Claudia Gadelha is more than willing to rematch Carla Esparza after their controversial first meeting.
The Brazilian defeated Esparza at UFC 225 in June via split decision. After the fight Esparza voiced her frustrations about the contest, first believing she was the rightful winner but also accusing Gadelha of greasing.
A week before the fight Gadelha suffered a knee injury and had to change up her game-plan. She was unable to stay standing up for a long time due to her knee and was forced to continuously take Esparza down. Now, after successful knee surgery, Gadelha tells MMA Junkie she is open to rematching Esparza in September in Brazil:
“We’re talking September, maybe a rematch with Carla in Brazil,” Gadelha said. “I’m still in shape. I feel good, I just need to take care of my knee. If I can get healthy then I can fight her in September again.
“(I don’t need to) prove a point, but I got hurt before the fight. … I wasn’t 100 percent. I had to keep taking her down because I couldn’t stand. I couldn’t put my weight on my right knee, so I had to keep taking her down and that’s all I did the entire fight.”
Gadelha is confident that she came out of the fight the rightful victor. A rematch wouldn’t do much for her personally, but she wants to see what she can do to the former 115-pound champion while 100 percent healthy:
“I’m 100 percent sure that I won,” Gadelha said. “For me, it wouldn’t add anything, but it would keep me busy. She wants the rematch so bad, and I fought her with one leg because my knee was pretty bad. I would fight her again just for that.”
What are your thoughts on a potential rematch between Gadelha and Esparza? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
