Jessica Aguilar, Claudia Gadelha both expect strawweight title shot with UFC 190 win

RIO DE JANEIRO – A crucial strawweight bout will open UFC 190’s main card when top contenders Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Aguilar collide inside the octagon.

Although Gadelha (12-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is coming off a loss and Aguilar (19-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is making her promotional debut, both are confident a victory will earn the next shot at 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC).

Gadelha is actually just one fight removed from a bout with Jedrzejczyk, but she’s still hanging around the top of the division because of how the fight played out. She suffered a split decision loss to the current champion at UFC on FOX 13 in December for the first and only defeat of her career.

The catch, however, is that many believe Gadelha won the fight. Of the 14 media outlets to score the contest via MMADecisions.com, 12 granted Gadelha the victory. The judges felt differently, though, and Jedrzejczyk had her hand raised then moved on the capture the UFC title in her next bout.

Gadelha is driven by the desire to rematch Jedrzejczyk for the title. That will likely be the scenario if victorious at UFC 190, but she knows Aguilar is hardly a pushover.

“I don’t even like to talk about that fight; in my head and in my heart, I’m still undefeated,” Gadelha told MMAjunkie. “For me, I didn’t lose that fight. A lot of people who watched the fight think the same. I need to do another fight with her. We need to do the rematch to see who really is the best, who is better.

“I’ll do whatever I can to beat (Aguilar) and get the title shot. I’m ready for anything. I’m so strong, so fast and I did the best camp of my life. If she makes one mistake, she will fall.”

Aguilar has every intention of squashing Gadelha’s dreams of UFC gold. She has the same aspirations, and there can only be one No. 1 contender in the strawweight division.

“Jag,” a former WSOF champion, has waited several years for her chance to join the UFC roster. She’s frequently declared herself as the top fighter in the weight class, however, her level of competition in outside organizations made that claim difficult to verify.

Now that Aguilar is just days away from her UFC debut, she’s ready to use the high-profile matchup as a springboard to a title fight with Jedrzejczyk.

“She’s just another opponent to get my belt,” Aguilar said of Gadelha. “A lot of respect, but I’m here for a reason. I’m not here just to be a fighter or be a mix in the fighters. I’m going to be competing against the best fighters in the world and I’m going to keep proving why I’m the best in the world.

“All that work, it was well worth it. It’s been more than 10 years now. It’s so cliché or whatever, but hard work does pay off. It’s paying off.”

Gadelha said she shared mutual respect for her opponent, but she also has every intention of forcing Aguilar to back up her words.

“She’s one of the first strawweight fighters, but I think to prove she’s the best at strawweight on the planet; she has to fight in the UFC and fight the best,” Gadelha said. “The best fighters, the best strawweights are in the UFC. She needs to step in and prove that she’s the best.”

“The UFC said if you want to prove you’re the best, then fight Claudia. If she can beat the best then she can call herself a real champion. The UFC gave her that fight so that she could prove that she’s the best.”

Aguilar claims she’s been verbally promised a title fight if she emerges victorious at UFC 190. She said she remains focused on the task at hand, but after years and years of talking and training, it’s hard to contain the excitement of being able to step in the octagon and remove any doubt about where she stands.

“I’ve been visualizing this moment for a long time; in 2008 when I met (UFC President) Dana White, it was far beyond their talks about having women in the UFC. I said I was going to be UFC champion and I believed.

“They told me that (a title shot is next), but they didn’t put it in the contract or anything so they can do whatever they need to do. They can obviously go another direction, but I’m going to make a statement when I win and this is going to get me a title shot in my next fight.”

UFC 190 takes place Saturday at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

For more on UFC 190, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.