UFC Strawweight Cortney ‘Cast Iron’ Casey makes her return to the Octagon this Saturday for UFC Fight Night 100 in what will be the biggest and most important fight of her career so far. She will be taking on the Number 2 ranked Strawweight in the world, Claudia Gadelha (13-2-0), whose only two losses come to current UFC Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Casey (6-3-0) has looked extremely impressive in her last two outings, with first round finishes over Cristina Stanciu (TKO) and Randa Markos (Armbar). A win over Gadelha would shoot ‘Cast Iron’ straight up the UFC rankings and into UFC title contender status.

Casey spoke to us earlier today just after the weigh-ins. Here’s the full transcript below.

Which team have you been training with in preparation for the bout?

I did my whole camp out of my gym in Maui Hawaii called the NEST. New Era Sports Training. I enjoy training out of the gym, because my coaches and teammates that I train with day in and day out are there. Plus it’s my home gym so I have a lot of support from me training partners.

What are your opinions on Claudia Gadelha as an opponent?

Well she’s a very strong fighter as we have seen in her previous fights. She relies a lot on her strength and her wrestling to overwhelm her opponents.

What holes do you see in Gadelha’s game?

Well we have always known that she has had problems with her gas tank, but with her move to New Mexico we don’t foresee that being an issue in this fight. She has had problems with longer fighters in the past, so we plan on capitalising on that.

What holes do you see in Champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s game, and is she a fight you’d like after Saturdays win?

I really don’t see holes in Joanna’s game. She is very well-rounded, her striking is one of the best in the UFC. Her shot defence and wrestling is great, her jiu-jitsu to get back to her feet is awesome. I don’t think a win on Saturday will put me in title contention but I definitely hope that it puts me in the top 5.

What separates you from every other fighter in your division?

I definitely think that I’m very well-rounded and I’m a lot longer than most of the fighters in the division as well.

With a win over Gadelha, what do you hope is next for you as 2017 approaches?

More fights I hope. I don’t like sitting on the shelf for too long, I like getting right back into it.

Cortney ‘Cast Iron’ Casey will fight Claudia Gadelha live from the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil on Saturday night. She will be competing on the main card which airs on Fox Sports 1 and begins 9PM/6PM ETPT.

Who do you think will win the fight? Let us know below.

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