Claudia Gadelha Dominates Cortney Casey, Avoids Illegal Kick Penalty
Top women’s strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha (14-2) entered her bout with Cortney Casey (6-4) coming off a loss to 115-pound ruler Joanna Jedrzejczyk. “Cast Iron” looked to shock the world by defeating Gadelha in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The upset was not meant to be, although disaster from an illegal kick in the final round could’ve changed that.
An overhand right found the mark for Gadelha early in the opening stanza. Casey landed a punch as Gadelha rushed in. Casey pushed her opponent against the fence. She landed a knee to the body, but Gadelha reversed the position. A right hand hit the chin of Casey. Gadelha ducked under a right hand and scored a big takedown. The Brazilian went for a heel hook, but thought better of it. The two stood back up. Casey completed a judo throw, but she rolled allowing Gadelha to end the round in top control.
Casey went for a clinch in the second round, but Gadelha reversed it and landed an elbow and some punches on the break. Casey’s blocked head kick allowed her to disrupt Gadelha’s offense momentarily. Gadelha kept punching her way out of the clinch. “Cast Iron” was taken down. The two returned to the feet. Casey got overly aggressive and was dumped back down as a result. Like in the first round, this one ended with Gadelha in control.
Gadelha dumped Casey down the mat with over a minute into the final frame. With Casey down and looking to go for a leg, Gadelha landed an illegal head kick. Casey slowly made her way to her feet. Replays appeared to show the foot grazed the ponytail of Casey. The action resumed without a point deduction to the dismay of commentator Brian Stann. A right hand landed for Gadelha. She stung her opponent with two left hooks. Gadelha took Casey down, but she decided to stand back up. The two exchanged punches. The fight ended with Gadelha going for an arm triangle.
Final Result: Claudia Gadelha def. Cortney Casey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
