UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk makes the next defence of her title on July 8th at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jędrzejczyk is set to face off against Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha in a rematch from the pair’s first fight in December 2014.
Jędrzejczyk and Gadelha will first serve as opposing coaches on TUF 23, which features two teams composed of female strawweights and male light heavyweights. The latest season of the long-running show will premiere on April 20th and culminates with Jędrzejczyk and Gadelha headlining in July.
Jędrzejczyk (11-0-0) narrowly edged out Gadelha (13-1-0) at UFC on FOX 13 in a closely-contested bout that some observers scored in Gadelha’s favour. The victory propelled Jędrzejczyk into a title fight against newly-crowned 115-pound titleholder Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza, whom Jędrzejczyk viciously knocked out at UFC 185 to become the new UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion. She destroyed former Invicta FC champion Jessica Penne in June and most recently outpointed Valérie Létourneau in an entertaining battle at UFC 193 in November.
Since suffering her lone career setback against Jędrzejczyk, Gadelha has campaigned for a rematch, and she earned her shot at the title by dominating former WSOF champion Jessica “Jag” Aguilar in a one-sided bout at UFC 190 in August. The victory established Gadelha as the top contender for Jędrzejczyk’s belt, and the pair will face off for a second time in July. They will first look to lead their respective teams to victory during TUF 23, which will crown two winners of six-figure UFC contracts.
The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale takes place on July 8th in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to the main event title fight between Jędrzejczyk and Gadelha, the event will also feature the TUF 23 women’s strawweight final and the TUF 23 men’s light heavyweight final.
(Photo Credit: UFC)