Tag Archives: Karolina Kowalkiewicz

UFC 212 Betting: Why Claudia Gadelha Will Beat Karolina Kowalkiewicz

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A women’s strawweight matchup between top contenders Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz has been added to the UFC 212 PPV event which will be held at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 3rd, 2017.

Another Title Shot For Winner

Gadelha and Kowalkiewicz are the 2nd and 3rd ranked fighters in the UFC women’s strawweight division. The two have also already faced and lost to current champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the past and the victor here could very well be on her way to a second crack at the world title.

Gadelha has lost twice in her career but both losses came at the hands of Jedrzejczyk and the first one, which was a non-title fight, came via close split decision. She’s 2-2 in her last four bouts but won her most recent outing via decision over Cortney Casey at UFC Fight Night 100 last November of 2016.

Kowalkiewicz meanwhile opened her UFC career with a string of three victories that included a split decision win over Rose Namajunas at UFC 201. That bout was a title eliminator and it earned her a shot at Jedrzejczyk at the monumental UFC 205 last November. Kowalkiewicz lost to her compatriot via clear unanimous decision.

Odds and Prediction

Gadelha is the favorite here at -300 while Kowalkiewicz is a +240 underdog.  The key here will be takedowns as Gadelha is a takedown machine with an average of 4.59 takedowns per fifteen minutes at an accuracy of 57.7%. Kowalkiewicz hasn’t shown any signs of a ground game in the UFC and to win this fight, she must keep it on her feet where she has the advantage.

The Polish fighter is averaging 4.56 significant strikes landed per minute as compared to Gadelha’s average of 3.59. Kowalkiewicz is a smart fighter who knows how to adjust and take what her opponent gives her. She doesn’t force the issue but is pretty effective doing it. She’s won 8 of her 11 bouts by decision, so she’s a tough girl.

Claudia Gadelha just doesn’t seem to be a good matchup for Karolina Kowalkiewicz. While Kowalkiewicz hasn’t shown any ground game, she’s been taken down thrice in her last two fights. Against Gadelha, she won’t be comfortable on the canvass. So unless she keeps the fight on her feet for fifteen minutes, I don’t see how she can topple Gadelha who hasn’t lost in Brazil.

It’s not going to be a walk in the park but we’re picking Claudia Gadelha to beat Karolina KowalKiewicz.

UFC 205: Miesha Tate Returns to Take on Raquel Pennington

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The women are also coming to New York.

As the fight card for the UFC’s maiden appearance in New York slowly unfolds, two high profile women’s bouts have been added to the Madison Square Garden affair as UFC women’s flyweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk will defend her title against compatriot Karolina Kowalkiewicz and former UFC womens bantamweight champion Miesha Tate will face Raquel Pennington in a three round affair.

An All Polish Affair

The title bout between Jedrzejczyk and Kowalkiewicz will be the first ever all european bout inside the UFC Octagon. It will also be the biggest MMA match in Poland’s history as both undefeated combatants are Polish. Jedrzejczyk ( 12-0 ) is coming off a thrilling fight of the year candidate against Claudia Gadelha last July.

She is the undisputed queen of the UFC’s 115 women’s division, having won all of her 6 bouts inside the Octagon including four title bouts and three successful title defenses. Former KSW champion Kowalkiewicz (10-0 ) herself is unbeaten in 3 UFC bouts and is coming off an impressive win over Rose Namajunas at UFC 201 to earn this title bout. The two have fought before as amateurs in 2012 and it was Jedrzejczyk who won that bout by submission.

The UFC initially thought of taking this title bout to Poland but with the big event in New York on November 12th and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes reportedly being eyed for UFC 207, this all Poland title bout was booked to New York instead to give the women a strong representation in the event.

The Jedrzejczyk vs. Kowalkiewicz bout is the second title bout booked to the event. Earlier, the men’s welterweight title will be on the line when Tyron Woodley faces top contender Stephen Thompson.

Return of Cupcake

In the second announced women’s bout, former UFC bantamweight Miesha Tate ( 18-6 ) will make  a quick turnaround following her stunning UFC 200 defeat to Amanda Nunes. Prior to her defeat, Tate won accolades in her come from behind title winning performance against Holly Holm at UFC 196.

The return of Cupcake will be against veteran Raquel “Rocky” Pennington ( 8-5 ) who has won three fights in a row. Pennington was last seen at UFC 202 where she beat Elizabeth Phillips. Coincidentally, Pennington was a member of Team Tate during the Ultimate Fighter 18 in 2013. Now Rocky goes up against her former coach as both fighters look to move up in the women’s bantamweight standings with a big win in Madison Square Garden.

UFC 205 will be on November 12th at the Madison Square Garden in New York. Several bouts have been confirmed for the event although no headliner has been booked yet.