Claudia Gadelha returns to action next weekend at UFC Fight Night Japan, facing Jessica Andrade in the co-main event of the evening.
The Brazilian believes that a win over Andrade next weekend gets her another crack at the UFC Women’s Strawweight Title.
“I think that, getting past Jessica, I won’t have anything else to prove to anyone,” Gadelha told MMA Junkie. “I had two close fights with Joanna. If I don’t deserve that title shot, I don’t think anyone else does.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is the current UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion and she already holds a pair of victories over Gadelha, with the last win coming at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale.
Title shot or not after her encounter with Andrade, the top ranked female strawweight is honored to be fighting in Japan.
“All the respect, the hierarchy – that’s very important to me,” Gadelha said. “I wanted to fight in Japan one day. And since (the UFC doesn’t) go there every day – or even every year – I wanted to be on this card, so I asked for it.”
UFC Fight Night Japan takes place on Friday, September 22 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan with Mauricio Rua and Ovince St. Preux headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on FXX.
