Claudia Gadelha notifies UFC of retirement from MMA competition

Claudia Gadelha addresses retirement from MMA in video above – Watch

According to a report from Guilherme Cruz and Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, UFC officials were notified on Friday that the one-time strawweight title challenger Claudia Gadelha informed the company of her decision to retire from active competition.

Gadelha, a 33-year-old native of Brazil, now living in New Jersey, first entered the UFC at UFC Fight Night 145 in July 2014, where she defeated Tina Lähdemäki by way of unanimous decision.

“Claudinha” then followed that win up with a split decision loss to Joanna Jędrzejczyk who would later go on to capture the UFC strawweight title from Ultimate Fighter season 20 winner, Carla Esparza.  Jędrzejczyk would defend her title against Gadelha in a rematch after the two women coached opposite one another on the Ultimate Fighter season 23.  Gadelha once again fell short and would never fight for the title again.

Several notable wins that Gadelha would score in her 7-5 record with the UFC include victories over Esparza, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Angela Hill and Jessica Aguilar, and Randa Markos.

In her most recent bout in November 2020, she lost a unanimous decision to Yan Xiaonan.

Claudia Gadelha retires with a professional record of 18-5 after beginning her career in combat sports more than 13 years ago in 2008.

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