Ask and you shall receive.
A few days ago, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight title contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz said she’d like to fight Claudia Gadelha in her next bout. In a recent interview (via Combate), Gadelha said her next opponent will be Kowalkiewicz. No date or venue has been set.
In her last bout, Kowalkiewicz went toe-to-toe with Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the UFC strawweight title. The two 115-pounders fought at the historic UFC 205 event inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. “The Polish Princess” wasn’t able to muster much effective offense outside of a head kick. She lost the bout by unanimous decision.
After falling short in a rematch against Jedrzejczyk for the championship, Gadelha was matched up with Cortney Casey. Gadelha earned a unanimous decision in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The win improved her record to 14-2.
Gadelha signed with the UFC after her TKO victory over Ayaka Hamasaki at Invicta FC 6 back in July 2013. In her UFC debut the following year, Gadelha defeated Tina Lahdemaki by unanimous decision. The win saw Gadelha face Jedrzejczyk for their first match-up. The Polish strawweight edged out Gadelha in a split decision win.
Kowalkiewicz was 7-0 going into her UFC debut. In her first UFC contest, she defeated Randa Markos by unanimous decision. Wins over Heather Jo Clark and Rose Namajunas saw her go on to a title shot against Jedrzejczyk. She now finds herself with a record of 10-1.
