Yana Kunitskaya says Aspen Ladd’s last fight proved she is beatable

Yana Kunitskaya is looking to put Aspen Ladd on losing streak for the first time in her career.

On the main card of the UFC’s imminent return to Washington D.C., Ladd is returning after the quick 16-second knockout loss to Germaine de Randamie in July. Kunitskaya believes that fight proved Ladd is beatable and she is confident she will make it two losses in a row.

“We have studied her fights before and saw some things. With Lina Lansberg, it was an early stoppage. Before her last fight, I was thinking you need someone with a good punch to stop her and good takedown defense,” Kunitskaya said to BJPENN.com. “It didn’t show much but shows that everyone is beatable.”

Kunitskaya has been calling to fight Ladd for awhile now is glad she is getting the fight. Yet, she wanted to be the first person to hand the 24-year-old her first loss as a pro.

In this fight, the Russian says she will look to keep the fight on the feet but if it hits the mat, she remains confident in her skill set.

“Every fight I am trying to focus on every possible situation because you never know how a fight will go. I will be ready to fight a kickboxing fight. But, if it goes to the ground I’ve been spending a lot of camp there. I’m stronger now and the weight cut is going much better,” she explained. “It will be hard for her to put me down and I’m faster and more technical than her so I am pretty confident. I will try to strike but if I feel I have a good takedown, I will put her down. I’m always confident on my back.”

If Kunitskaya does indeed get her hand raised, she will be ranked in the top-five and closing in on a title shot. She is a former Invicta FC bantamweight champion and looking to add the UFC belt to that collection. But she won’t force anything and is fine fighting a few more fights after this one.

“I’m not thinking past this fight. I’m just focusing on Aspen and not going to force anything and demanding a title shot,” Kunitskaya said. “I still have a lot of time and you never know what the UFC is thinking. Amanda may only have a few fights left so the division will change a lot. I’ll be happy if I get one or two more fights before the title fight.”

In the end, with a hard camp in Las Vegas at the Performance Institute, Kunitskaya is ready for the fight and confident she will get her hand raised again.

“I think she is improving fight to fight so I am not focused on her past fights. I’m preparing for her best. We saw everything, her pluses her minuses, we are ready,” she concluded. 

Who do you think will win the fight between Yana Kunitskaya and Aspen Ladd at UFC Washington D.C.?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/4/2019.