With recent frustrations behind her, Claudia Gadelha predicts Angela Hill is in for a nightmare fight Saturday at UFC on ESPN 8.
The past few months have been frustrating for [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag].
At UFC on ESPN 8, Gadelha (17-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) expects to create a problem for her UFC on ESPN 8 opponent instead of experiencing one.
“After that nightmare that happened in January with Alexa Grasso where she didn’t make weight, I was frustrated,” Gadelha told MMA Junkie during Thursday’s UFC on ESPN 8 virtual media day. “I spent three months in New Jersey through the winter, training so much for that fight, and she didn’t make weight. It was like ‘(Expletive), what am I going to do now?'”
A strawweight, Gadelha was booked for fights in December, January and early May. All three fights were canceled for various reasons. On short notice, Hill stepped up to the plate.
“(The UFC) talked to Angela Hill. She said she needed a couple more weeks to get ready because she wasn’t really training,” Gadelha said. “I was like, ‘Well, at this point, I’ll fight anybody. If she steps in, let’s go.'”
When Hill fights Saturday, it’ll be her seventh fight in 14 months. Fighting frequently has become a big part of Hill’s image. However, Gadelha recognizes Hill’s activity level isn’t something everyone can emulate.
“I feel like my health is way more important, (especially) now with this (pandemic),” Gadelha said. “Of course fighting is my life. It’s my career. It’s what makes me a better person and a better athlete. My health is way more important. As long as I’m healthy, making weight every other month, I would be cool with that. But I don’t think it’s healthy for me to drop 15 pounds every other month.”
[lawrence-related id=519233,517691,519221]
As for the matchup at UFC on ESPN 8, Gadelha is expecting an appealing scrap for viewers – and trouble for Hill. Both fighters have found success recently, with Gadelha winning three out five and Hill winning three straight.
“I feel like Angela is going to come after (me),” Gadelha said. “She’s very confident because she won her last couple of fights. I’m a different breed. I’ve been fighting for so long. I have a lot of experience. If she comes forward, she’ll find a nightmare.”
UFC on ESPN 8 takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 8, which features an Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris main event.
The final event in the UFC’s three-card stretch upon resuming operations from the coronavirus pandemic goes down Saturday with UFC on ESPN 8, which takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., and airs on ESPN.
The 11-fight lineup is topped by a heavyweight matchup. After several failed bookings, [autotag]Alistair Overeem[/autotag] (45-18 MMA, 10-7 UFC) will finally fight [autotag]Walt Harris[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 6-6 UFC) in a matchup of contenders looking to take a step toward a championship fight.
The card has plenty more to offer too, though. For more on the numbers, check below for 55 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN 8.
* * * *
Main event
Alistair Overeem
Overeem, 39, is the oldest of the 22 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
Overeem is one of 11 fighters in UFC history to earn 10 or more heavyweight wins.
Overeem has earned 40 of his 45 career victories by stoppage. That includes seven of his 10 UFC wins.
Overeem lands 73.4 percent of his significant strike attempts in UFC competition, the highest rate in company history.
Overeem has been on the losing end of the fifth and sixth largest statistical comeback finishes in UFC heavyweight history. He out-landed Antonio Silva by 30 significant strikes before being knocked out at UFC 156, and he out-landed Travis Browne by 27 significant strikes before his demise at UFC Fight Night 26
Overeem’s 14 knockout losses in MMA competition are the most of any active member on the UFC roster.
Overeem’s 12 knockout losses in UFC/WEC/PRIDE/Strikeforce competition are the most in combined organizational history.
Walt Harris
Harris is 6-4 (with one no contest) since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in April 2016.
Harris has earned all 13 of his career victories by knockout.
Harris’ 12-second knockout of Aleksei Oleinik at UFC on ESPN 4 is the third fastest in UFC heavyweight history. Todd Duffee holds the record with a seven-second finish at UFC 102.
Harris defends 61.6 percent of all opponent significant strike attempts in UFC heavyweight competition, the highest rate among active fighters in the weight class.
Co-main event
Claudia Gadelha
[autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) six victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for fifth most in divisional history. Joanna Jedrzejczyk holds the record with 10.
Gadelha has alternated wins and losses over her past five fights. She won her most recent bout at UFC 239 in July.
Gadelha’s 33 takedowns landed in UFC strawweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Carla Esparza (34).
Gadelha has been awarded three fight-night bonuses for UFC strawweight bouts, tied for the third most in divisional history behind Jessica Andrade (six), Rose Namajunas (four) and Jedrzejczyk (four).
Angela Hill
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) competes in her 15th UFC strawweight bout, the most appearances in divisional history.
Hill is the only female fighter to earn two UFC victories in 2020.
Hill is 6-5 since she returned to the UFC for a second stint in February 2017.
Hill’s seven victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied with Andrade and Esparza for second most in divisional history behind Jedrzejczyk (10).
Hill’s two knockout victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Namajunas (three).
Remaining main card
Edson Barboza
[autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 14-8 UFC) drops to the featherweight division for the first time after making his previous 22 UFC appearances at lightweight.
Barboza is 1-4 in his past five fights dating back to December 2017.
Barboza’s seven knockout victories in UFC lightweight competition are tied with Melvin Guillard for most in divisional history.
Barboza’s 10 knockdowns landed in UFC lightweight competition are third most in divisional history behind Guillard (13) and Donald Cerrone (11).
Barboza is the only fighter in UFC history with knockout finishes stemming from a head kick, body punch, body kick, leg kicks and flying knee.
Barboza’s five knockout victories stemming from kicks and knees in UFC competition are the second most in company history behind Cerrone (seven).
Barboza is the only fighter in UFC history to earn two knockout victories stemming from leg kicks. He used them to stop Rafaello Oliveira at UFC 162 and Mike Lullo at UFC 123.
[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]’s (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak in featherweight competition is the fourth longest active streak behind Arnold Allen (seven), Zabit Magomedsharipov (six) and Alexander Volkanovski (six).
[autotag]Krzysztof Jotko[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has earned seven of his eight UFC victories by decision.
Jotko defends 86 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC middleweight competition, the second highest rate in divisional history behind Israel Adesanya (86.5 percent).
[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (14-3-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC), 22, is the youngest of the 22 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.
Marlon Vera
[autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]’s (15-5-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is the second longest active streak in the division behind Petr Yan (six).
Vera’s five-fight UFC stoppage streak is the second longest active streak in the company behind Charles Oliveira (seven).
Vera has earned eight of his nine UFC victories by stoppage.
Vera’s seven stoppage victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied with Urijah Faber for second most in divisional history behind T.J. Dillashaw (eight).
Preliminary card
Matt Brown
[autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag] (22-16 MMA, 15-10 UFC) competes in his 26th UFC welterweight bout, tied with Thiago Alves for the most appearances in divisional history.
Brown’s 15 victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind Georges St-Pierre (19) and Matt Hughes (16).
Brown’s 13 stoppage victories in UFC welterweight competition are the most in divisional history.
Brown’s 11 knockout victories in UFC competition are tied for second most in company history behind Vitor Belfort (12).
Brown’s 11 knockout victories in welterweight competition are the most in divisional history.
Brown lands 54.3 of his significant strike attempts in UFC welterweight competition, the second best rate in divisional history behind Gunnar Nelson (56.8 percent).
Brown’s 24 submission attempts in UFC welterweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Chris Lytle (31).
[autotag]Miguel Baeza[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is one of nine fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from leg kicks. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN+ 19.
[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is the only fighter in UFC history to earn a victory and suffer a loss by anaconda choke submission.
Darren Elkins
[autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag] (24-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC) competes in his 20th UFC featherweight bout, tied with Max Holloway for the appearances in divisional history.
Elkins’ three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since January 2018.
Elkins’ total fight time of 4:09:04 in UFC featherweight competition is second most in divisional history behind Holloway (4:32:00).
Elkins has landed 1,770 total strikes in UFC featherweight competition, the second most in divisional history behind Holloway (1,902).
Elkins’ 13 UFC featherweight victories are second most in divisional history behind Holloway (16).
Elkins’ 40 takedowns landed in UFC featherweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Dennis Bermudez (46).
Elkins’ 21 submission attempts in UFC featherweight competition are the most in divisional history.
[autotag]Cortney Casey[/autotag] (8-7 MMA, 4-6 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Feb. 17, 2019. The 454-day layoff is the longest of her neatly seven-year career.
Casey moves up to the women’s flyweight division after spending her previous 10 UFC appearances at strawweight.
Casey is 1-3 in her past four fights since January 2017.
Casey’s six losses in UFC competition are tied for most among female fighters in company history.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
Betting odds and viewing guide for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card featuring Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris.
[jwplayer ZeQosOyN]
The Ultimate Fighting Championship schedule keeps rolling along with UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris set for Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Prelims begin at 6 p.m. ET with the main card set to start at 9 p.m. ET. The full event is available on ESPN+. Below, we look at the BetMGM betting odds for all 11 fights on the UFC Fight Night main card and prelims.
UFC Fight Night Overeem vs. Harris betting odds: Main card (9 p.m. ET)
Betting odds courtesy of BetMGM. All lines last updated Thursday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Alistair Overeem (+130) vs. Walt Harris (-154)
Heavyweight bout. No. 8 contender vs. No. 9 contender.
Claudia Gadelha (-189) vs. Angela Hill (+155)
Women’s strawweight bout. No. 6 contender vs. unranked.
Dan Ige (+115) vs. Edson Barboza (-139)
Featherweight bout. No. 15 contender vs. No. 11 contender.
Eryk Anders (+130) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (-159)
Middleweight bout. Unranked vs. unranked.
Song Yadong (-182) vs. Marlon Vera (+150)
Featherweight bout. No. 14 contender vs. No. 15 contender.
Want to place a bet on UFC Fight Night? Place bets at BetMGM online in CO, IN, NV, NJ and WV! New customer offer: Risk-free first bet! Visit BetMGM for terms and conditions. Bet now!
UFC Fight Night Overeem vs. Harris betting odds: Prelims (6 p.m. ET)
Matt Brown (+165) vs. Miguel Baeza (-200)
Welterweight bout. Unranked vs. unranked.
Anthony Hernandez (-115) vs. Kevin Holland (-106)
Middleweight bout. Unranked vs. unranked.
Mike Davis (-213) vs. Giga Chikadze (+175)
Featherweight bout. Unranked vs. unranked.
Cortney Casey (-154) vs. Mara Romero Borella (+130)
Women’s flyweight bout. Unranked vs. unranked.
Darren Elkins (-115) vs. Nate Landwehr (-106)
Featherweight bout. Unranked vs. unranked.
Rodrigo Nascimento (-104) vs. Don’tale Mayes (-118)
Heavyweight bout. Unranked vs. unranked.
How/Where can I watch UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris
Where is it? VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville
Get some action on UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris by placing a legal sports bets in Colorado, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey and West Virginia at BetMGM. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 8 event in Jacksonville, Fla.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 8 event in Jacksonville, Fla.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC on ESPN 8 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC on ESPN 8 takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The card airs on ESPN and streams ESPN+.
Make your picks for all five main card fights inside:
A strawweight bout between Claudia Gadelha and Marina Rodriguez is the latest addition to May’s UFC Oklahoma City lineup.
Not long after telling MMA Junkie she wanted the fight, [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] got her wish for a matchup with [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag], which is the latest addition to May’s UFC Oklahoma City lineup.
UFC officials announced on Wednesday the bout between Gadelha (17-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Rodriguez (13-0-2 MMA, 2-0-2 UFC).
UFC Oklahoma City takes place May 2 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma. The main card streams on ESPN+ following prelims expected on ESPN.
Gadelha, No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA strawweight rankings, was supposed to fight Alexa Grasso at UFC 246 in January, but the fight was called off on weigh-in day when Grasso missed weight by 5.5 pounds. She hoped for a quick turnaround, but will have to wait until May to build off the momentum of her decision win over Randa Markos at UFC 239.
No. 12-ranked Rodriguez will get the chance to make a leap up the rankings when she takes on a former title challenger. She’s unbeaten four fights into her octagon tenure, but that includes the statistical oddity two draws, the latest of which came against Cynthia Calvillo at UFC on ESPN 7 in December.
Former UFC strawweight challenger Claudia Gadelha explained her frustration at missing out at UFC 246, and said she has two potential names in mind for her octagon return.
HOUSTON – Almost one month on from seeing her fight with Alexa Grasso scrapped by commission officials at UFC 246, [autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] is hoping to get fixed up with a matchup as soon as possible. But she knows she’ll have to be patient.
Speaking to MMA Junkie while on guest fighter duty at UFC 247, former strawweight title challenger Gadelha said the disappointment from missing out on fighting in Las Vegas on Jan. 18 still hasn’t subsided.
“I’m still a little sad, you know. I’m a fighter,” she explained. “But now I’m just waiting for the UFC to see what’s next. Trying to move forward, I can’t do much about what happened, so I’m just waiting now to see what happens next.”
Her scuttled bout with Alexa Grasso came when commission officials ruled that the weight difference between the pair was too big after Grasso failed to make weight for their strawweight matchup. Gadelha made weight with half a pound to spare, at 115.5 pounds, but Grasso came in later in the session and weighed 121.5. Gadelha accepted the fight regardless, but the commission nixed the context due to the six-pound weight disparity.
“Claudinha” said that the whole issue could have been avoided if Grasso or her camp had reached out to her when they realised she was having issues with her cut, but the Brazilian didn’t receive a call and only realized that Grasso was in trouble when she hit the scale later that morning.
“The whole thing was the commission, right?” she recalled. “Because in the strawweight division we couldn’t be more than three pounds heavier than each other. If she had communicated with us the day before, or even the morning of (the weigh-ins), even before we jumped on the scale, I would have just had a drink or something and we would have been the same weight. That’s where my frustration was, because we couldn’t make it happen. But I don’t think she wanted to fight. I think she didn’t feel good and she didn’t want to fight, so I hope if that happens again with any other fighter, they communicate and they find a way to try to make the fight happen.”
[lawrence-related id=481012,480962]
Grasso has since reached out to Gadelha and told the Brazilian that she had concerns about her own health, while the UFC has been careful about immediately rebooking Gadelha to ensure she also stays healthy moving forward. Gadelha says she’d love to return faster, but she’s happy to be guided by the UFC.
“The next morning I was in the (UFC Performance Institute) doing all the tests to see if I was healthy enough to make weight again in another couple of weeks. The P.I. was fine with everything, but the UFC – Dana and the matchmakers – want me to wait a little more. So they took care of me, they paid me, I have a great relationship with the UFC, and now I’m just waiting to see what they want me to do. Of course I wanted to fight in the next couple of weeks, you know? But they decided (and) I’m with them, you know.”
The UFC is set to head to Gadelha’s homeland in May for UFC 250 in Sao Paulo, but despite the lure of competing on a UFC pay-per-view in her home country, Gadelha admitted she’d rather get back into the cage before then.
“I wanted to fight before (then),” she said. “May seems just so long. I’m in the best shape of my life right now and I’m keeping my body in shape, I’m training every day still. I feel like nothing happened, because I didn’t fight. I’m training hard still, I didn’t go on vacation or anything. I was planning to go and see my family, but I’m back in the gym training every day and waiting to see what’s next. Probably I would like to fight in April. May seems too far, but if the UFC wants me to fight in Brazil, I’ll go.”
Regardless of where and when she fights next, Gadelha knows who she’d like to face when she eventually returns to action, with a pair of fellow strawweight contenders both on her radar.
“The fight I really wanted again was Carla Esparza,” she said. “I feel like we should do it again, especially now that I have amazing training and I feel I’ve brought my game to the next level. I feel like me and Carla should fight again, but I don’t know if the UFC wants the fight, I don’t know if she wants the fight.
“The other name we’re thinking about is Marina Rodriguez – the girl that just fought (Cynthia) Calvillo. We tried to contact her to see if she was willing to fight, but then she said she needs some time to go train wrestling and things like that. So these two names are in my mind right now and we’re waiting to see if it’s gonna happen.”
The Nevada Athletic Commission called off her fight with Alexa Grasso, but Claudia Gadelha wants it known she was ready to go.
[autotag]Claudia Gadelha[/autotag] wants it known she was ready to battle Saturday night.
The Brazilian strawweight standout made weight Friday for her scheduled UFC 246 main-card bout against Alexa Grasso in Las Vegas, as she came in at 115.5 pounds, a half-pound shy of the non-title limit.
Grasso, however, checked in at 121.5, a whopping 5.5 pounds over the limit. Per Nevada Athletic Commission rules, three pounds is the maximum miss in which a fight is allowed to proceed at strawweight. As a result, the bout between Gadelha and Grasso was canceled.
This undoubtedly was disappointing for Gadelha, who handled her business correct and was looking to build on her recent momentum, having won two of her past three fights.
Hours after the weigh-ins, Gadelha posted about the situation on Instagram. Looking trim and in fighting form, Gadelha did note her opponent’s big weight miss but otherwise avoided taking potshots at Grasso.
[lawrence-related id=479629,480527]
Gadelha, a former title challenger, made it clear she’s ready to get back into the cage as soon as possible.
“I worked so hard for this, and I was so excited to put (on) a show for you all tomorrow, but unfortunately my fight isn’t gonna happen because my opponent missed weight by 5.5 pounds,” Gadelha wrote. “I still wanted the fight because I am a bad bitch, but Nevada Commission didn’t (allow) the fight to happen.”
UFC 246 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
