5 Things We Learned From First Ever UFC Women's Strawweight Fight

A historic fight in the UFC went down in New Jersey at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Miller. Lost in some of the fanfare over matches like Cerrone vs. Miller and Barboza vs. Dunham, not to mention appearances by Rick Story and Pat Healy, was the fact that the UFC debuted a new weight class - the women's strawweight division. Welcome to the UFC, 115lb'ers. The addition couldn't come too soon: the UFC is spread thin at the moment, and a new weight class means the ability to have another champion to headline cards, plus the expansion of the growing women's side of MMA. The bulk of the strawweight division will make its debut during The Ultimate Fighter 20, where contestants will fight towards the crowning of a strawweight champion. Those fighters are not rookies or prospects however - the UFC has signed away most of Invicta's strawweight roster, meaning that fans will get veterans duking it out in a tournament format to crown a champ. However, one favourite to win the belt opted not to compete on the show, and was given a UFC contract anyway - Claudia Gadelha (11-0). Feeling she would be unable to make the quick-turnaround weight cuts required of the show (three of them, were she to go all the way), Gadelha turned down the UFC's TUF 20 offer, and instead got to take part in the UFC's first strawweight fight, against Finland's Tina Lahdemaki (5-0), at tonight's Fight Night event, in advance of The Ultimate Fighter 20. In a bout that lasted a full three rounds, the girls fought to an exciting decision, that in the end went to the favourite Gadelha. We saw solid take downs, crisp striking, and a crowd that definitely appreciated what the strawweights had to offer. Here's what we learned from the first ever UFC strawweight fight.