‘He needs to move faster’ – Claudia Gadelha explains why Kennedy Maciel won’t get UFC BJJ title shot
Following UFC BJJ 2, Claudia Gadelha criticized Kennedy Maciel and explained why he won’t be getting a UFC BJJ title shot.
Decorated black belt competitor Kennedy Maciel scored a hard-fought decision victory over the always-dangerous Ademir Barreto at UFC BJJ 2, but despite that victory, Maciel doesn’t have a UFC BJJ title shot in his future – and might not even be invited back to the promotion.
At the post-event press conference, UFC BJJ Senior Director Claudia Gadelha spoke to the media about what types of athletes the promotion is looking to sign. She used Maciel as an example of how not to compete under the UFC BJJ banner.
“Sometimes we have athletes that have a lot of good titles and a lot of good competition but they are not fast enough, they don’t bring the pace that we need for our event. Today, I had to go to the back and talk to Kennedy Maciel. Like, ‘Kennedy, you are great, you are a world champion, but we need a faster pace from you.’
“He was expecting to fight for the title next, but we have to go back to the lab and think about what we are going to do with him, because he needs to move faster for us to continue to bring him back in…
“Jiu-jitsu can be methodical and slow, and it can also be very exciting and very fast. We are looking for the fast-paced athletes that get in there and fight and compete the whole time.”
Maciel’s victory over Barreto was just one of two decisions at UFC BJJ 2. And although he was unable to secure the finish, the 28-year-old Brazilian didn’t seem to stall in dominant positions or cruise to an easy win. Quite the opposite, Maciel attacked a handful of submissions and was often forced into scrambles due to Barreto’s activity and pressure.
An IBJJF no-gi world champion and ADCC silver medalist, Maciel’s UFC BJJ promotional debut at UFC BJJ 2 carried lofty expectations. While many might have expected him to challenge current UFC BJJ lightweight champion Carlos Henrique in his next outing, that no longer appears to be the case.
View the full results from UFC BJJ 2 here, and watch the entire event replay below.
