We all know that Joanna Jedrzejczyk is the best women’s strawweight fighter in the world. As the undisputed UFC women’s strawweight champion, she’s proven with her four wins in the Octagon that she’s the best of the bunch. But who’s number two?
This weekend at UFC 190, we’ll find out who the second-best female strawweight is when Claudia Gadelha takes on Jessica Aguilar is what is most likely a #1 contender’s bout, with the winner getting the next crack at Jedrzejczyk. In a shallow division, it only makes sense that these two are vying for the next title, and for good reason, as both women are tremendous fighters.
Let’s start with Gadelha. She was considered by many to be the top female strawweight before she entered the UFC – even better than the champion at the time, Carla Esparza – but after beating Tina Lahdemaki in her Octagon debut, she fell to Jedrzejczyk via close split decision at UFC on FOX 13. It was a close fight for sure, and many felt she won, but she lost, and she hasn’t fought since then, while Jedrzejczyk has done nothing but dominate her opposition and become a superstar.
As for Aguilar, she was the World Series of Fighting strawweight champion and a long-time Bellator fighter before that. Aguilar has been competing against some of the best women in the world for a very long time, and many believe she may be the best female fighter in the division, but without fighting in the UFC, it’s been impossible to prove that. However, with a win over Gadelha, she’ll definitely take the next step towards doing so.
This is going to be a great fight between two high-level female athletes. Sure, they might not have the charisma that the champion Jedrzejczyk has, but they are both great fighters, and a win at UFC 190 will definitely earn the victor the title of #2 in the division, as well as guarantee her a date with Jedrzejczyk, where she can prove her worth as the top fighter in her weight class.
I actually think this is the best fight on the whole card. Not a lot of UFC fans know who Aguilar is, but she’s definitely one of the best female fighters in the world, regardless of weight class, and finally UFC fans will get to see that this weekend. And as far as Gadelha goes, she’s definitely a great fighter as well, and after losing that close decision to Jedrzejczyk, I expect her to be fired up and motivated to get back into a title shot, and that will make for a great fight at UFC 190 between her and Aguilar.
Most people are going to buy UFC 190 to see Ronda Rousey fight Bethe Correia in the main event, but the Gadelha-Aguilar matchup is the best female fight on the whole card – in fact, it’s the best fight on the whole card regardless of gender – so make sure to tune in and watch it this weekend. It’s going to be a really good one.
• Claudia Gadelha vs. Jessica Aguilar
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UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia takes place on August 1, 2015 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC 190 will be.
