After 'absurd' 17-week camp for Jedrzejczyk, Gadelha happy with changes in training and country

After losing her second fight with Joanna Jedrzejczyk, this time with the UFC’s 115-pound belt on the line, Claudia Gadelha decided it was time to make a change.

So she left Brazil – and her now former Nova Uniao team – for Albuquerque, N.M., hoping the new air (and altitude) would help step up her already polished game. It was a decision that, now midway through her UFC Fight Night 100 preparation under Greg Jackson and Chris Luttrell, she does not regret for a second.

Speaking about what drove her to make the leap, Gadelha detailed a number of reasons that, more than simple matters of structure and methodology, boiled down to a larger cultural scenario.

“Unfortunately, Brazil falls behind on many things, especially sports,” Gadelha said during a Tuesday media day. “Since I wanted to get better, I had to come here. Nova Uniao is a huge team, with great fighters, a team that made many champions – like Greg Jackson’s. The difference is not in gym structure, but in the country. Brazil is a very complicated place to live – especially when you live off of sports.

“It was time for me to have a more relaxed camp, to rest more, to focus more on the technical aspect. In Brazil, we train a lot, we look hard to evolve – but wrongly. In Brazil, we end up training too much due to the lack of – it’s not even information. I think the Brazilian people suffer so much, and want it so much, that we train a lot. That’s not always the right way. That’s the difference here (in Albuquerque).”

The lack of pacing and rest in training, Gadelha believes, led to the key issue in her most recent decision loss to champ Jedrzejczyk: the cardio. After a strong start to the TUF 23 Finale’s five-round headliner, Gadelha saw the conditioning she’d worked so hard at during a 17-week camp fail her as the fight progressed.

In hindsight, Gadelha believes she was “technically very superior” to her opponent before gassing out. And, while she hopes the Albuquerque altitude will help, she believes the exhaustion was ultimately a result of overtraining.

“I’d never felt during a fight, or in any of my training, what I felt in that fight,” Gadelha said. “My arms were heavy. I couldn’t fight. My legs were tired. My body was exhausted. Looking back on it, I think I went overboard wanting to win so much. I did a 17-week camp. It’s way too much. It’s absurd. I trained so much – I felt like Wonder Woman, like the most-trained athlete in the world for that fight, because God knows how much I suffered and how much I trained.

“But sometimes training too much is not the right way. And that’s what I’m learning getting to know other teams and other mindsets. Cardio was my problem, but it was because I trained too much. I went overboard, I peaked way before the fight, and I think then my body just couldn’t take being there anymore.”

No bad blood with Pederneiras

Gadelha’s so-far beneficial change, however, didn’t come without some drama. Shortly after her departure, there was a report in Brazilian media that, following a falling out with Nova Uniao co-founder and head coach Andre Pederneiras, Gadelha would be leaving the team to start her own.

Speaking publicly about it for the first time, she said that neither bad blood nor the desire to venture out on her own were reasons for leaving.

“There was no fight between us,” Gadelha said. “I just need to improve and evolve and look for new things in my life, and that’s why I came (to Albuquerque). At no point did I leave Nova Uniao to get my own gym. I’d never do that. I’m an athlete who likes being on a team. I was born and raised in a big team and I would never leave that to follow a career solo and start my own team.

“The fact that I opened my own gym is an entirely different thing. It was a plan that existed before I even thought about leaving Nova Uniao. It’s there, it’s open, it’s not why I left Nova Uniao. It’s because I was looking to evolve. Everything was discussed and talked about.”

“I didn’t want to take the fight”

Though excited for another home country scrap on Nov. 19, when Gadelha (13-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) takes on Cortney Casey (6-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 100 in Sao Paulo, the No. 2 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s strawweight rankings admits that the unranked Casey wasn’t who she had in mind.

“She’s ranked No. 14 (in the UFC rankings) and I didn’t want to take the fight because of that,” Gadelha said. “I really wanted to fight Carla Esparza. I think it would have been the right fight. But I don’t know what happened there. she didn’t take it. I even told the UFC that, after this fight, I would only take Carla, because I think this fight needs to happen.

“After her, it could have been Tecia (Torres), Rose (Namajunas), Jessica (Andrade), I gave them all the possibilities, but they couldn’t make the matchups happen. Cortney Casey had asked for this fight – I said no, but they couldn’t find any opponents for me, and when they called her again she said it was still on for her.”

Initial iffiness aside, Gadelha believes in some bonus potential against Casey, who comes off back-to-back octagon wins after an initial two-loss skid (both awarded with “Fight of the Night” bonuses).

“I think it’s going to be a great fight,” Gadelha said. “She has two or three fight-night bonuses, so she goes for the fight. She’s a big girl for the division – tall, strong, and knows a little bit of everything. She’s not an expert at any area, but knows a little bit of everything.

“I think it’s going to be a good fight for the crowd, it’s going to be a good show. Because, like her, I also go very hard for the win. Let’s see if another fight-night bonus comes out of it.”

Finally, a drama-free camp

The leadup to the scrap, Gadelha said, has also been a somewhat refreshing experience. After months of a heated, highly-publicized rivalry with Jedrzejczyk, stemming from their squabbles as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter,” the strawweight is glad to finally be able enjoy a low-key camp.

That’s courtesy of Casey, of course, but also everyone else.

“I didn’t have to do a bunch of tours; I’m more focused on my training,” Gadelha said. “I don’t have to answer my phone all the time to respond to something Joanna said. Cortney Casey doesn’t say anything, and I’m also very relaxed.

“As I’d been saying, I grew up within the martial arts philosophy, the jiu-jitsu philosophy, I learned to respect my opponents. I don’t call people names to promote fights – Joanna did that for me. So there’s a big difference not only on the emotional side but also the workload.”

Gadelha is now in one of the most unique positions of a UFC contender – one controversial split-decision loss aside, she’s now been defeated by the division’s current champ twice. Moving forward, she knows what this means: Realistically, the belt switching hands would go a long way in terms of helping her secure a new title shot.

But with Jedrzejczyk already set to defend against Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, Gadelha says that’s not where her sights are.

“I think it depends on how I fight and on how (Jedrzejczyk) fights, too,” Gadelha said. “It depends on our next fights. But I’m not thinking about it now, or asking for that. I don’t even want that now. I want to reconquer my space.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 100, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.