A battle of top ranked female strawweight fighters is coming to the UFC 225 card as #3 Claudia Gadelha is going to be in action against #6 Carla Esparza.
Gadelha (15-3-0) has won two of her last three under the UFC banner, but her last bout was a loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC Fight Night Japan. Gadelha has previously challenged for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Title, losing to then champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. Gadelha also competed once in the Invicta FC promotion, defeating Ayaka Hamasaki at Invicta FC 6 in July of 2013.
Esparza (13-4-0) is entering the bout on the strength of a two fight winning streak, defeating the duo of Maryna Moroz and Cynthia Calvillo. Esparza is the first ever UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion, defeating Rose Namajunas by submission to win the gold at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale. Esparza is also a former Invicta FC Strawweight Champion, defeating fellow UFC fighter Bec Rawlings to win the belt at Invicta FC 4 in 2013.
UFC 225 takes place on Saturday, June 9 from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois with no main event announced at this time. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
