Aspen Ladd (7-0) is a women’s bantamweight fighter who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. For her next bout, the unbeaten prospect will face off against Sijara Eubanks at UFC Fight Night 152, which takes place at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, on May 18.
The contest is a rematch of their Invicta FC 21 clash in January 2017, which Ladd won by unanimous decision. In the build up to the fight, here are five things you might not know about Ladd.
She favours winning with strikes
To date, Ladd has demonstrated a preference for finishing her opponents with five (71 percent) of her seven victories coming via TKO. The Folsom, California, native’s list of victims include her two most recent adversaries in Lina Lansberg and Tonya Evinger.She has not always made weight
Ladd initially started out as a flyweight. However, in her third professional outing, the emerging 5’6’’ prospect moved up to bantamweight when she faced Kelly McGill at Invicta FC 16 in March 2016. She would win that fight via third-round TKO.In her next bout at Invicta FC 18 in July 2016, Ladd came in 2.1 pounds over the non-title fight limit of 136 pounds. This would not be the end of her troubles on the scales. For her second appearance with the UFC in April last year, Ladd came in 1.8 pounds heavy. Her opponent Leslie Smith later refused a catchweight bout and the planned encounter was scrapped.
Ladd has successfully made weight for her last two UFC fights. However, doing so has proven problematic for the 24-year-old. When asked in an interview about the cut for her bout with Evinger at UFC 229 last October, Ladd said, “I was crying … This was a terrible morning – two baths, and then an hour and 20 minutes in the sauna to get to that point.” Despite her tribulations with the scales, Ladd is convinced that bantamweight is the best division for her.
She had a lot of amateur fights
Ladd started competing in amateur mixed martial arts at the age of 17. Across nine bouts, the rising prospect was triumphant on eight occasions. Her sole loss during that period was a unanimous decision setback against fellow UFC fighter Cynthia Calvillo, which happened at West Coast FC 9 in April 2014.She is a lifelong martial artist
During her childhood, Ladd practiced various combat sports, including wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. When she was 14, Ladd commenced training in MMA, initially as a way to keep fit. However, she soon fell in love with the sport and begun devoting more of her time to improving her burgeoning skillset.In her early fights, Ladd was viewed as a grappling-centric athlete. However, the consummate professional’s striking has evolved considerably, and she is now viewed as a well-rounded combatant.