Claudia Gadelha may have just positioned herself for another crack at the 115-pound title.
UFC 212’s co-main event fight featured two elite strawweights that had something to prove. Both Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz have no other objective but to get back into title contention, with the hopes of finally bagging UFC gold.
What was the highlight of the fight?
Kowalkiewicz held a slight edge on the feet in the opening moments, switching back and forth from orthodox to southpaw to avoid Gadelha’s takedown set-ups. But once Gadelha got the clinch and takedown, she was pretty much able to secure herself the win.
Unfortunately for Kowalkiewicz, she committed a costly error by giving up her back during the scramble on the ground. Being a high-level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Gadelha took advantage and finished the fight with relative ease.
Where do these two go from here?
She may have other immediate plans in mind, but it would not be too unreasonable to give Claudia Gadelha another shot at Joanna J?drzejczyk’s title. She does intend to move to Albuquerque, which gives her the opportunity to train full-time and sharpen her skills further to show a newer and even better version of herself against the champion.
This could very well be a learning experience for Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and she can definitely bounce back stronger. But she will need another fight to be able to get herself on track for a title shot, perhaps against Jessica Andrade.
Watch now, later, or never?
It was a masterful finish from Gadelha, keeping the fight short and sweet once the action went to the mat. Definitely a must-watch.
The first finish inside the Octagon for @ClaudiaGadelha_ AND the first woman to finish Kowalkiewicz as a pro! Round of applause #UFC212 pic.twitter.com/X9KqrwnJju
— UFC (@ufc) June 4, 2017