Two high-profile women’s bouts have been added to the upcoming UFC card in Washington, DC including the return of Claudia Gadelha.
Gadelha returns to the Octagon to take on Cynthia Calvillo in what should be an entertaining women’s strawweight contest.
Also added to the card is a women’s bantamweight bout between Aspen Ladd and Yana Kunitskaya.
ESPN first reported the new matchups for UFC on ESPN 7, which takes place December 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.
Claudia Gadelha (17-4) has been hot and cold since joining the UFC in 2014, going only 6-4 inside the Octagon. When she joined the UFC, Gadelha was expected to be a future champion, but that has never come to be. She is coming off of a decision win over Randa Markos in her last fight, and will hope that momentum carries her towards another title shot.
Cynthia Calvillo (8-1) is 5-1 overall in the UFC and is coming off of back-to-back wins over Cortney Casey and Poliana Botelho. She has only lost one in her career, to former champ Carla Esparza.
Aspen Ladd (8-1) was unbeaten in her MMA career until running into Germaine de Randamie in her last fight. She suffered a controversial first-round stoppage loss, and will need to bounce back to remain a top contender at 135lbs. The ESPN report said that she will be working with the UFC Performance Institute to cut weight for this fight after several scares at previous weigh-ins.
Yana Kunitskaya (12-4, 1 NC) suffered a brutal TKO loss to Cris Cyborg in her UFC debut but has since bounced back with decision wins over Mario Reneau and Lina Lansberg.
The main event for this card has not yet been announced, but likely will in the coming weeks as the UFC looks to finalize the remainder of its 2019 schedule.
Are you excited for the Claudia Gadelha vs. Cynthia Calvillo and Aspen Ladd vs. Yana Kunitskaya matchups?