On the heels of a loss that likely cost her a shot at strawweight champion Carla Esparza, Claudia Gadelha will meet The Ultimate Fighter 20 contestant Aisling Daly at UFC Fight Night 64.
UFC officials announced the fight Thursday.
In December, Gadelha appeared opposite Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC on Fox 13. At the time, Gadelha was undefeated in 12 MMA bouts and appeared to be in line to be Esparza’s first challenger. However, the Brazilian ended up falling in a narrow decision despite scoring seven takedowns over three rounds.
Meanwhile, Daly followed up on her TUF 20 quarterfinal loss to Jessica Penne with a submission win over Alex Chambers in her UFC debut. With a win over bantamweight contender Jessica Eye also on her resume, Daly has the chance to establish herself as a Top Five 115-pounder against Gadelha.
Both competitors are excellent grapplers, with Daly owning eight submission wins and Gadelha having tapped out six opponents. So, this matchup should prove competitive on the ground.
It is not currently known whether Gadelha vs. Daly will appear on the main card or prelims at UFC Fight Night 64, which will be held in Krakow, Poland on April 11. With the addition of this strawweight contest, here is list of all announced UFC Fight Night 64 bouts:
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Filipovic
- Jimi Manuwa vs. Jan Blachowicz
- Claudia Gadelha vs. Aisling Daly
- Krzysztof Jotko vs. Garreth McLellan
- Peter Sobotta vs. Sergio Moraes
- Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Anthony Hamilton
- Pawel Pawlak vs. Sheldon Westcott
- Seth Baczynski vs. Leon Edwards
- Marcin Bandel vs. Jason Saggo
The event will mark the UFC’s first trip to Poland. Bringing back “Cro Cop” to headline the card, UFC brass is clearly hoping that a large contingent of Croatians will make a trip up north and fill the arena.
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