Gadelha, Jedrzejczyk face off in women's strawweight contender bout on FOX card

The Ultimate Fighter winner could have a ready-made contender after taking home the title.

Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, two of the best women's strawweights in the UFC not in the TUF title tournament, will meet each other at UFC Fight Night on FOX on Dec. 13 in Phoenix, UFC officials confirmed with FOX Sports on Friday afternoon. The fight was initially reported by Polish MMA site mmanews.pl.

The bout will not be billed as of yet as a title eliminator, but it could end up being just that. The first UFC women's strawweight champion will be crowned one night earlier, on Dec. 12, at the TUF Finale in Las Vegas.

Gadelha (12-0) was initially picked to be on The Ultimate Fighter, but chose to forego the opportunity, because cutting to 115 pounds multiple times in that setting would have been too difficult for her. Instead, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt debuted in the UFC in July, beating Tina Lahdemaki by unanimous decision. Gadelha, 25, trains at Nova Uniao in Rio de Janeiro with Jose Aldo and Renan Barao and was the No. 1 contender for the Invicta FC women's strawweight title before the top fighters in that division moved over to the UFC.

Jedrzejcyzk (7-0) was also victorious in her UFC debut, dominating Juliana Lima by unanimous decision in July. Jedrzejczyk's performance and aggressive Muay Thai style in that fight drew the praise of UFC president Dana White. The 27-year-old Poland native looks to be one of the more dynamic, technical strikers in the women's 115-pound division. Jedrzejczyk also owns a victory over former UFC fighter Rosi Sexton.

UFC Fight Night on FOX is headlined by a heavyweight contender bout between former champion Junior dos Santos and Stipe Miocic. The co-headliner is an intriguing lightweight matchup between Rafael dos Anjos and the returning Nate Diaz. The main card will air live on FOX.