Claudia Gadelha informs the UFC that she will no longer compete in MMA.
One of the best strawweight contenders has decided to call it a career.
Former UFC strawweight title challenger [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] has notified the UFC that she has decided to retire from MMA competition.
MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a source following an initial report from MMA Fighting. Gadelha also acknowledged her retirement news on social media via an Instagram story.
Gadelha (18-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC), 33, debuted with the promotion at UFC Fight Night 45 in 2014. During her tenure, she tallied seven wins and challenged for the strawweight title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. Her most recent appearance in the octagon was in November 2020, a unanimous decision loss to Yan Xiaonan.
Throughout her UFC run, the Brazilian fighter faced former champions Carla Esparza and Jessica Andrade, among other top contenders such as Angela Hill, Randa Markos, Cortney Casey, and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
UFC on ESPN+ 40 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 40 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $146,500.
The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.
UFC on ESPN+ 40 took place at UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC on ESPN+ 40 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
China boasts both the UFC strawweight champion and the woman who holds the division’s longest active winning streak.
Zhang Weili isn’t the only major player in the UFC strawweight division out of China.
Weili holds the belt, but Beijing’s [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] announced herself as a serious contender at 115 pounds Saturday night with her biggest win to date.
Xiaonan (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC)rallied over the final two rounds to earn a unanimous decision over former title challenger [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] in the main-card opener of UFC on ESPN+ 40. The judges’ scores at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas were 29-28 across the board.
The victory gave Xiaonan her 11th straight win overall and sixth in the UFC, which is the longest active streak in her division.
Gadelha (18-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) has always been known to push a fast pace, and it was no different Saturday. Gadelha controlled the tempo in the opening stanza with a pair of takedowns and got the better end of of the clinch work standing. After the second takedown in the round’s final minute, though, Xiaonan noticeably landed solid elbows from the bottom. And while that wasn’t enough to swing the round, it showed she wasn’t going away.
[lawrence-related id=564716,564709,564699]
Indeed, the second round was much more to Xiaonan’s liking. She outstruck her opponent by a 2-to-1 margin, landing crisp jabs and and answering Gadelha’s single shots with with counter flurries as the latter began to falter
It was clear the fight was still in the balance as the final round wore on, and that it would be a matter of who wanted it more. Gadelha did her best to tie up Xiaonon in the clinch when she could, but never did much of anything with it. Referee Jason Herzog ordered a restart in the final minute, and Xiaonan was the far more active fighter as the seconds ticked off, firing jab after jab in what may have been the deciding sequence of the fight.
Xiaonan outlanded Gadelha in significant strikes over the course of the fight 63-33.
All six of Xiaonan’s UFC wins have been unanimous decisions. Gadelha had a two-fight winning streak snapped and is 3-3 in her past six.
The strawweight bout opened up the UFC on ESPN+ 40 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 40 results include:
Yan Xiaonan def. Claudia Gadelha via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
In the main event, [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 13-6 UFC) takes on [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag] (31-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) at light heavyweight. The winner will stay in the title picture. Santos is more a -250 favorite at BetMGM; the comeback on Teixeira is +200. Among our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts, only two are taking Teixeira in an upset.
In the co-feature, former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag] (29-19 MMA, 18-13 UFC) takes on [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag] (19-6-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC). Boser is a -313 favorite, but he has just a 9-5 lead over Arlovski in the picks.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Raoni Barcelos[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Khalid Taha[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in a bantamweight bout. Barcelos is a heavy -371 favorite and has a big 11-3 picks lead.
[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) fights [autotag]Ian Heinisch[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a middleweight bout that is a pick’em with the oddsmakers. It’s close among our pickers, too, with an 8-6 lead for Allen.
And to open the main card, former women’s strawweight title challenger [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) takes on [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC). Xiaonan is a -162 favorite, but it’s Gadelha with an 8-6 picks lead.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Santos (72 percent), Boser (71 percent), Barcelos (83 percent), Allen (51 percent) and Gadelha (53 percent) are the choices.
Claudia Gadelha is set to return to the octagon this fall looking for her third win in a row.
[autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] is set to return to the octagon this fall.
The former UFC title challenger and long-time strawweight contender has been booked to fight China’s [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] at a UFC event planned for Sept. 26 in Las Vegas. The news was first reported by Combate and later confirmed by MMA Junkie.
Gadelha (18-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC), 31, is coming off a split decision win over Angela Hill in May at UFC on ESPN 8. The Brazilian is now on a two-fight winning streak and 3-1 in her last four outings.
[lawrence-related id=523900,520402]
On the other hand, Xiaonan (12-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) looks to remain unbeaten in the UFC. The Chinese fighter is on an 11-fight winning streak with five of those victories in the UFC. Xiaonan last fought in February where she defeated former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz via unanimous decision.
Angela Hill wants Claudia Gadelha rematch, but won’t hold her breath waiting.
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] won’t hold her breath waiting for a rematch with Claudia Gadelha.
The former Invicta FC strawweight champion is interested in running back her fight with Gadelha after their competitive and controversial bout in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 8 earlier this month. But despite wanting the rematch, Hill (12-8 MMA, 6-8 UFC) is not too confident it will happen.
“Looking back, I still think it was a decisive win in the third round,” Hill told MMA Junkie. “I think everyone is on the same page – first round to her and second and third round to me.
“But there’s also more you can do, so I’m trying to move past that point where I just feel helpless and angry at everything. I’m trying to move towards making that not happen again in the future because this is not the first time where I’ve gotten a loss where I think I did enough to win, but this is the highest-profile fight that it happened. It was such a big deal for me to get that win, and I felt that I secured it.”
[lawrence-related id=521677,523804]
In a recent interview with Sirius XM, Gadelha, a former UFC title challenger and longtime strawweight contender, said she has no interest in fighting Hill again.
“I am a pioneer in the sport. I’ve been fighting for so long,” Gadelha said. “It’s not easy to get into the top 10. It’s not easy to get into the top five, and I gave Angela a good opportunity to go out there and beat me, you know? She tried everything she could; it was a pretty close fight. I definitely think I won the first and third round, the second round I lost because of the knockdown.
“And everybody is talking about, ‘Oh, you know, Claudia got beat up by Angela.’ If you take out the knockdown, I was getting the power punches. I took her down. I walked her to the cage. We had some good striking exchanges. But I also wanted to challenge myself and have a good stand-up fight with a good striker because I feel like that’s where I’m evolving the most.
“At the end of the day, I am the winner. And I beat her at her own (expletive) game, which is striking. I’m a grappler, I grew up grappling. I’m just evolving as a striker now, and I beat her in her own game. So she’s talking a lot of (expletive) and being disrespectful to my nationality and my accent and things like that, so (expletive) no, there’s no rematch.”
For her part, Hill thinks Gadelha’s lack of interest has to do with the nature of the fight more than anything else.
“I’m definitely interested in a rematch with Gadelha. That’s the first thing I told my manager, is to set that up,” Hill said. “But she doesn’t want to rematch me. It was too hard. Her whole game plan was to drag me down and hold me down. And when she can’t do that, the fight is too hard for her. So she’s not going to take that rematch. I dare her. I dare her. I would love that.
“I would come into that fight with all my adjustments made. I’d hit harder, I’d throw more, I’d bust her face up more, so I definitely think she would say no to that. But I would love a rematch with her.”
Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris will be forced to take a little recovery time after taking some damage in the UFC on ESPN 8 main event.
[autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] and [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] will be forced to take a little recovery time after each taking some damage in the UFC on ESPN 8 main event.
Both men sustained knockdowns during the heavyweight headliner, but ultimately it was Overeem (46-18 MMA, 11-7 UFC) who emerged victorious with a second-round TKO over Harris (13-8 MMA, 6-7 UFC).
UFC on ESPN 8 took place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The card aired on ESPN.
MMA Junkie obtained a list of the UFC on ESPN 8 athletes’ medical suspensions from the Florida Boxing Commission on Monday.
More time could be tacked on to the suspension, or they could be reduced, pending further health testing on multiple athletes.
Check out a full list of the UFC on ESPN 8 medical suspensions below.
* * * *
Alistair Overeem: Suspended 45 days
def. Walt Harris: Suspended 45 days
[autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days
def. [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: No suspension
[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days
def. [autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days
[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days
def. [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days
[autotag]Miguel Baeza[/autotag]: Suspended 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 30 days mandatory
def. [autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days
[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: No suspension
def. [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days
[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 30 days mandatory
def. [autotag]Irwin Rivera[/autotag]: 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 30 days mandatory
[autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days
def. [autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days
[autotag]Cortney Casey[/autotag]: No suspension
def. [autotag]Mara Romero Borella[/autotag]: 180 days or until cleared by a physician; 30 days mandatory
[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: 30 days or until cleared by a physician
def. [autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: No suspension
Main event winner Alistair Overeem took home a sizable purse as the top earner from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 8 event.
Main event participants [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] and [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] were among the top earners on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 8.
Monday, MMA Junkie obtained a list of disclosed UFC on ESPN 8 salaries from the Florida State Boxing Commission, who oversaw Saturday night’s event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
Overeem (46-18 MMA, 11-7 UFC) produced a comeback victory in the headliner, rallying to stop Harris (13-8 MMA, 6-7 UFC) with a second-round TKO. “The Reem” was the highest earner on the card, netting $400,000 in disclosed pay.
Check out a full list of the UFC on ESPN 8 salaries below:
Alistair Overeem: $400,000
def. Walt Harris: $75,000
The figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, including the official UFC on ESPN 8 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay. They also do not include any other “locker room” or special discretionary bonuses the UFC sometimes pays. They also do not include pay-per-view cuts that some top-level fighters receive.
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!
On Episode No. 3,052 of the podcast, the fellas recap UFC on ESPN 8, as well as the latest news and notes in MMA.
THE RUNDOWN
In the UFC on ESPN 8 main event, [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] rallied to score a second-round TKO win over [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag]. Now, it was Harris who swarmed Overeem early, but referee Dan Miragliotta elected not to stop the fight, which allowed Overeem’s comeback. Should it have been stopped in the first?
There were judging controversies throughout UFC on ESPN 8, with [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag], [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] and [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] all coming away with questionable decision wins. We break down each result.
Former UFC champion [autotag]Kevin Randleman[/autotag] will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. We explain why it’s such an appropriate honor.
[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] is chirping, talking about moving up to fight Francis Ngannou and how he wants more money. Could he hold the UFC hostage?
[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] is giving [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] a taste of his own medicine. What do we think of that?
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC on ESPN 8, which saw Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris in Jacksonville, Fla.
The UFC’s third event in an eight-day stretch went down on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 8, which took place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., and aired on ESPN.
In the main event, [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] (46-18 MMA, 11-7 UFC) rallied from an early deficit to stop [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] (13-8 MMA, 6-7 UFC) by second-round TKO to advance his position in the heavyweight division.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for 40 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN 8.
[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag], [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag], [autotag]Miguel Baeza[/autotag] and [autotag]Cortney Casey[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN 8 fight-night bonuses.
UFC on ESPN 8 drew an announced attendance of zero for a live gate of $0.
Betting favorites went 7-3 on the card. One fight had even odds.
Betting favorites fell to 5-6 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 11-bout card was 1:54:38.
Main card
Alistair Overeem def. Walt Harris
Overeem became the 11th heavyweight in UFC history to earn 11 heavyweight victories.
Overeem has earned 41 of his 46 career victories by stoppage. That includes eight of his 11 UFC wins.
Harris fell to 6-5 (with one no contest) since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in April 2016.
[autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag]’s (18-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) seven victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10).
Gadelha has earned six of her seven UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (12-8 MMA, 6-8 UFC) fell to 6-6 since she returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2017.
Hill’s three knockout victories in UFC strawweight competition are with Rose Namajunas for most in divisional history.
Hill has suffered six of her eight career losses by decision.
Hill’s eight losses in UFC competition are most for any female in company history.
[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]’s (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) six-fight UFC winning streak in featherweight competition is tied with Alexander Volkanovski and Zabit Magomedsharipov for the second longest active streak behind Arnold Allen (seven).
[autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] (20-9 MMA, 14-9 UFC) was unsuccessful in his featherweight debut.
Barboza fell to 1-5 in his past six fights dating back to December 2017.
[autotag]Krzysztof Jotko[/autotag] (22-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) has earned eight of his nine UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) fell to 3-5 in his past eight fights after starting his career on a 10-fight winning streak.
Anders has suffered four of his five career losses by decision.
Vera (15-6-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) has suffered all six of his career losses by decision.
Preliminary card
Miguel Baeza def. Matt Brown
Baeza (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has earned seven of his nine career victories by stoppage. He’s finished all of those wins by knockout.
[autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag] (22-17 MMA, 15-11 UFC) fell to 3-6 in his past nine bouts after going on a seven-fight UFC winning streak from 2012-2014.
Brown’s eight stoppage losses in UFC competition are tied for second most in company history behind Tim Boetsch (nine).
[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.
[autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag]’ (24-9 MMA, 14-8 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since January 2018.
Elkins fell to 13-7 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in June 2011.
Elkins’ total fight time of 4:24:04 in UFC featherweight competition is second most in divisional history behind Max Holloway (4:32:00).
Elkins’ 41 takedowns landed in UFC featherweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Dennis Bermudez (46).
Cortney Casey
Casey (9-7 MMA, 5-6 UFC) was successful in her women’s flyweight debut.
Casey has earned seven of her nine career victories by stoppage. That includes three of her five UFC wins.
[autotag]Mara Romero Borella[/autotag]’s (12-8 MMA, 2-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is tied for the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since February 2019.
Borella fell to 1-4 in his past five UFC appearances dating back to January 2018.
Borella suffered her first submission loss since Apr. 12, 2014 – a span of 2,226 days (more than six years) and 20 fights.
Borella has completed at least one takedown against all six of her UFC opponents.
[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned all eight of his career victories by stoppage.
[autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag] (6-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by stoppage.
Mayes has suffered both of his UFC losses by submission.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
