The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s top ranked women’s strawweight challenger, Claudia Gadelha, has made her mark on the world’s most well-known MMA promotion in more ways than one since making her debut in July of 2014.

She entered the UFC as a highly touted prospect, known among hardcore fans as the youngest black belt in the history of the incredibly respected Nova Uniao fight camp, a camp that has turned out past title holders the likes of Jose Also, Renan Barao and Junior dos Santos, among others.

Gadelha’s first UFC fight saw her taking a clear and dominant unanimous decision from Finnish fighter Tina Lahdemaki. But it was her second fight with the promotion that put her before the gaze of more casual fans, as she gave current UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk all she could handle in a scrap that resulted in a split decision loss.

While many may debate whether Claudia deserved the judges nod and UFC championship belt, Gadelha’s incredible physique and raw beauty are far less debatable.

Referred to by former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub as a total dimepiece, Gadelha has captured the hearts of many UFC fans with the juxtaposition of her feminine beauty and her unbridled ferocity when facing her opponents inside the Octagon.

So sit back and enjoy this collection of some of Claudia Gadelha’s hottest moments, and be sure to catch her squaring off against UFC Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale from Las Vegas, NV on July 8, 2016.

“>

Jeff Warsaw is the former executive editor of Long Island MMA Magazine, professional combat sports public address announcer for several NY/NJ MMA and kickboxing promotions, and a proud one-stripe white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the famed Joe D’Arce. He is currently a musician, coffee enthusiast and host of the Stranger In A Strange Land podcast on YouTube.