Claudia Gadelha Says Illegal Kick Never Landed; Wants Carla Esparza
Claudia Gadelha dominated Cortney Casey at UFC Fight Night 100, despite the fight that she apparently kicked a downed opponent in the head. While Gadelha doesn’t believe the kick actually landed, she still did apologize to Casey for throwing the kick.
"I don’t think the kick landed," Gadelha said to MMA Fighting. "I was expecting her to get up. She pretended she was going to get up but she sat back down, so I threw the kick anyway. That’s why I said sorry."
Controversy aside, Gadelha does have an opponent in mind for her next fight — former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza.
"I really want to fight Carla. She’s a former champion in the UFC," Gadelha said. "I’ll fight anyone in the division. I tell the UFC all the time. If they give me Carla now, and I beat her, I’m down to fighting for the title again. It only depends on the UFC. But I really want to fight for the belt. The easiest path would be (Joanna) losing and me fighting someone else, but I think it’s hard for someone to beat Joanna today. She’s the most dominant athlete in the division."
Gadelha has previously fought and lost twice to current UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, she is still ranked #1 in the division.
