Jessica Aguilar and Claudia Gadelha
RIO DE JANEIRO – Jessica Aguilar long was considered the top strawweight in the world not in the UFC. But Claudia Gadelha had something to say about that.
Gadelha (13-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) took a unanimous decision from Aguilar (19-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a former WSOF champion who was making her highly anticipated and long-awaited UFC debut. With the win, which came via a trio of 30-27 scores, Gadelha set up a possible rematch with strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who beat her by split decision this past December.
The women’s strawweight bout opened up the main card of today’s UFC 190 event at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Aguilar came inside early, but ate a knee from Gadelha, who then peppered her left jab out. Aguilar moved backward, but ate a right hand in close. Gadelha stayed right in the pocket and a minute in worked kicks, then caught Aguilar with a combination. Gadelha found a home for kicks and knees, plus her jab, making things difficult on the UFC newcomer. Aguilar was showing wear on her face with a minute left in the round, and Gadelha drove in and slammed her to the canvas. Gadelha took Aguilar’s back to close the round.
In the second, Gadelha got back right to what worked for her in the first round. She tagged Aguilar with an uppercut, then landed a kick and pushed Aguilar to the fence. Shortly thereafter, Gadelha landed another big slam and worked to take Aguilar’s back with four minutes left in the round. Although Aguilar’s striking seemed to get better as the round progressed, Gadelha landed the heavier shots and kept Aguilar’s face bloodied up. Gadelha landed a picture-perfect takedown to seal the round.
After having some success with it in the second round, Aguilar worked her right leg kick in the third, hoping to find some traction. The two traded punches – with Gadelha appearing to have some trouble with her lead leg. Aguilar shot for a takedown, but couldn’t get it and finally broke off to again trade punches. With 30 seconds left, another Gadelha takedown made sure Aguilar couldn’t land a Hail Mary to win it.
“Dana White, make my title shot happen,” Gadelha said while pointing at the UFC president sitting cageside. “I’m the best strawweight in the world, and I’m here to prove that. This fight (with Jedrzejczk) has to happen. I’m going to keep training and I’m ready for you whenever you want.”
“Obviously, I’m not happy,” Aguilar said. “It was horrible, but I’ll be back. She is a strong fighter. I felt her power, so now I must go back to my team, get back to training, and I will be back.”
Gadelha got back in the win column after a split-decision loss this past December to current strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Aguilar lost for the first time in nearly five years and had a 10-fight winning streak snapped.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 190 results include:
- Claudia Gadelha def. Jessica Aguilar via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Demian Maia def. Neil Magny via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:52
- Patrick Cummins def. Rafael Cavalcante via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 0:45
- Warlley Alves def. Nordine Taleb via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 4:11
- Iuri Alcantara def. Leandro Issa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Vitor Miranda def. Clint Hester via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:38
- Guido Cannetti def. Hugo Viana via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For complete coverage of UFC 190, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in Brazil.)
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