No. 1-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's Strawweight contender, Claudia Gadelha (13-1), is itching for a piece of Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10-0).
The two foes previously fought inside the Octagon in what was a title eliminator match up 11 months ago, with Jedrzejczyk notching a contested split-decision victory. Each fighter has since went on their way, with the former Muay Thai practitioner capturing the title over ex-champion Carla Esparza in March, then making here first title defense over Jessica Penne last June (highlights).
"Claudinha" rebounded by taking out former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) Strawweight queen Jessica Aguilar in a lopsided contest back in August, but has since been sidelined and forced to nurse an injury to her finger, which forced her out of a tilt with "Joanna Champion."
Gadelha is an attendance for Jedrzejczyk's second title defense against No. 8-ranked Valerie Letourneau (8-3) tonight (Sat., Nov. 14, 2015) at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia. And the Brazilian admitted to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani that a rematch with the dangerous Pole is all that she desires next:
"My time is coming. I'm waiting for that. Actually, I'm not looking for the title. I'm looking for my fight with Joanna. I want her to win so we can fight for the title. If she don't win, I want to fight her anyway. I want to fight her because I think I beat her. I think me and her need to fight again to clear who is the best strawweight... [I watch that fight] almost every day [laughs]. I want to learn more about her and I see my mistakes. I watch all my fights anyway. I think you learn more when you lose... She tried to do that to me [intimidate] at the weigh ins and she smelled nothing. I was ready to punch her right there."
Gadelha landed a late strike on Jedrzejczyk at the sound of the final bell, which the Nova Uniao representative claimed she didn't hear at the time of their Dec. 2014 meeting, adding to their already volatile rivalry.
Whether the Canadian challenger, Letourneau, upstages Jedrzejczyk remains to be seen, but it will be a long shot. The 26-year-old Gadelha also bested "Trouble" in 2012 when the pair were competing outside of ZUFFA.
Regardless of who her next opponent is, she's punching "hard" and thinks quite highly of her chances to attain the belt when she makes her return to fighting in 2016.
Just not this "dancer's" chances.
For the complete UFC 193: "Rousey vs. Holm" fight card and results, including play-by-play updates, click here and here.