UFC Washington D.C. Adds Aspen Ladd vs. Yana Kunitskaya, Claudia Gadelha vs. Cynthia Cavillo

Claudia Gadelha, UFC 239
Claudia Gadelha Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press

First reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, a pair of women’s bouts will be coming to UFC Washington D.C. on December 7 in both the strawweight and bantamweight divisions.

As mentioned above, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto first reported the first two bouts for UFC Washington D.C.

The first bout is the return of young prospect Aspen Ladd (8-1) who will take on former Invicta champion Yana Kunitskaya (12-4). Ladd will be looking to get back in the win-column following her loss to Germaine de Randamie in her first UFC main event in July.  Kunitskaya is on a two fight win-streak following her failed bid to win the featherweight title in 2018. She has notched victories over Lina Lansberg and most recently Marion Reneau in March.

In the strawweight division, former title challenger Claudia Gadelha (17-4) will face Cynthia Calvillo (8-1) in a fight that would propel the winner forward towards a title shot. Gadelha recently outpointed Randa Markos this past July at UFC 239 and is pursuing a second shot at the strawweight title. Calvillo is on a two fight win-streak with wins over Poliana Botelho and Cortney Casey. Calvillo is recovering from a broken foot that forced her from a hometown fight in Sacramento in July. The winner likely sets up a critical bout in the title picture in 2020.

As of right now, no main event has been announced for the card.  The card is set to be the seventh event that will air on ESPN in 2019. The event will be held at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.