Cláudia Gadelha believes in a title fight if she debuts with a victory in the UFC

C. Gadelha (photo) debuts in the UFC on July 16th. Photo: Esther Lin/Invicta FC

Without being part of the cast The Ultimate Fighter 20, which will only receive athletes from the new women's strawweight category and decide the division's first champion, the Brazilian Claudia Gadelha could feel a little further away from an eventual title fight. However, the feeling is exactly the opposite. Scheduled for the inauguration of the new category, against Finnish Tina Lahdemaki on July 16th, Gadelha believes she is just one victory away from becoming the first challenger for the title of the 52 kg division.

“The category doesn’t have a ranking in the UFC, but it does in women’s MMA. Before the UFC, they were all from Invicta, I'm ranked number 2 in the category, and the UFC, since I was signed, when they found out I wasn't going home, they said they would give me a fight before TUF 20 because they needed challengers for the champion when it was over. Assuring victory, I believe the title fight will happen”, said Gadelha, in an interview with the “Combate” channel website.

The Nova União athlete also took the opportunity to highlight the reasons why she was not chosen for TUF 20. “I wanted to go to the house for visibility, in terms of sponsorship, to get to know my work more, but I wouldn't be able to maintain the weight in the house. I would lose weight because I am very responsible, but keeping the weight off for six weeks would be very complicated. I was a little sad not to be part of it, but I was very happy for the UFC's gift of debuting the strawweight category. Sadness on one side, happiness on the other,” she assessed.

At 25, Claudia Gadelha has an undefeated record of eleven victories. A former WOCS, Shooto and Invicta FC athlete, Cláudia is coming off a technical knockout victory over Japanese Ayaka Hamasaki, in July last year. The Brazilian debuts in the main MMA organization on the planet on July 16th, in Atlantic City (USA), against Finnish Tina Lahdemaki, on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 45.

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