Claudia Gadelha continues to climb back toward title contention.
The former UFC title challenger picked up a split decision win over Angela Hill at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 8. Gadelha won with a pair of 29-28s on the judges’ scorecards. A third judge had it 29-28 for Hill.
The women’s strawweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 8 co-main event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The bout was an exciting, high-paced back-and forth affair.
In Round 1, Gadelha (18-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and Hill (12-8 MMA, 7-7 UFC) exchanged evenly on feet, but deep into the round Gadelha was able to score a takedown and control her opponent. It was a clear round for the Brazilian.
The second went well for Hill. She dropped Gadelha early in the round and continued to overwhelm her with volume while avoiding takedowns and keeping the fight at range.
It seemed to come down to the third, when both fighters shined on the feet. Hill seemed to land the higher volume, but Gadelha pressured forward and landed clean shots of her own.
Gadelha now has won her last three trips to the octagon. She called for a rematch with Carla Esparza during her post-fight interview. Esparza, who fought Wednesday and beat Michelle Waterson, also expressed interest in the rematch following her win. Gadelha’s most recent loss came to Nina Ansaroff in December 2018. Hill saw a three-fight winning streak come to an end. The bout was her seventh in 14 months.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 8 results include:
- Claudia Gadelha def. Angela Hill via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Dan Ige def. Edson Barboza via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Krzysztof Jotko def. Eryk Anders via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Song Yadong def. Marlon Vera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Miguel Baeza def. Matt Brown via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:18
- Kevin Holland def. Anthony Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:39
- Giga Chikadze def. Irwin Rivera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Nate Landwehr def. Darren Elkins via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Cortney Casey def. Mara Romero Borella via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:36
- Rodrigo Nascimento def. Don’Tale Mayes via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:05