Claudia Gadelha Has Left Nova Uniao After Fight With Coach
Claudia Gadelha has left the building. More appropriately, the gym.
According to Bloody Elbow, Gadelha has left Nova Uniao after a fight with head coach Andre Pederneiras. This was first reported by Spanish MMA website Combate.
The issue between Gadelha and Nova Uniao started after she lost her rematch against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale on July 8. The Brazilian fighter voiced her displeasure with how her training was handled, which she thought could have cost her the title fight. Pederneiras was bothered by Gadelha’s comments, and argued with her over the phone, which ultimately lead to Gadelha’s exit from the gym. Interestingly though, Gadelha is still featured on the Nova Uniao website, along with Jose Aldo, Alexandre Cirne, Caio Magalhaes and others.
In preparation for her next fight, though not yet scheduled, she will train at Kimura Nova Uniao. That gym is related to the original Nova Uniao gym in Natal, Brazil.
The 27 year old, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native is currently the number one contender in the women’s strawweight division. She has also opened up her own gym in the United States. Claudia Gadelha’s MMA and BJJ Academy is located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and offers training in MMA, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai and Tae Kwon Do. On the about page of the website, it says the academy was “founded by UFC strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha in March of 2016. Together with MMA Signatures owner, AJ Hiller, they decided to bring a world class facility and coaching staff to the tri-state area.”
Gadelha’s last fight was against UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Jedrzejczyk at July 8, where Jedrzejczyk won by unanimous decision.