Claudia Gadelha, Viviane Pereira Earn Big Victories At UFC 212 In RioBrazilian jiu-jitsu ace Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha solidified her spot as the second-best female strawweight in MMA with a quick and impressive victory tonight at UFC 212: “Aldo vs Holloway” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gadelha submitted Karolina Kowalkiewicz with a first-round rear-naked choke.

With tonight’s co-main event victory, Gadelha may have earned another shot at the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship that is held by rival Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Also on the card, Viviane “Sucuri” Pereira stayed unbeaten with a decision win over fellow prospect Jamie Moyle at 115 pounds.

 

Gadelha (15-2-0) and Kowalkiewicz (10-2-0) clinched after an early exchange of punches tonight and Gadelha broke free by landing a nice elbow over the top. Kowalkiewicz scored with an uppercut and a flurry, but Gadelha took her down into side control and quickly transitioned to Kowalkiewicz’s back in a scramble. Within seconds, Gadelha locked on a tight rear-naked choke and a dejected Kowalkiewicz was forced to submit at the 3:03 mark of the opening round.

The slick submission finish extended Gadelha’s winning streak to two, and her lone losses inside the Octagon both came at the hands of Jędrzejczyk. She most recently dropped a competitive decision to the champion in a July rematch. Jędrzejczyk has been linked to a potential fight against “Thug” Rose Namajunas, but Gadelha’s UFC 212 victory may have been enough to position her in a future title bout.

Winner: Claudia Gadelha by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:03 of round one. She improves to 15-2-0.

 

Pereira (13-0-0) put forth a much stronger showing in victory over Moyle (4-2-0) tonight than in her uneventful Octagon debut in December. She outstruck Moyle throughout the three-round contest en route to a well-deserved decision win in her home country.

The first round began with Pereira landing one-twos, and she backed Moyle up against the cage after catching a kick. The fighters exchanged knees in a lengthy clinch battle and Pereira stunned Moyle with a right hand after breaking free. Moyle recovered, but Pereira swarmed on her with more power punches before the bell. Moyle countered Pereira’s punches with a variety of kicks in the second round, but Pereira caught one in the final minute and that allowed her to close out the round by landing strikes to the legs and face of her downed opponent.

Early in round three, Pereira landed a hard right hand that prompted Moyle to clinch in search of a takedown. Pereira stayed on her feet and she wobbled Moyle with lunging punches. Moyle recovered, but she was unable to contend with Pereira’s superior boxing and Pereira landed some hard shots before the end of the fight. All three judges scored the bout for Pereira, who has won 13 consecutive fights without suffering a defeat.

Winner: Viviane Pereira by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 13-0-0.

 

 

(Photo Credit: UFC)