It’s the show everybody stopped watching years ago but just won’t die.
Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will coach the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) to build up hype for their strawweight championship fight, and while UFC brass are happy to put these two feisty women on TV, Gadelha’s coach isn’t so excited.
After all, Nova Uniao head coach Andre Pederneiras already went through a similar level of drama recently with Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor. The Brazilian told MMAfighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz that this could be even worse:
“I believe it can be worse because it’s 45 days. You will see someone you don’t want to see for 45 days, twice a day. It won’t be good. It’s going to be horrible. Horrible. They both have strong temper, so it can’t be good. It’s going to be perfect media-wise, but won’t be good for them. I don’t think they will end up fighting during the reality show, but we will get a lot of mess.”
I have to admit, while I have come to literally despise the reality TV show for the watered down borefest that it is, I am somewhat intrigued to imagine the otherwise charming Jedrzejczyk forced to hold back her fury for 45 days.
Doesn’t mean I’m going to watch. I said I was intrigued.
Gadelha and Jedrzejczyk fought once before in what seems like a lifetime ago, but in reality was exactly 14 months ago to the day. It was the UFC debut of the Brazilian fighter, who lost via split decision.
Since that time, Gadelha has won one fight, while the Polish fighter has gone on a tear, winning three fights that included the strawweight belt and has already defended it twice.
Pederneiras says he expects this fight to be as tough as the first one, but believes “Claudinha” will win “again” (he believes she was robbed by the judges) over a five round format:
“If they had fought five rounds that night, Joanna would never win. If you watch the first fight, ‘Claudinha’ was dominating the first round until she got knocked down in the end, and they scored it for Joanna. ‘Claudinha’ was better in the second round and even better in the third. If you follow that rhythm, she would be even better in the fourth and fifth rounds. Both fighters changed a lot since that night. Joanna is defending (takedowns) better, has a better ground game, and ‘Claudinha’ worked on her boxing to close the distance. No one’s stupid to stand and trade with Joanna for five rounds. When she gets to the ground, she’ll do what she does best.”
TUF 23 Finale goes down on July 8 in Las Vegas, one day before the blockbuster UFC 200 event that is expected to be stacked with huge names and bouts.