As of 2022, Gadelha works for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on fighter development in her native Brazil.

Later she came into contact with drugs and bad friends, which forced her parents to take her to Natal to keep her away from these influences and finish high school.

Shortly afterward, by sheer coincidence, her father rented an apartment in the Kimura headquarters, and with that, her relationship with Nova União was cemented.

At age 18, Gadelha moved to Rio de Janeiro where she celebrated her successes in BJJ and debuted in MMA.

[11] In early 2018, Gadelha moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she trained at the UFC Performance Institute and Xtreme Couture.

Gadelha made her professional MMA debut on June 5, 2008, at Force Fighting Championship 1 against Elaine Leite.

[15][16] In her next fight, Gadelha earned her first TKO win on September 21, 2012, when she defeated Adriana Vieira at Shooto Brazil 34.

[21] Despite having a point deducted in the first round for an illegal knee, Gadelha defeated Hamasaki via third-round TKO and earned a shot at Esparza's strawweight title.

On late Friday evening before the event, Gadelha was taken to the hospital due to gastroenteritis, triggered by bacteria, thus canceling the fight.

[26] In April 2014 it was announced that Cláudia Gadelha would not take part in TUF 20, but has signed a direct contract with the UFC.

After the horn signaled the end of the third and final round, Gadelha punched Jędrzejczyk after the referee had separated the two fighters.

Gadelha immediately apologetically approached Jędrzejczyk and claimed she didn't hear the bell, despite being separated by the referee.

[29] The judges' decision caused controversies afterward as 12 out of 14 media outlets and the majority of viewers scored the bout in favor of Gadelha.

[34] In early 2016, the UFC announced that Gadelha would be one of the coaches, opposite former opponent Joanna Jędrzejczyk on The Ultimate Fighter 23.

[37] On November 19, 2016, she defeated Cortney Casey at UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Nogueira 2 via unanimous decision.

[38] Gadelha faced Jéssica Andrade at UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami on September 23, 2017.

[48] However, on October 22, 2019, it was announced that Gadelha was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a torn ligament and a ruptured tendon in her ankle and was replaced by Marina Rodríguez.