Claudia Gadelha believes win vs. Jessica Andrade should earn new stab at UFC strawweight title

Shortly after a quick and dominant UFC 212 win, Claudia Gadelha gave an honest assessment of her situation: She didn’t think it was time for a new title shot just yet.

Her argument was that, having suffered two losses to current champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), she feared the interest – including the fans’ – would not be there just yet. So Gadelha (15-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) got herself an all-Brazilian matchup against fellow title challenger Jessica Andrade (16-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC), instead.

The two are now set to meet at UFC Fight Night 117. And, if her previous back-to-back wins over Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Cortney Casey didn’t do it, Gadelha is hoping that this one will do the trick.

“I think that, getting past Jessica, I won’t have anything else to prove to anyone,” Gadelha told MMAjunkie. “I had two close fights with Joanna. If I don’t deserve that title shot, I don’t think anyone else does.”

Gadelha’s history with the champ goes back to December 2014, when Jedrzejczyk had yet to take the title. The fight ended in a split call for the Polish fighter, but it carried some controversy. Their second meeting, this time a title affair in July 2016, also went the distance – but a more dominant performance earned the champ an undeniable, unanimous call.

A second title shot for Gadelha, of course, wouldn’t necessarily mean a trilogy: After all, a scheduled UFC 217 bout between Jedrzejczyk and Rose Namajunas could see the UFC’s 125-pound belt changing hands on Nov. 4.

Gadelha isn’t really counting on that scenario, though.

“I think Rose doesn’t stand a chance against Joanna,” Gadelha said.

In any case, before that conversation is even relevant, Gadelha must get past Andrade on Sept. 22. The strawweight bout is set to co-headline the night’s FXX-televised main card from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

On the one hand, the matchup between the two compatriots isn’t exactly unreasonable: Fresh off her own loss to Jedrzejczyk, Andrade is ranked No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s strawweight rankings, while Gadelha, who rides a two-fight streak, currently sits at No. 2.

But, on the other, it wasn’t what Gadelha had in mind.

“I’m coming off a win, so I’d rather be fighting someone who was also coming off a win,” Gadelha said.

Gadelha, however, also wanted two other things. One of them, as she’d told MMAjunkie after UFC 212, was to stay active in competition. The other, as someone who grew up fascinated by the philosophy of martial arts, was fighting in Japan, which is why she had barely stepped out of the octagon at June’s UFC 212 before she requested the spot.

“All the respect, the hierarchy – that’s very important to me,” Gadelha said. “I wanted to fight in Japan one day. And since (the UFC doesn’t) go there every day – or even every year – I wanted to be on this card, so I asked for it.”

Gadelha had been waiting for an opponent but, with six weeks to go before the event, no one had accepted the challenge. So, after catching wind of Andrade’s willingness to fight her, Gadelha took matters into her own hands with a social media callout that was promptly accepted.

But if Andrade wasn’t Gadelha’s original target, then who was?

“It’s a soap opera at this point, but I think Carla Esparza and I should fight,” Gadelha said. “I think this fight should happen. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity. I also even thought about Felice (Herrig), who’s coming off a few wins. I did want to fight someone coming off a win. But then nobody said yes, only Jessica.”

Gadelha has, indeed, been mentioning her interest in Esparza for quite some time. But she’s not the only one – in fact, the division’s inaugural champ seems to be quite the popular callout target. Yet, even though Esparza has talked about her own struggles to stay active, the Gadelha matchup never materialized.

Why? Gadelha has a theory.

“I don’t know what goes on with her,” Gadelha said. “I don’t think she’s professional. I think she fights more for the money. She has no goals in the division. She was the champion once, but I think she got very lax. She fights for the sake of it. She doesn’t really want anything, she has no objectives in there.”

Gadelha, on her end, has plenty of goals. And pursuing them has meant changing cities, teams and, more recently, countries. Now, established in Albuquerque – with a pup named Pablo to keep her company – she believes she’s living her best moment, personally and professionally.

Being at a good place, however, has in no way translated to complacency. Quite the contrary, after landing her much-desired spot in Japan, Gadelha has made sure to adjust her entire routine so that the long trip, the timezone and fight time are not a problem.

After weeks of waking up at 5:50 a.m. to prepare her body for 7 a.m. sessions of physical preparation and 11 a.m. sparring sessions, Gadelha says her body is ready to go.

“I’m waking up when I would be waking up there, sleeping when I should be sleeping there, and training when I should be fighting there,” Gadelha said. “This is what’s been very productive in my training: I can move around my coaches and the people who help out in my camp so it all revolves around me.”

With concerns about location removed from the equation, Gadelha can focus her energy simply on getting past her opponent. And she already has the blueprint to make that bit happen.

“Jessica has some good physical characteristics: She’s very strong, she’s got a lot of heart, and she moves forward against her opponents,” Gadelha said. “I think we have similar physical features, as I’m also one of the strongest in the division.

“But I don’t think she’s a very technical fighter. I think she lacks a lot in that department, and that’s where I have to work.”