Claudia Gadelha solidified her position as the No.1 contender in the women’s strawweight division with a swift first round submission victory over Karolina Kowalkiewicz tonight at UFC 212 in front of her home fans in Rio.
Round One:
Low kick for Gadelha and then an exchange of punches in close that she gets the better of.
Missed punch from Gadelha. Body kick for the Brazilian. Kowalkiewicz looking busy, but yet to land something meaningful.
They go into the clinch briefly and Gadelha lands a hard elbow as they part ways.
Body kick for Gadelha. Spinning kick from her misses. Left hand for Kowalkiewicz. Another exchange in close and Kowalkiewicz landed a right hand in there.
Clinch for Gadelha and she shows her strength and technique to bring Kowalkiewicz to the mat. Gadelha now has her back with almost half the round remaining.
Gadelha now working for the rear-naked choke and she sinks it in. Kowalkiewicz is not getting out of this and she’s forced to tap!
Gadelha jumps onto the top of the cage to celebrate with the delighted Brazilian fans, while Kowalkiewicz puts her head in her hands in despair.
