Despite loss to Claudia Gadelha, UFC strawweight Angela Hill optimistic about future

Angela Hill may not have gotten the nod in her last outing, but she’s happy with the developments in her game.

Hill (12-8 MMA, 6-8 UFC) suffered a controversial split decision loss to former UFC strawweight title challenger Claudia Gadelha at UFC on ESPN 8, a fight in which she was able to drop Gadelha in the second round.

Although the loss snapped Hill’s three-fight winning streak, Hill was proud of her showing against a caliber opponent like Gadelha, giving her an indication of where she’s at in the division.

“After the fight, I had this very strange emotion where even though I was pissed off about the decision, I was really happy with my performance,” Hill told MMA Junkie. “Because I felt like I won and to do what I did against Gadelha – like regardless of the decision, to do what I did against her, it just shows that I’ve evolved so much as a fighter.

“I belong in here. This is the beginning of my story to championship so I’m optimistic. I’m still very optimistic about the future just as much as I was before I fought her or moreso even, just because she was the first person that I fought in a long time that was that highly ranked and I pieced her up. So yeah, I’m pretty happy with my performance, my progression and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”

Hill has been active lately, competing seven times in the past 14 months.

And after going toe-to-toe with Gadelha, Hill wants a crack at another high-profiled opponent, hoping to add some ranked names to her resume.

“I think (I want to fight) anyone who is willing to jump in there,” Hill said. “A lot of the scrappier new girls in the rankings, I would love to fight just because I could use my experience against them. I just want someone ranked, really – someone ranked for my next fight just to show, hey, I have a few names under my belt from those wins.”