Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brings an overloaded seven-fight UFC 190 pay-per-view (PPV) to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, tonight (Sat., Aug. 1, 2015) and it will take place inside HSBC Arena.
Pandemonium is expected to ensue when countrywoman Bethe Correia takes on current immovable object and women's Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in the evening's headliner. Correia rattled off three-straight wins in her Octagon career and aims to dethrone "Rowdy," who promises to drag things out against her outspoken Brazilian opponent.
As for the co-main event, it is a match up of Pride FC legends when "Shogun" Mauricio Rua battles Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The pair originally faced each other in June 2005, with the former emerging victorious by unanimous decision.
Bouts involving The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Brazil" 4 finalists in the Bantamweight and Lightweight divisions, as well as a tilt pitting Heavyweight veterans Stefan Struve and Antonio Minotauro Nogueira against each other, line the remainder of the main card.
The night gets started with a women's 115-pound title eliminator between grappling expert Claudia Gadelha and former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) Bantamweight champion Jessica Aguilar. It is an intriguing bout for multiple reasons, one being the two are highly proficient in the art of ground fighting.
Let us walk through the keys to victory for each fighter:
Jessica Aguilar
1. Employ an active guard ...
No rest for the weary.
Aguilar is an excellent wrestler and grappler, but she is simply not on the level of the Brazilian and if she wants to escape from the bottom -- provided the fight goes there and it will -- she cannot sit still.
Complacency will only get the American Top Team (ATT) star submitted or knocked out.
Gadelha is very active with strikes from top position and always looks to advance. The Nova Uniao staple is particularly efficient from half guard, where she will throw a few elbows, before looking to advance to full mount.
Because she stays active, Aguilar should look to employ rubber guard when, and if, she can. This will be easier said than done, however, since Gadelha is smart and normally stays low.
I am not saying Aguilar is going to submit Gadelha -- or that she particularly needs to -- but she cannot allow the latter to rain down punches.
2. Throw strikes in the clinch ...
There are many pundits and fans that feel Gadelha won her tussle with current 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and that is fine. In fact, it is probably true.
One of the reasons the 26-year-old had a lot of success versus the Polish striker was because the latter did not give her any opposition in the clinch.
Gadelha is a powerful strawweight as evidenced by her multiple throws of Jedrzejczyk. Despite her long arms, the muay-thai master could not keep Gadelha off of her and was subsequently put on her back.
Aguilar would be smart to launch uppercuts and utilize her dirty boxing skills to pester and annoy Gadelha in the clinch. Of course, I understand this forces Aguilar to expend energy that could wisely be used for defending the throw or trip, but she needs to take this chance.
Gadelha is also particularly lazy on the exit from a clinch and leaves openings for opposition to attack. If "JAG" finds space, either through an elbow, knee or a push-off, she should attack with hooks.
That leads me to key number three ...
3. Target the left side of Gadelha ...
In her bout with Jedrzejczyk, Gadelha was exposed on the feet. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt was routinely punished with stinging body shots and left hooks, particularly from the left side.
Gadelha was even dropped towards the end of the first round with a left hook.
Aguilar's striking is pretty stiff; she rarely throws a combination that in not called a one-two. She also does not target the body much.
Opening herself a bit more to variety will work wonders in her efforts get the fight to the ground and keep Gadelha honest.
Claudia Gadelha
1. Counter left ...
Gadelha has a mean streak.
She is capable of letting loose, once inside striking range and overwhelms her opponent into the cage. Gadelha is just as powerful on the mat as she is in her striking.
Aguilar throws a solid straight right hand. It is one of her biggest weapons on the feet and how do you counter it? With a well-timed left hook.
Duck, swing and pow! If Gadelha times it right, she could flatten Aguilar and walk out of HSBC Arena with deeper pockets.
2. Look to lock up an arm or choke ...
If you had a black belt in jiu-jitsu, wouldn't you use it?
Gadelha is exceptional at getting the fight to the ground, but when it hits the canvas, she has a habit of forgetting her prowess there. As I said earlier, she has a mean streak and that usually involves trying to beat her opponents up in top position.
Aguilar's submission defense has went, for the most part, uncontested throughout her career. However, she was nearly tapped by Megumi Fujii in Bellator with an armbar.
She is also not particularly great in scrambles, so there is the possibility of a guillotine choke, or a D'arce, if it comes to it.
Whether it is an arm-triangle choke, or an armbar, I would like to see at least one submission attempt from Gadelha in this fight.
3. Go unorthodox/circle right
If you do not want to be taken down, you cannot become a stand-still target. It is fun to stand and bang because it usually leads to fat pockets, but not in the case of Aguilar.
Gadelha is not used to being put on her back and a knee strike can prevent that from happening. Not only will Aguilar not be expecting it, leading to more damage, but it will be a reoccurring thought in the mind of the former next time she decides to charge in.
Additionally -- and this is not likely to happen seeing as how Gadelha likes to stalk opponents -- it would be helpful if she circled right to avoid the power hand of Aguilar. Like I said, not likely going to happen.