I guess that move to flyweight is on hold.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will send top strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha into battle against former division champion Carla Esparza at the upcoming UFC 225 pay-per-view (PPV) event, official for Sat., June 9, 2018 inside United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
It’s an important fight in the 115-pound weight class, recently blown open by Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s loss to Rose Namajunas at UFC 217. A win by either Gadelha or Esparza at UFC 225 could be the key to securing another title shot.
But that might require “Thug Rose” to win this rematch.
Esparza (13-4) captured the crown by eliminating the competition on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 20, but was unable to retain her title against Jedrzejczyk. The 30 year-old “Cookie Monster” is currently riding consecutive wins over Maryna Moroz and Cynthia Calvillo.
As for Gadelha (15-3), she was unsuccessful in her two attempts to defeat Jedrzejczyk, but kept herself afloat in the strawweight title chase by turning away Cortney Casey-Sanchez and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Last September’s beating at the hands of Jessica Andrade, however, was a significant setback for the artist formerly known as “pigeon ass.”
No other fights have been announced for the upcoming “Windy City” fight card, silliness notwithstanding, though you can expect that to change sooner, rather than later.