Here’s some early video and photos of very attractive Brazilian female professional MMA fighter Claudia Gadelha.
Thanks to clips of her on Youtube and a recent “workout” video, Gadelha is now being compared to Gina Carano. But while Gadelha is still mostly under the radar in North America, in her home country of Brazil she’s exploded in popularity.
That phenomenon though isn’t based on her participation in sanctioned MMA fights.
(She has just one.) Gadelha has made a name for herself fighting men as a sideshow attraction on country’s wildly-popular Panic variety show.
Galdelha’s male opponents aren’t MMA fighters. Instead she squares off against what appear to be pseudo-celebrities. (Think Danny Bonaduce.)
From the videos I’ve seen of those matches, Galdelha completely dominates. Of course, we’re aren’t talk about quality opposition nor do some of the men seem overly aggressive.
With that in mind, it’s kind of a tough call to gauge if Gadelha is legit, so to get a better feel for what her future might hold, I emailed AOL Fanhouse’s top MMA writer Michael David Smith to get his opinion.
MDS:
I think she has a shot at being a good fighter. From what I’ve heard
she’s taking her Brazilian jiu jitsu training seriously and wants to
be a legitimate athlete. Women’s MMA is still in its infancy, but
there are increasing numbers of female athletes taking the sport
seriously.She doesn’t really have much of a profile in the MMA community right
now. The key for he would be to sign on with one of the American
promoters, probably Strikeforce, which is the home of the biggest and
best women’s fights. They’d know how to market her the right way.
Strikeforce also promotes Gina Carano, and is at the forefront of promoting female MMAers.
Is there a chance Carano and Galeda could ever meet in the Octagon? From the eyeball test, it appears that unless Gadelha gained a significant (and unhealthy) amount of weight, probably not. But she’s still very young, so you never know. Goodness knows we’d all love to see it, but only if she turns out to be a proficient fighter against legit competition.
(Click on the pics for larger versions.)
6:06 pm on October 14th, 2009
I believe she may be the same physical anomaly as Caster Semenya, (the track star from South Africa).
Translation: She’s a maaaaaaan baaaaaabyyyyyy.
6:09 pm on October 14th, 2009
If your a fan of tattooed women, then yeah she’s hotter than Carano.
6:55 pm on October 14th, 2009
Definitely doesn’t blow Carano away from a looks standpoint….so…..meh.
7:02 pm on October 14th, 2009
Not me saying she’s another Carano, it’s MMA ppl.
Tho I do see a subtle resemblance.
And sans tattoo, she’s cute.
7:27 pm on October 14th, 2009
This is the most recent video of Gina….espn photoshoot
Not even close!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOZGERETn9s
8:07 pm on October 14th, 2009
I’ve seen this type of Cultural Thing with lots of wagering on the side…..
So they imprisoned Michael Vick for involvement in Dogfighting ???
Guess that since these are Humans, PETA isn’t going to get media goaded into Lawsuits…
The Silver-Skinned “Ring Round Display” guy is an absolute crack-up…..
Not sure I would criticize this woman for her lousy cooking !!!!!
9:05 pm on October 14th, 2009
The things I’de do with her ass….damn…
and Carano is fat as fuck, if people ever saw her in person or pics of her that weren’t obviously photoshopped (like her having shredded abs for the first time in her life all of a sudden for that ESPN Body pic…come on, photoshopped/edited, she has flabby arms and cankles, and is a short girl who walks around weighing a 155-160lbs…thats FAT for girls…)
this brazilian girl is good, i like her ass, but really Kyra Gracie is the best looking, though she’s just grappling and not so much mma, for now…but thats who you need to focus on Brooks…
9:27 pm on October 14th, 2009
So, like, some years ago, I took a Flight from O’Hare, home toLaguardia….sittingacross from me at the Gate Waiting area, was a curious quiet guy; not tall, but huge shoulders, and his apparent bodyguard/escort……figgered out that it was Mike Tyson…..just nodded at him…..they were met at the Gate at LaGuardia by a haggard, screeching, scrawny little bitch, that I finally figgered out was Robin Givens……
Now, Then, If you were a “Human Resources/Personnell Director”, conducting an Interview for an Activity where the basic object is to beat your opponent senseless with your fists, dontcha think that seeing a notation of “Convicted Rapist” ona Resume might be worth some Bonus P:oints ????
Have completely forsaken being a Fan of the Hypocrisity Scam of Boxing…..
Willybee
3:57 pm on October 15th, 2009
The 2 dudes she was fighting in the above videos didn’t even throw/land any punches so how can you tell if she’s good or not. The guys fighting just looked annoyed with her litlle monkey ass…
9:44 am on October 19th, 2009
DAR SIR I WOULD LIKE TO SPAR WITH GINA CARANO MY AGE IS ABOUT TYE SAM AS GEROGE FORMERS I AM NOT A FREAK OR NOTHING LIKE THAT I AM A BOXER DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT KICKING AND WRESLING I WOULDNT TY TO HURT HER I AM NOT A SORE LOSER IF SHE WHIPS ME I WOULD GET UP AND SHAKE HER HAND IT WOULD BE A BIG WIN ON HER PART I HAVE HAD 135 BOXING CONTESTS AND ONLY LOST 16 I HAVE A LIGHTING FAST JAB AND A STRONG JAB IT WOULD BE A BIG WIN ON HER RECORD I AM ALSO 1 OF HER FANS IS JUST KINDE HARD TO BELEVE A FEMALE CAN DO A MAN THAT BAD SHE CAN USE HER KICKS WRESLE OR WHAT EV SHE WANTS
THANK YOU
10:31 am on October 19th, 2009
Claudia’s hot, but she ain’t no Gina!
2:44 pm on October 22nd, 2009
Dont really like the ink she is sporting, it looks tacky, and really, Gina Carano is my sweetheart, and there is no chance that is girl has even a slight chance of overtaking Gina. Gina would also kick her butt.
2:50 pm on October 28th, 2010
Sorry sir, but you made a huge mistake.
Claudia Gadelha is, in fact, a MMA fighter. She’s undefeated with 6 wins, and she’s a BJJ brown belt under Andre Pederneiras.
http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Claudia-Gadelha-48404
Actually, she trains with UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, Sengoku featherweight champion Marlon Sandro, and all top prospects from Nova Uniao team.
Regards, Guilherme
12:42 pm on October 29th, 2010
Again, these fights were at a comedy TV show, that was not for real
2:16 pm on October 29th, 2010
Correct your note, it is a very popular athlete in mma in Brazil due to his record with six victories all in the first round, mostly by submission, and is 5x champion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
She is a student of André Pederneiras and trains in the Nova União, made appearances on Panico in TV, but fix your note, she is not an actress who dreams of one day being a fighter, but a true athlete.
http://www.graciemag.com/en/2010/10/no-gi-worlds-has-a-favorite/ - Note in website Gracie Magzine.
http://www.tatame.com/2010/01/13/Claudia-Gadelha - Interviews in TATAME Magzine.