Cortney Casey Doesn’t Think Beating Claudia Gadelha Will Get Her A Title Shot

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Cortney Casey (6-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) said that even if she beats Claudia Gadelha (13-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 100, she doesn’t think she’ll get a strawweight title shot. Here are highlights:

On what a win gets her: “I think a win takes me pretty far. She’s the No. 1 contender, so it definitely moves me up quite a few spots. I definitely don’t think if I beat Claudia I would get an automatic title shot. There’s a lot of other fighters that have a lot going as well. I think a fight or two between that. I’m just focusing on the Claudia fight and making sure I get the W on that night then wherever the UFC places me after that is up to them.”

On getting to the top of the division: “I definitely did see myself getting here. This is what we all strive for, to fight the No. 1 contender, then eventually fight for the title. I did have a rough start in the UFC. My first fight with ‘JoJo’ was on pretty short notice then I went into the Ham fight with a rib injury. I took a lot away from both of those fights. On eight days’ notice I was able to hang with a top-10 contender, then Ham is a huge veteran. She had just as many losses as I had fights in general. … She was definitely a seasoned fighter and I went three rounds with her. I definitely knew this time would come and I just knew I had to go into my fights healthy.”

On if she can beat Gadelha: “If (Jedrzejczyk) can drop her, I can drop her as well. I think I’m bigger than most of the girls in the division. As long as I can keep the range and keep her on the outside, I think I can take this fight.”