Gadelha’s current quest isn’t just about sharpening the tools of her trade, but rather finding balance — a way to excel at her craft, but enjoy life outside of the gym as well. It has proven to be a difficult task thus far, but in addition to getting expert instruction from her coaches about how to become a more complete fighter, she’s also taking plenty of cues from her teammates about how to weave a fulfilling personal life into the mix as well.
“Hanging out with the people I’m hanging out with now — Frankie Edgar, Eddie Alvarez, Mark Henry — they’re showing me that I can be happy in my personal life and have amazing training here,” said Gadelha, who looks to score her second consecutive victory while handing Grasso a second straight loss in their main card clash on Saturday night. “Frankie is the guy that I watch a lot and I see he’s very consistent. He’s always working super-hard, even outside of camp, but after training, he goes home to his family — his wife and kids.
“I see how they handle their personal lives in order to have a good career and I feel like this is the secret. You’ve got to find a balance and be happy with the people you have around you. You’ve got to surround yourself with good people, positive people and that way you’ll have good training and go back home and be happy.
“That’s what I’m looking for — I want to get home after training and be a happy person and they’ve been teaching me a lot about that.”
And after a frosty three months in New Jersey, the Brazilian is more than happy to be back in her favorite city, counting down the hours until she can step back in the cage and show the world the progress she’s made.
“I’m so excited. I had an amazing camp. It was pretty hard because everybody out there is so good, so talented, so dedicated, but I feel like I improved a lot as a fighter and I can’t wait to show it on Saturday night.”
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