Claudia Gadelha dominanted Cortney Casey on the feet and the floor tonight at UFC Fight Night 100 to earn a unanimous decision victory.
Round One:
Light leg kick for Casey is the first action of the fight. Gadelha wades in with an overhand and a short flurry of punches behind it.
Not it’s Casey’s turn to unleash a couple of strikes down the pipe. Now the two ladies trade blows toe-to-toe in the center of the Octagon.
Casey with a right hand and then gets into the clinch against the cage. Knee strike for her, but Gadelha shows her strength as she reverses the position, then lands two hard left hooks as she backs away.
Casey with a right hand that Gadelha ducks underneath, goes for the takedown and lands a huge slam. Gadelha stands up over her opponent and Casey lands some nice upkicks.
Gadelha back down in her guard, crushing Casey against the cage as she goes to work with some ground and pound.
A minute to go in the round and Casey lands a punch from her back and Gadelha tries for a leg lock, but then abandons it. She stands up over Casey, but that gives her opponent time to stand up.
Casey goes for a judo throw, lands it, but her momentum results in Gadelha ending up on top to finish the round.
Round Two:
They exchange at close range in the center of the Octagon and Gadelha gets the better of it. Gadelha presses Casey up against the cage. She lands a few hard punches as she decides to back out and go back to striking range.
High kick for Casey that’s blocked. She closes the distance with punches and tries to clinch, but Gadelha muscles her into the cage.
Punch and an elbow from Gadelha. Another couple of strikes from her. She bursts into a takedown and dumps Casey to the mat.
it’s not long before Casey is able to pop back up though. Gadelha goes back to clinching her against the cage. Knee strike from Casey and a punch in return from Gadelha.
90 seconds to go in the round. Casey lands an uppercut and tries to clinch off of it, but as we’ve seen already in this round, Gadelha just swings her around into the cage.
They separate and Gadelha moves in slickly to land a takedown. She’s really stamping her authority on this fight in the second round. Casey trying to stay active off her back, but Gadelha has the momentum going into the third round.
Round Three:
Punch for Casey, but counter-strikes land in return from Gadelha. Leg kick for Gadelha. Casey comes in aggressively, but Gadelha lands a counter that stops her.
Gadelha with a swift takedown. Gadelha stands over her and Casey butt scoots towards her. Gadelha reacts to that by throwing a kick to the head and since Casey is still grounded at the time – that’s illegal and forces a stoppage.
Casey in pain here, but eventually works back to her feet. Replays show it appears to be a glancing blow. Soon after the fight is back on and Gadelha wasn’t penalized a point for that strike.
Gadelha quickly back pressuring Casey and landing some heavy leather. Several times she connects and then lands a takedown with half the round remaining.
Gadelha in half-guard and looking to pass. However, she then opts to back away and stand. 90 seconds to go. leg kick for Casey and punches in return from Gadelha.
Right hand lands for Gadelha as Casey comes in. Gadelha blazes in with left and right hooks, then into the clinch and lands a trip takedown.
Gadelha easily moves into full mount this time. She opts to go for an arm triangle choke, but there’s not enough time to lock it up properly, so we’re headed to the judges to decide this one.
Decision:
No real doubt about the winner here, with Gadelha serving a reminder why she remains the No.1 contender in the strawweight division with a unanimous decision victory (30-27 x3).
