Claudia Gadelha shocked the MMA world on Friday by announcing that she was retiring from the UFC. She informed the promotion of her decision to step away from the sport and surprised many people with her decision.

MMAFighting reported that the former UFC strawweight title challenger was stepping away from the sport. It is currently unclear why exactly she decided to step away from the sport.

Claudia Gadelha is only 33 years old and many think she still would have had a few years left in the UFC. They say the best time to retire is when people say it's a little too early.

The Brazilian UFC fighter had not competed in the octagon since November 2020 when she lost to Yan Xiaonan by unanimous decision. She was on a two-fight win streak before that where she held a win over Angela Hill.

Claudia Gadelha amassed a record of 7-5 in the UFC and challenged Joanna Jędrzejczyk for the strawweight title in 2016. She would lose the fight by unanimous decision after coaching ‘The Ultimate Fighter' opposite the Polish champion.

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Her UFC career slightly declined after that. She went 5-3 in the promotion but took more losses than she normally did. She had only lost to Joanna Jędrzejczyk before that and both were considered close fights.

Claudia Gadelha will retire as one of the best fighters to have never won a UFC title. She had some big wins in her career and can be confident that she fought the best names her division had to offer.