Stans Preview: Angela Hill vs. Claudia Gadelha (Patreon)

By Paul 

Don’t look now, but cosplay queen Angela Hill is on a roll—three wins in five months and we're so here for it. Outside of her run in the Invicta FC, Hill has struggled with consistency in her MMA game and alternated between wins and losses. As fans of the sport, it’s frustrating to watch considering the flashes of brilliance you see in her skill set when she’s on point. 

Hill is also a favorite of the Southpaw audience, whether it’s due to her cosplay, being outspoken about racial injustice, or being open about the struggles that UFC fighters face from the UFC. In February 2020, she was a guest on the "Joe Rogan Experience." They went through a wide range of topics, with some interesting insights on what led to massive improvements in her performances. Keep in mind that Hill turned pro in 2014, not too long after picking up MMA as a hobby. That means she is six years into a career that she wasn’t even considering to be more than a fun activity. It would be the equal of you grilling steaks for your friends and then being asked to cater for large parties and corporate events. Who knows, your second career might be one cookout away. 

Before her recent revitalization, Hill had an undefeated streak in Invicta FC, which culminated in her winning their strawweight title and defending it. This was good enough for the UFC to come calling again, and she re-entered the promotion to face off against Jessica Andrade. The two things most people talk about when it comes to Jessica Andrade is that she’s strong and she has legitimate knockout power. Sensing that a win over the former Invicta strawweight champion would all but guarantee a title shot, Andrade knew defeat was not an option. Having been cut from the promotion after two straight losses, Hill was adamant about proving that she had changed as a fighter. Both these combatants put on one of the best fights in strawweight history.

Hill did a great job of flicking the jab at Andrade’s face and keeping her at range by moving laterally and drawing Andrade forward. On the occasion that she got Andrade to move towards the fence, Hill blasted her with kicks from the same side and finished with an overhand for good measure. It’s always a dangerous game to stay in the pocket and trade strikes with Andrade, but Hill was doing it and looked pretty good.

(Once Hill knew that Andrade had nowhere left to run, she tried to add some damage with many lead kicks and an overhand. When Andrade started to move forward, Hill retreated back.)

This didn’t mean Hill was now perfect; after all, she lost the fight. Whenever Hill threw the right straight or wasn’t in a position to defend herself right away, Andrade was able to swarm her with hooks. It’s a problem that many strikers face since not following up a straight with another punch like the hook, or a kick gives the opponent a stationary target. Both prime Georges St. Pierre and Stipe Miocic had this same issue. During these flurries, Andrade cornered Hill towards the fence and blasted her.

(After an inside low kick and overhand right, Hill stayed a beat too long and couldn’t escape in time before Andrade rushed in and unloaded with hooks and uppercuts.)

Utilizing her muay Thai background, Hill went for the Thai clinch many times, and it kept her from being overwhelmed with punches. Think back to the Robbie Lawler vs. Rafael dos Anjos fight, and you’ll see that RDA does something similar every time Lawler got in too close or started unloading. Andrade could still hurt Hill while being clinched up, but she had to worry about taking knees or getting swept. Although the power and aggression of Andrade won her the fight, Hill did a remarkable job in her first fight back in the UFC. Although she didn’t turn into a grappling whiz overnight, her smart use of various kicks, the Thai clinch, and jabs kept her competitive throughout.

After the Randa Markos fight, Hill said she had an epiphany. There were too many thoughts going through her mind and overanalyzed the striking and grappling portions, paralyzing her action. It led to her looking into and focusing on mental training instead of relying on just the physical preparation. There were times when she thought about her future implications (“what happens if I lose this fight?”) DURING the match itself. Hill believes that being present in the moment is far better than thinking too far ahead and panicking when things don't go right. It’s hard to argue with the results.

Starting with Jodie Esquibel, the difference in Hill’s movements were pronounced. Much like her teammate Dominick Cruz, Hill started to emphasize her stance-switching to stay in perpetual motion. She circled out and threw jabs and front kicks to keep Esquibel at bay. During the moments Esquibel stood still expecting the jab, she got clipped with overhand rights and intercepting knees. One of the best moments in her fight came when she would start with an orthodox jab but shift stance on the retreat, hurting Esquibel with the southpaw straight before circling out again. This kind of striking was present in her match-ups against Yan Xiaonan and Ariane Carnelossi.

The Hannah Cifers fight, in particular, stands out because of Hill’s ability to take down and control Cifers on the ground. Granted, it’s not as if Hill went for a double leg and slammed Cifers down, but once she was able to get the Thai clinch, she swept Cifers’ rear leg and maintained control. From there, it was nice to see her advance position and finish Cifers via TKO.

(Anderson Silva himself couldn’t have done one better. Once both her hands were locked, Hill led Cifers one way before sweeping her the other way into side control.)

In her most recent fight against Loma Lookboonmee, it was Hill who suddenly became the less experienced muay Thai striker. Despite what seemed like a disadvantage on paper, Hill was able to muscle around the much smaller Lookboonmee and piece her up with jabs and takedowns against the fence. Of particular interest was Hill’s right hands that were able to sneak through and damage the face of Lookboonmee. The swelling didn’t get any better as the fight wore on.

(Hill patiently waited while Lookboonmee throws teep kicks before returning fire with a right cross.)

On the opposite end of this match-up is Cláudia Gadelha. A perennial contender at strawweight, Gadelha has alternated between wins and losses recently and is looking to establish a winning streak against the surging Hill. At her best, Gadelha is a nightmare for any fighter. Gadelha will march forward and try and press her opponents against the fence before utilizing her various takedowns to get the fight to the ground. Although her early career was punctuated by a long string of submission victories, the UFC-version of Gadelha doesn’t mind ground and pound decision victories.

(In the early goings of the fight, Gadelha is at her most dangerous. The normally fleet-footed Joanna Jędrzejczyk was stunned by a stepping jab and got taken down early in round 1).

Against Jędrzejczyk in both fights, Gadelha did her best to land 1-2s into the clinch where she pushed her to the fence. Each exchange had one goal in mind: get Jędrzejczyk to the ground, by any means necessary. Even if she ate strikes to the face or midsection, she would sacrifice temporary pain for the possibility of a superior position. For a round and a half, this worked pretty well. However, you can’t absorb that kind of punishment to the body and legs while using so much energy and expect to be fresh all five rounds. Unlike Tatiana Suarez or Demian Maia, Gadelha explodes into takedowns and will try to do too much too soon and ends up more tired than she should be. Sometimes its enough for her to have built up a lead, or it ends up tiring her out and unable to work out the rest of her game plan.

(Gadelha does do well against aggressive strikers. Cortney Casey moves in a straight line and swings wide with her hips open, giving Gadelha time to duck under and grab a double leg on two separate occasions.)

Since switching trainers to Mark Henry, she has shown an improvement in her jabbing game and footwork. This was a smart move on her part since it was clear that her striking was her most significant liability. This isn’t to say she’s bad on her feet, but she does tend to make costly mistakes. She got sucked into exchanging in close quarters against Jessica Andrade, and even though she got muscled around on the ground, she still shot in for takedowns, only to get reversed and battered. Against Nina Ansaroff, the feinting game of Ansaroff threw off Gadelha’s timing and had her whiffing at air. The takedowns became more labored, and Ansaroff walked away with a decision victory.

(Even though a similar situation unfolded in round 1, Gadelha attempted to take down Andrade to see if she could control her. This backfired, and Gadelha ended up getting muscled and battered.)

The good news is, Gadelha’s most recent fight against Randa Markos showed that she’s still learning and improving her game. Instead of chasing for the takedown and rushing her strikes, Gadelha showed patience by measuring her distance with jabs and level changing to keep Marko’s on edge. Her right straights and kicks came off smoother, and she pressured Markos for the majority of the fight. It’s hard to say if this behavior is a permanent change or a one-time thing (ala Kevin Lee). Old habits die hard, but if she continues to improve at this pace, it’s a great sign of things to come. Gadelha’s impatience has cost her before (both on the feet and on the ground), so it’s good to see her control her pacing.

This is an exciting fight that should deserve more attention. Still, the fact that it’s taking place while COVID-19 is ravaging the state of Florida (where the card is taking place) is worrisome. Both Hill and Gadelha have made improvements in their last fights, but we have no idea what their training has been like as of late. With that said, there are specific paths to victories for both fighters. Hill will want to keep Gadelha at the end of her jab and shift to keep her from getting too comfortable. Even though she’s shown more patience in her last fight, Gadelha still got sucked into brawls against Markos and it’s easy to see how a few exchanges can get her to start swinging hooks. This gives Hill the perfect opportunity to slap on a Thai clinch and throw some knees and maybe sweep Gadelha to the ground. She doesn’t need to keep Gadelha there, but it could force her to rush things and make mistakes.

Gadelha’s path to victory will be relying on getting Hill to move towards her to set up takedowns and walk her into her strikes. Hill has been caught flat-footed while throwing her right hand, and it could give Gadelha the opportunity she needs to dive in on her hips or land strikes of her own. Either way, we’ll get to see if Hill can continue her rise up the strawweight division or if the new and improved Gadelha can get another shot at the title.