Claudia Gadelha Faces Carla Esparza at UFC 225 in Chicago

UFC 225 just landed a major strawweight grudge match.

Two-time title contender Claudia Gadelha will face off with former champion Carla Esparza at UFC 225 at the United Center in Chicago on June 9.

UFC officials confirmed the new matchup on Wednesday night.

JUST ANNOUNCED: @ClaudiaGadelha_ takes on @CarlaEsparza1 in the Windy City at #UFC225❗️ pic.twitter.com/Z6AdLjnpwW

— UFC (@ufc) February 15, 2018

While this is the first time these two fighters have been scheduled to meet in the UFC, Gadelha and Esparza have a history that goes back several years when both were competing in Invicta Fighting Championships.

The first fight was scheduled in 2013 to determine the Invicta FC strawweight champion but Gadelha was forced out of the bout at the last minute due to a broken nose suffered in training. Esparza eventually won the title and was then set to face Gadelha again later in the year but this time the Brazilian ground specialist dealt with a bacterial infection that knocked her out of the fight on the day of the event.

Fast forward to a couple of years later, Esparza was returning from shoulder surgery after losing the UFC women’s strawweight title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha began calling her out for a fight. They ended up in a bitter war of words over social media but ultimately the fight never came together.

Now finally Gadelha and Esparza are scheduled to meet with both looking to make waves in an ever changing 115-pound women’s division.

Gadelha (15-3) is looking to bounce back from a loss to Jessica Andrade last year that put a stop to her two fight win streak.

Meanwhile, Esparza (13-4) will look to build on back-to-back wins over Cynthia Calvillo and Maryna Moroz as she attempts to climb back into title contention. Esparza holds a dominant win over current champion Rose Namajunas so she would undoubtedly like a chance at a second fight with UFC gold on the line.

Gadelha vs. Esparza joins the UFC 225 line up with a main event for the card still to be determined.