Two weeks before the event date, UFC Fight Night 64 is down a bout after women’s strawweight Claudia Gadelha pulled out of her contest with Ireland’s Aisling Daly.
The Brazilian reportedly injured her back during training, forcing the withdrawal. Gadelha originally broke the news on her Instagram account, though the post was later deleted (h/t Bloody Elbow). However, Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com subsequently confirmed the initial report with other sources.
“Guys, I sadly have to announce my leave from the April 11 card in Poland,” Gadelha said in the Instagram post, according to the Bloody Elbow report. “I had a muscle contraction on my back during wrestling practice and it hurts too much to move my neck and my arms. I apologize to my fans who have been looking forward to this fight. I hope to fight Aisling Daly soon to honor Brazil against Ireland since she has been talking a lot of [stuff] like partner Conor McGregor.”
The UFC has yet to officially confirm the withdrawal, much less name a replacement opponent for Daly. Daly, who trains with Conor McGregor, Cathal Pendred, Gunnar Nelson and other standouts at Dublin’s SBG Ireland gym, immediately took to her Facebook fan page to lobby to remain on the card. She also took the opportunity to needle Gadelha.
“I just wish we had been let know sooner in order to find a replacement,” Daly wrote. “My apologies to anyone traveling to see me. Krakow is still a beautiful city and it will be a historic UFC card. I have never talked [stuff] about Claudia nor do I wish to in future. I wish her the best with her recovery. Hopefully you guys will see me in the Octagon again soon regardless.”
On her Twitter feed, Daly retweeted a suggested replacement for Gadelha:
UFC Poland @aisydaly vs @randamma What do you say @seanshelby @danawhite @ufc #TheTimeIsNow #WelcomeToTheShow #UFC pic.twitter.com/Yy9YVP6hpt
— Mouthpiece (@OctagonBanter) March 27, 2015
The 27-year-old Daly (15-5) won her only UFC bout to date in December when she armbarred Alex Chambers in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter season 20, on which Daly was a cast member.
The 26-year-old Gadelha (12-1) is 1-1 inside the Octagon. However, her lone defeat came to Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who now holds the UFC women’s strawweight belt.
UFC Fight Night 64 is scheduled to go down April 11 in Krakow, Poland. It will be the first UFC event held in that country and will be headlined by a rematch between Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Gabriel Gonzaga.
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