Claudia Gadelha has released a statement after she suffered a decision loss to Yan Xiaonan.
The Brazilian took to Instagram to say this is all part of her development and thanked all her supporters.
“THIS IS PART OF MY DEVELOPMENT AS A PERSON. THERE’S NO SUCESS WITHOUT SET BACKS. THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING!,” she wrote.
With the loss, Claudia Gadelha is now 18-5 and is 3-3 in her last six. Entering the fight, she was ranked in the top-five, but after the loss, it is likely she will slide just outside of it. The Brazilian is still a top contender at strawweight as she does hold notable wins over Carla Esparza, Angela Hill, and Karolina Kowalkiewicz among others.
The loss is no doubt disappointing for Gadelha as if she had won, she could have gotten the next title shot or been in a No. 1 contender fight. However, she will likely need to fight someone below her in the rankings once again to try and climb back up to earn another crack at UFC gold.
As for her opponent, Yan Xiaonan, is now 13-1 and one no-contest and is 6-0 in the UFC. In her UFC tenure, Gadelha is no doubt her biggest win but she has also beaten the likes of Angela Hill and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
