Claudia Gadelha made UFC history Wednesday, as she picked up the first ever win in the organization’s strawweight division.
The Brazilian defeated Finland’s Tina Lahdemaki by unanimous decision as the two women ushered in the women’s 115-pound weight class.
Gadelha (12-0) is a highly touted prospect that trains with the Nova Uniao team alongside the likes of featherweight champion Jose Aldo and former bantamweight champ Renan Barao. Her experience was evident. Lahdemaki (5-1) was able to land some damaging strikes when the two were on the feet, but ate many counter left hooks and was repeatedly taken down as she suffered the first loss of her MMA career.
Also on the prelims, Gleison Tibau edged out fellow veteran lightweight Pat Healy by unanimous decision in a dogged, back-and-forth affair. The win was Tibau’s 14th in the UFC lightweight division, which moves him into first place on the all-time list at 155 pounds. Tibau (29-10) has won three of his last four, while (29-19, 1 NC) has lost three straight unanimous decisions.
Leslie Smith made quick work of Jessamyn Duke in women’s bantamweight action. Smith blitzed Duke, a teammate of Ronda Rousey, with a combination of kicks and punches in the first round. Smith (7–5–1) mixed in hard body shots that dropped Duke (3-2, 1 NC) and forced the referee to step in.
Aljamain Sterling improved to 10-0 as he used a variety of striking and grappling techniques to get by Hugo Viana in their bantamweight tilt. Sterling mixed things up on the feet and avoided overhand rights that Viana continuously threw. In the third round, Sterling took the fight to the mat, eventually secured the mount and finished Viana with a ground-and-pound attack. Viana (8-2) has been stopped in two of his last three fights.
Yosdenis Cedeno earned a TKO win over Jerrod Sanders in lightweight action. Sanders could not continue following the first round due to an injury stemming from a left inside leg kick Cedeno landed early in the fight.
