Coach: Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk on TUF could be ‘worse’ than Aldo-McGregor
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk will coach the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), and Nova Uniao leader Andre Pederneiras expects it to be a rough coexistence.
Gadelha rematches Jedrzejczyk for the strawweight belt at the TUF 23 Finale event on July 8, but first they will have to see each other every single day during the reality show. Coming from a wearing year in 2015 with the promotion for Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor, Pederneiras believes Gadelha and Jedrzejczyk living together has everything to be worse than Aldo and McGregor during the UFC 189 world tour.
"I believe it can be worse because it’s 45 days," Pederneiras said. "You will see someone you don’t want to see for 45 days, twice a day. It won’t be good. It’s going to be horrible. Horrible. They both have strong temper, so it can’t be good. It’s going to be perfect media-wise, but won’t be good for them. I don’t think they will end up fighting during the reality show, but we will get a lot of mess."
Pederneiras won’t be in Las Vegas to help Gadelha coach on The Ultimate Fighter, but will likely be in her corner on fight night. A year and a half after their first meeting, which ended in a controversial split decision win for Jedrzejczyk, Pederneiras expects another close battle.
"(It will be) as tough as the first one," he said. "They are by far the best fighters in the division. I think ‘Claudinha’ wins again, but I don’t know if she will take (the win) because of the judges."
The strawweights will now compete in a five-round match, and the Brazilian believes it favors his protégé.
"If they had fought five rounds that night, Joanna would never win," Pederneiras said. "If you watch the first fight, ‘Claudinha’ was dominating the first round until she got knocked down in the end, and they scored it for Joanna. ‘Claudinha’ was better in the second round and even better in the third. If you follow that rhythm, she would be even better in the fourth and fifth rounds."
"Both fighters changed a lot since that night," he continued. "Joanna is defending (takedowns) better, has a better ground game, and ‘Claudinha’ worked on her boxing to close the distance. No one’s stupid to stand and trade with Joanna for five rounds. When she gets to the ground, she’ll do what she does best."