Dominant win for Gadelha nearly marred by illegal ground strike

The ferocity of Claudia Gadelha almost got the better of her Saturday.

"Claudinha" was cruising through her strawweight bout with Cortney Casey at UFC Fight Night 100 in Sao Paulo before throwing a blatantly illegal head kick at a grounded Casey in the third round, which could have resulted in a disqualification.

Fortunately for Gadelha, no points were deducted and Casey was able to continue fighting. All three judges went on to score the fight in Gadelha's favor.

Gadelha is 3-2 inside the Octagon after the win, her only two losses coming at the hands of 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

The 27-year-old Brazilian was able to take Casey down at will throughout the three-round affair, with only the illegal kick threatening her chances of winning. Casey did her best to keep Gadelha at a distance with long-range strikes, but Gadelha repeatedly powered through to trip and slam Casey down to the mat.

Casey falls to 2-3 in the UFC. Her short win streak ends after finishing Randa Markos and Cristina Stanciu in her previous two outings.