The pairing is the first announced for the Las Vegas-based organization’s trip to the Windy City. UFC 225 takes place at the United Center in Chicago on June 9 and airs on pay-per-view.
Gadelha had a two-bout winning streak snapped at UFC Fight Night 117, where she suffered a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Jessica Andrade. Prior to that, the 29-year-old Brazilian’s had posted triumphs over Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Cortney Casey-Sanchez.
Esparza, meanwhile, has won three of her last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Cookie Monster” outpointed highly-touted prospect Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 219. Esparza was the promotion’s inaugural women’s strawweight champion before losing the belt to Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185.