Jessica Aguilar vs Claudia Gadelha Targeted For UFC 190 In RioFormer WSOF Women’s Strawweight Champion Jessica “Jag” Aguilar has signed with the UFC and will make her Octagon debut on August 1st at UFC 190: “Rousey vs Correia” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Aguilar faces BJJ black belt Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha in a 115-pound title contender’s bout.

Globo first reported on the targeted matchup today. Aguilar has won ten straight fights and holds notable victories over Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii and former UFC champ Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza. Gadelha dropped a close decision to current UFC champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk in December.

Aguilar (19-4-0) has long been regarded as the top female strawweight outside of the UFC, but the former WSOF champion has at times faced criticism for lacklustre performances against inferior opposition. This past month, former opponent Esparza publicly accused Aguilar of longstanding PED use, which Aguilar later denied. In spite of the criticisms and accusations, Aguilar’s impressive winning streak has kept her in the top three at 115 pounds for the past three years and she will likely earn a shot at the UFC Strawweight Championship if she is victorious in her UFC debut in August.

Gadelha (12-1-0) has been plagued by untimely injuries and illnesses that have postponed or cancelled some of her most high-profile fights, including Invicta FC bouts with Esparza on three occasions, and the Brazilian standout now looks to get back on track after dropping a decision to Jędrzejczyk and suffering a back injury this year. Gadelha has finished her opponents in ten of her 12 victories, and she holds key recent wins over Invicta FC champion Hérica Tibúrcio and former Jewels titleholder Ayaka Hamasaki. She has her sights set on a rematch with Jędrzejczyk, but must first get past Aguilar.

UFC 190: “Rousey vs Correia” takes place on August 1st at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event is headlined by a UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship bout between “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey and Bethe “Pitbull” Correia.

 

 

(Photo Credit: Bellator)

  1. Gadelha will destroy JAG. Stronger, better striker, better on the ground, more of a finisher.

  2. I agree – and Gadelha already has 2 fights in the UFC, whereas JAG was fairly inactive during her time at WSOF, also with 2 fights, but against much weaker competition.

    I’m honestly surprised they would put JAG in against a beast like Claudia in her UFC debut. I think Jessica will be competitive for a bit, but soon Gahelha’s immense strength will dominate and it will become a rout midway into the fight. And all of a sudden JAG will become just another in a talented, but crowded field of UFC Strawweights.

  3. Just FYI – the JAG – Gadelha fight was announced on June 11th, and the latest UFC Strawweight ratings are as of June 15th. But for some reason Jessica Aguilar is not ranked. I guess one could argue that since JAG hasn’t fought in the UFC yet, she shouldn’t expect to be ranked, but I remember clearly that Holly Holm was ranked 11th in the Bantamweight division after signing with the UFC, but before her fight with Pennington. So maybe JAG will be ranked at some point before her fight with Gadelha. I’d expect Aguilar to be ranked in the top 3.