Claudia Gadelha isn’t short on confidence going into her UFC 225 match-up.
Tomorrow night (June 9), Gadelha will take on Carla Esparza. The bout will be featured on the FOX Sports 1 portion of UFC 225. The strawweights will do battle inside the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Gadelha is looking to rebound from her Sept. 2017 loss to Jessica Andrade. Gadelha took some time off to regroup and feels she’s ready to return with a bang. Esparza is coming off a dominant win over Cynthia Calvillo, so she won’t be an easy task.
Speaking to MMA News’ own Tim Thompson, Gadelha said she doesn’t believe Esparza will present her with problems:
“She’s a good wrestler. She’s really good at what she does, but I feel very comfortable with her game. I’m a grappler and I would love to go to the ground with her.”
As far as whether or not Gadelha believes Esparza has some new tricks up her sleeve, the two-time strawweight title challenger seemed to doubt that possibility:
“I don’t think so. She might be trying to change her game and try to strike and things like that, but she only had four months to get ready for this fight. This is not enough to change your entire game.”
UFC 225 is a stacked card. It’s so stacked that Rashad Evans vs. Anthony Smith and Joseph Benavidez vs. Sergio Pettis are featured on the UFC Fight Pass prelims. Gadleha doesn’t mind her spot on the card:
“I’m happy, I’m not even worried to be on the prelims. I’m very happy to be here in Chicago and I think this is one of the best cards they’ve put together ever. A lot of great fighters, great match-ups, you know I’m just happy to be here.”
Check out the full interview with Gadelha below:
Who are you picking, Claudia Gadelha or Carla Esparza?
