För att öka sina chanser för vinst mot Joanna Jedrzejczyk i finalen av The Ultimate Fighter 23 i juli har Claudia Gadelha ändrat några saker, bland dem viktnedgång.
Viktnedgång kan påverka kroppen mycket, bland annat prestationen i oktagonen. Det som gjorde att Claudia Gadelha (13-1) missade chansen att vara med i The Ultimate Fighter 20: A Champion Will Be Crowned där den första stråviktsmästarinnan skulle krönas var att hon inte kunde gå ner i vikt flera gånger på en kort tid, så numera håller hon en strikt diet så att hon håller samma vikt, berättade hon vid ett mediaevent i Brasilien.
”I don’t cut much weight anymore. I learned that by losing much weight, I also lose performance inside the Octagon, so I’m staying lighter now. I learned to eat better, so I live on a diet now. I don’t go out of my diet a day now, not even on the weekends, because I have to be around 126 pounds to cut 13 or 15 pounds before the fight. No more cutting 22, 33 pounds for me.”
”I think it’s already tough for a male athlete, and it’s even worse for a female athlete. It’s bad for your performance on fight night, so I’m living on a diet so it doesn’t become an issue n the future.”
Gadelhas enda förlust var mot Joanna Jedrzejczyk (11-0) och det var deras rivalitet som gjorde att de fick bli coacherna i The Ultimate Fighter 23. Hon tror att hon har blivit en bättre fighter sedan förlusten mot Jedrzejczyk.
”I always felt like a MMA fighter, I don’t feel like a jiu-jitsu fighter fighting MMA, but I think I’m more experienced today. I became an experienced fighter, focusing more on being a MMA fighter, a well-rounded fighter. I tried to evolve my striking, training more boxing and kickboxing, and for sure that’s going to be the difference in this fight.”
”I’m aggressive too. I’m a warrior,” she continued. ”When I get into a fight, I give everything I have inside the Octagon. I think the difference now will be my experience and the strategy we have now. I trained hard on a strategy to fight inside the Octagon.”
Rivaliteten har till och med gått så långt att de nästan började fightas under inspelningarna av The Ultimate Fighter 23. Det var svårt för henne att hålla lugnet under inspelningarna. Smocktårtorna hängde i luften ett antal gånger.
”Actually, I wanted to punch her in her face several times, but I took a deep breath and saw that it’s our job, we have to sell the fight, but I don’t think you have to get to a point to disrespect. I grew up inside the gym with a martial art philosophy, respecting the mat, my coaches, my teammates and my opponents, and Joanna is the opposite. She disrespects everyone. When she started disrespecting my coaches, I felt really offended, but I took a deep breath and said ‘okay, let’s move on’. I’ll walk through this as another obstacle to get inside the Octagon and do my job.”
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