Claudia Gadelha vs Carla Esparza booked for UFC 225 in Chicago
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza will meet former title contender Claudia Gadelha at UFC 225 in Chicago, June 9.
The Claudia Gadelha vs Carla Esparza pay-per-view fight is part of a card that will take place at the United Center.
The two top-ranked 115-pound fighters have had history as they traded jabs online via social media over the years. They were initially supposed to fight back at Invicta FC 7 in 2014 before they were signed to the UFC but Gadelha had to withdraw due to an infection.
The fight never came to fruition until now. With former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk no longer holding the belt it made sense for Gadelha to stay down at 115 pounds where she could eventually earn another title shot with a win over Esparza.
Gadelha had two losses to Jedrzejczyk who will rematch current champion Rose Namajunas for the title in the coming months. Should Namajunas retain, a title shot for Gadelha could open back up.
But…. let’s not count out Esparza. A win over Gadelha could mean the same for the former champion. She too could wind up earning a title shot. This is a pivotal fight for each woman.
Gadelha is coming off a hard fought loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC Fight Night 117 in September. Esparza is coming off two wins with victories of Maryna Moroz and Cynthia Calvillo.
