFC fighter database, noted that she had been removed from the roster.

Gadelha (18-5), 33, had not competed since a November 2020 loss to China’s Yan Xiaonan. That setback snapped a two-fight winning streak for the Brazilian.

“Caludinha” entered the UFC in 2014, appearing in the promotion’s first ever women’s strawweight fight against Tina Lähdemäki. She won the bout via a unanimous decision, improving to 12-0 and moving on to a bout with Joanna Jedrzejczyk, which she would lose in a close split decision.

Prior to her entrance into the UFC, Gadelha had been signed to take part in The Ultimate Fighter 20, which officially introduced the women’s 115lb weight class. After being signed outright and falling to 1-1 in the promotion with her loss to Jedrzejczyk, Gadelha earned a win over Jessica Aguilar, then served as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 23 opposite “Joanna Champion.”

The rivalry between the pair was arguably one of the more intense among later Ultimate Fighter seasons. For many, Gadelha became the hero, with the champion coming off as the “bad guy.”

In their rematch in 2016 at the TUF 23 finale, with Jedrzejczyk’s 115lb title on the line, Gadelha again fell short, losing a five-round unanimous decision. From there, she would go on to post a 5-3 record to close out her career, earning wins over ex-UFC champ Carla Esparza, former Invicta FC champ Angela Hill, and earning a Performance of the Night bonus for her submission of fellow strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Gadelha also shared in two Fight of the Night bonuses during her UFC run, in her second fight with Jedrzejczyk, and against another women’s strawweight champ, Jessica Andrade, in a non-title affair.

The post Former UFC Strawweight Title Challenger Claudia Gadelha Retires appeared first on Cageside Press.

Thiago Santos

You have to feel a bit for Santos. After a split decision loss in a title fight to one of the greatest of all time, he was left on the shelf with a knee injury. Yet all that time away only seemed to make a second title shot more likely, with one of his old foes (one he beat, Jan Blachowicz) having taken the title. While it didn’t work out that way, there are still plenty of intriguing fights at 205 that could work him back into that mix in no time — one of which is “No Time.” Volkan Oezdemir represents a much better stylistic match for Santos in that he’ll be more willing to stand and trade with the Brazilian. It’s also hard to imagine Oezdemir taking shots like Teixeira did and still coming forward.

Thiago Santos’ Next Fight: Volkan Oezdemir

Tanner Boser

Boser came out looking like he knew what he trying to do against Andrei Alrlovski. He knew he had the speed advantage and working the legs seemed to be a priority. However, working the legs and staying away from the big shot seemed to be too much of a priority, resulting in not quite enough volume for him to pick up the win. It might be easier to turn up that volume against someone like Ben Rothwell. Rothwell has been in more than a couple fights that have turned into slugfests. That type of fight would probably be good for Boser after this tame one as it would allow him to use those speedy counters more frequently and effectively. With each coming off of a loss, it would also help one of them get back into the win column.

Tanner Boser’s Next Fight: Ben Rothwell

Khalid Taha

Khalid Taha has made every fight he’s had exciting with his quick hands and willingness to eat a shot to give one. That was on full display this past weekend when he and Raoni Barcelos both picked up a smooth 50k for their efforts. However exciting on the feet, Taha has shown a bit of a weakness when it comes to actually keeping things standing. In 10 rounds in the octagon, he has conceded 10 takedowns. Usually I would suggest someone who would just slug it out with him to get him back on the right track, but at 2-2 the UFC needs to know Taha can make an adjustment. Irwin Rivera would be an opponent that would satisfy both of those needs. He has a pretty decent wrestling game, but also loves to trade bombs. Pairing those two couldn’t possibly be dull.

Khalid Taha’s Next Fight: Irwin Rivera

Claudia Gadelha

Claudia Gadelha continued her trend of having solid, competitive fights with the top of the division, that she ultimately comes out on the wrong side of. Jedzrejczyk, Andrade, Ansaroff and now Xiaonan have now turned her away from the very top of the division by unanimous decision. However, in between these fights, she keeps showing she deserves to get these bookings. In a similar spot right now is Michelle Waterson, who took similar losses to Jedzrejczyk, Namajunas and Esparza. Neither is all that far from being relevant in the strawweight picture, but both need a signature win. Not only would it give both of them that chance, but we’d get another chance to see Gadelha deal with a distance striker and Waterson deal with someone much stronger than her.

Claudia Gadelha’s Next Fight: Michelle Waterson

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Opening up the main card of UFC Vegas 13 on Saturday were a pair of strawweights looking to work their way to title contention. Claudia Gadelha had been there before, of course. But with two straight wins under her belt, a big performance might land her back in the conversation.

Her opponent, Yan Xiaonan, would have even more of a claim with a statement victory. The Chinese fighter had won five straight inside the Octagon. What she lacked, aside from simply a finish, was a defining win that would establish her as a real threat to champion Zhang Weili.

The first round kicked off as many expected. Xiaonan landing the bulk of the strikes with Gadelha looking for bigger strikes and a takedown. About a minute in, Gadelha scores that takedown, but does little with it before Xiaonan got back to her feet. The next few minutes would take place against the cage as Gadelha pressed against Xiaonan. Xiaonan landed more knees in that clinch, and the exchange would end with a referee separation. Gadelha landed another takedown with little time left, but again the only strikes landing were from Xiaonan off her back.

At the beginning of the second round, it was all Xioanan with the combinations. All the grappling appeared to have taken a toll on Gadelha, whereas Xiaonan was looking as fresh as when she started the fight. The jab of Xiaonan was not only landing, but making it seemingly impossible for Gadelha to get close enough to return to the grappling. The volume of Xiaonan was on full display. Gadelha finally got a clinch with just seconds left, but there was no time to do anything with it.

After a couple of jabs from Xiaonan again, the Brazilian was able to close the distance early with a body lock against the cage. This time Xiaonan was able to pummel in and get separation. Xiaonan then went back to what was working with her jab and range highly effective. At roughly the halfway point, Gadelha clinched up again, but after eating some knees, she had the position switched on her. They tussled against the cage for a bit, but the stalemate ends with just under a minute when Jason Herzog recognized nothing was getting done in there. The round ended with Xiaonan’s activity high as she landed a number of combinations to Gadelha.

Yan Xiaonan def. Claudia Gadelha by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)

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The Brazilian, a former title challenger, is facing China’s Yan Xiaonan. While her opponent has been a bit under the radar, the Chinese fighter is undefeated in the UFC, with five wins. With Gadelha entering off two wins over her own, a victory Saturday could put either fighter in title contention.

“I think I’m a pioneer in the sport,” said Gadelha, who pointed out during the UFC Vegas 13 media day that she was in the first ever strawweight fight in the UFC. “The last couple years of my life have had a big transition, switching camps, moving from Brazil to America. It was very challenging for me. I had to face a lot of adversity.”

But Gadleha is always back to the gym, training and improving, she pointed out. “I feel like after beating Yan, it gets me back to a title fight,” she stated.

There are other fights on the horizon, even if the title shot doesn’t come immediately. One she ruled out, however, was a rematch with Angela Hill. The pair met earlier this year. Gadelha won a close, somewhat controversial decision. Hill has been pursuing a rematch ever since.

“No, not really. I already beat her,” Gadelha answered when asked about running it back. “Angela talks too much. I don’t like the disrespect for fighters. I respect people that do what I do for a living, because I know how hard it is. I feel like Angela talks too much, and disrespects everybody. She’s already talking sh*t about Tecia Torres, her next opponent. So I’m not worried about her. She should be training hard and then trying to get back on a win streak.”

Other rematches are a different story. “I would like to fight for the title, but I have some fights I want to do,” Gadelha later added. That’s due to some “fighter honor,” as she put it. “I want to fight Joanna [Jedrzejczyk] again, and I want to fight Carla [Esparza] again. So after Saturday, if they give me one of those girls, I’ll fight them.”

Gadelha is also willing to be a back-up fighter for the proposed Weili Zhang vs. Rose Namajunas fight. “Of course. I work for the UFC. Whatever they tell me to do, I’m there.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 13 virtual media day press scrum with Claudia Gadelha above. The card takes place Saturday, November 7 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The post UFC Vegas 13’s Claudia Gadelha: Angela Hill Talks too Much, Open to Jedrzejczyk, Esparza Fights appeared first on Cageside Press.

Alistair Overeem

After his win at UFC on ESPN 8, Overeem announced that he would like to get back into title contention. A win over number nine ranked Walt Harris shouldn’t push him too far in the rankings. With the top of the heavyweight division locked up at the moment, it gives very limited options to Overeem. Daniel Cormier has been granted the first shot at the title when Stipe Miocic is ready to fight. While Francis Ngannou has almost certainly locked up the next title fight after that. Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov will be fighting in the near future with the winner likely also in title contention. Overeem’s best possible outcome would be to fight the winner of Blaydes vs Volkov. Overeem lost to Blaydes a couple of years ago, while he’s never fought Volkov.

Overeem’s Next Fight: Winner of Blaydes-Volkov 

Claudia Gadelha

Claudia Gadelha was able to win a very close split decision over Angela Hill this past weekend. A win that a lot of fans argued should have gone to Hill instead of Gadelha. After her win, Gadelha called out Carla Esparza. Gadelha already holds a split decision win over Esparza in June of 2018. Being as though Gadelha just beat an unranked Hill and the top of her division is also very held up, it is smart for her to try and defeat number seven ranked Esparza in a more decisive fashion.

Gadelha’s Next Fight: Rematch With Carla Esparza

Kevin Holland

Kevin Holland had an amazing performance this past weekend, finishing Anthony Hernandez in the first round. Then in his post-fight interview, he said that he would like for his next fight to be at welterweight against Micky Gall. Holland weighed in for his fight against Hernandez at 182, three pounds below the middleweight limit. He stated that he came into fight week at 188. Holland has fought at welterweight before, knocking out Geoff Neal and losing a decision to Curtis Millender in 2017. Gall would be a perfect test to see if Holland can defend an elite level takedown at the 170-pound division.

Holland’s Next Fight: Micky Gall 

Who would you like to see these fighters fight next? Let us know in the comments down below.

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Thing is, she won their first encounter back in 2018. It’s rare to see a fighter call out an opponent they’ve already defeated. Yet here we are.

Speaking in a virtual post-fight press scrum with media outlets including Cageside Press, Gadelha (18-4) gave us her reasoning for the move.

“When I fought her, I was hurt, and I wasn’t in the right mindset. And she was talking a lot of sh*t after the fight. And I feel like we should do it again,” Gadelha explained. It’s a fight that Esparza is looking for as well — in the lead-up to her own fight on Wednesday, Esparza suggested she’d take on the winner of Gadelha-Hill.

“It’s going to be a different fight. I’ve been in there with her, and I know what’s she’s going to bring and I want to finish her,” she added.”

Brazil’s Gadelha expanded on the subject, saying “I feel like I can do so much better. Especially now that I have the right coach. Have the right people around me, and I’m not hurt. I blew out my knee 10 days before my fight with Carla, and she was talking about me greasing and like, come on it’s 2020, people don’t do this anymore. So I want to do it again.”

Esparza has already broken out the grease comments ahead of a potential rematch.

Let’s run it back!! Leave the grease at home this time 👊🏽 @ClaudiaGadelha_

— Carla Esparza (@CarlaEsparza1) May 17, 2020

“Let’s run it back!!” Leave the grease at home this time,” she wrote on Twitter. In response, Gadelha exclaimed “it’s 2020, there’s no grease in here. Let’s do it again!”

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Claudia Gadelha and Angela Hill collided Saturday night at UFC on ESPN 8 in Jacksonville, Florida, at an interesting time for the 115-pound weight class.

If MMA is a sport that is unpredictable and at times more than a little crazy, than the strawweight division is the perfect representation of that. It has felt, over the past year or two, like the division has turned on a dime. After Joanna Jedrzejczyk was dethroned, the UFC went through Rose Namajunas, then Jessica Andrade, as champs. Suddenly, it felt like any number of fighters could claim the title, and in the end, it was Weili Zhang who did.

Angela Hill opened up with the pressure on Gadelha immediately. Gadelha looked for a takedown after being backed up against the cage but Hill stuffed it, eating a punch on the break. Hill stepped in with a nice knee to the body followed by a left hook by the fence. Gadelha looked to find a home for the right hand, as Hill kept looking for the left hook. Hill stepped in with a left hook and Gadelha got the fight into the clinch and pushed Hill up to the fence and began looking for the takedown. Gadelha got the trip takedown and ended up in side control. Gadelha looked to get Hill’s back, but Hill scrambled and ended the round on the feet.

Hill went back to pressuring Gadelha to start the second round. Hill landed a check hook that caused a cut over Gadelha’s eye, then followed up with a right hand that dropped Gadelha hard! Hill let Gadelha up and tried to flurry to get the finish but Gadehla seemed to be recovering. Hill jumped in for the left hook and ate a right hand from Gadelha. Gadelha followed up with a takedown attempt but Hill stuffed it. Gadelha landed a big right that seemed to get Hill’s respect and throw her off rhythm for a minute. However, Hill was soon right back it, ending the round throwing a big combination punctuated by a head kick followed by a knee.

ON THE JAW! 👊 #UFCFL pic.twitter.com/dIid5nIwHY

— UFC (@ufc) May 17, 2020

Both women came out swinging to start the third round. Hill continued to find a home with the check left hook, with Gadelha landing the right hand as well. Gadelha landed a stiff low kick that got Hill’s attention, and Hill turned up the pressure. Hill stepped in with an elbow that landed flush, and Gadelha responded with a one-two that landed. Hill began landing the right hand, landing three in a row as Gadelha tried to advance. Gadelha landed a nice left hook that snapped Hill’s head back and tried to push the pace. Gadelha went for a takedown late in the round, but Hill stuffed it and ate an elbow on the break. Gadelha and Hill then swung until the final horn!

Claudia Gadelha def. Angela Hill by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)

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Claudia Gadelha returns to action in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 8 this weekend. The Jacksonville, Florida card is the third of three events in just eight days at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena. It’s also a rebuilt UFC on ESPN event: the original was expected for March, with a different pair of heavyweights, Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, booked to close the show.

They fought last Saturday, at UFC 249. This time out, it’s Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris closing the show. Gadelha will battle Angela Hill in the co-feature.

Since fighting for the strawweight title in 2016, a losing effort to then-champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the Brazilian has gone 4-2 inside the octagon. Trading wins and losses of late, she’ll enter the fight with Hill off a victory over Randa Markos.

The weight class itself, in that span, has undergone a radical makeover. Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade have come and gone as champions. China’s Weili Zhang currently reigns supreme, coming off a win in a hotly contested battle with former Queen Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248.

“It was a great fight. Beautiful performance by both fighters,” Gadelha said of that fight, speaking to Cageside Press at the UFC on ESPN 8 virtual media day. “They showed a lot of heart, a lot of technique. One of the best fights I ever seen my life, and that’s inspiring. I’m pretty sure everybody in the division is watching this and going back to the gym hungry, trying to get better to step in there the same way.”

Gadelha also said the performance of champ Zhang inspired her. “I feel like when the top fighters in our division are giving everything to become better, everybody else steps up and tries to do the same. This is what separates the top of the division from the rest of the division— it’s the hunger and what you are doing to become better every day. So when you see great performances like that, it only inspires you to to do the same. To become better and to step in there and do the same thing.”

Fighters, like everyne else, have been stuck in quarantine of late, even if they are training for fights. But Gadelha told us that her life hasn’t changed all that much so far. That’s thanks to a “crazy work ethic,” she said. Gadelha’s been living with fellow UFC fighter Sijara Eubanks, which also helps her focus.

“We would wake up every day and look to each other and like, ‘let’s go, let’s do this,'” she said. “And we would train all day, and then do our own thing.”

Come Saturday, we’ll once again be seeing an empty arena show. Rather out of the ordinary for UFC fighters, but Claudia Gadelha looks back to the early days of her career for a comparison.

“I started fighting when the women’s division was not in the UFC, right? And it was back in like 2008, I think. I fought in various more organizations in Brazil, and there was not a lot of people watching,” she said. “It’s kind of like bringing me back those memories. And I feel like, I’m gonna be okay with it, especially because also, I was part of the Ultimate Fighter 23. And I had the experience of being there with my fighters for six weeks, so it’s kind of like the same.”

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Claudia Gadelha was supposed to fight last month at UFC 246, until opponent Alexa Grasso missed weight by over 5lbs. With the fight pulled from the card, Gadelha was in need of an opponent — especially with Grasso likely moving up in weight.

Wednesday, the UFC announced Gadelha’s return. The former strawweight title challenger and perennial contender will face off with Marina Rodriguezat UFC Oklahoma City this May.

Gadelha (17-4), who was defeated by Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2016 for the 115lb title, is coming off a UFC 239 win over Randa Markos. She’s 2-2 in her last four, trading wins and losses over that span.

Rodriguez (12-0-2) remains undefeated, although in her last outing at UFC DC, she picked up her second draw in four UFC fights. That came against Cynthia Calvillo, who coincidentally also missed weight for that fight.

With both fighters having dealt with opponents missing weight in their last outing, rest assured they’ll be on top of weight cuts in Oklahoma City.

The UFC Oklahoma City card takes place May 2, 2020 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. No main event has been announced for the card to date.

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This weekend at UFC 246, Gadelha returns against up-and-comer Alexa Grasso. Mexico’s Grasso is five years younger than the Brazilian, just entering her prime. At 31, Gadelha is far from over the hill, but her prime years are quickly coming to a close.

Gadelha has trained all over, with a number of top gyms: Nova Uniao, Jackson-Wink, Xtreme Couture. She’s been stateside for quite a while, but if she could bring anything with her, Gadelha said, it would be her home country’s cuisine.

“I wish you guys had Brazilian here food. Like South American steaks, even though I’m trying to go Vegan,” Gadelha told Cageside Press Thursday, at the UFC 246 media day. “Brazilian food in general, I wish you had here. I miss it a lot.”

Gadelha prides herself on clean eating, mind you. Training through the holidays was no big deal as a result. She’s entirely focused on her opponent ahead of this weekend’s PPV — and had watched Grasso’s most recent effort, against Carla Esparza, prior to Thursday’s media day.

Does she believe Grasso won that fight, a somewhat controversial majority decision awarded to Esparza? In a word, no. “Not at all. I watched that fight this morning actually. I’ve been watching that fight a lot. She won the third round, but the first two, I don’t think she won. Carla definitely beat her. Took her down, kept her on the ground most of the fight. She definitely won the third round, but first and second she lost.”

What makes Grasso dangerous, Gadelha said, is her heart, and hands. “She’s a good boxer. Good striker. She has a big heart. I think she’s going to come after me, and I’m ready for that. I can’t wait for that.”

Claudia Gadelha faces Alexa Grasso this Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The bout airs as part of the main card, available via PPV.

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