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Tag: aspen ladd

  • Yoel Romero, Three Other UFC & PFL Alumni Sign With BKFC

    Yoel Romero, Three Other UFC & PFL Alumni Sign With BKFC

    Four former UFC fighters, including a trio of former UFC title challengers, are going from the MMA world to the world of bare-knuckle fighting.

    During the BKFC Champions Summit press conference with Conor McGregor, held at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas ahead of BKFC 48, McGregor announced the additions of Yoel Romero, Thiago Santos, Derek Brunson, and Aspen Ladd to the BKFC roster.

    Romero and Santos were the particular focuses of the announcement — highlighting their striking power and their veteran statuses.

    BKFC Announces Four Signings, Including Yoel Romero And Thiago Santos

    Romero and Santos, in fact, faced off in MMA just a year-and-a-half ago. The two faced off during the PFL vs. Bellator broadcast, with Romero, who was representing Bellator, winning via a clear unanimous decision.

    Romero has not fought in MMA since the win, while Santos had one more fight, a short-notice loss to eventual 2024 PFL heavyweight champion Denis Goltsov during the regular season.

    Romero — a freestyle wrestling silver medalist at the 2000 Olympics and a former freestyle wrestling World and Pan-American champion — went 16-7 in professional MMA, including a 9-4 UFC record. Romero scored victories over the likes of Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and Chris Weidman, but was unsuccessful in middleweight title challenges of Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.

    Romero then had a five-fight stint in Bellator, going 3-2 — which included the win over Santos and an unsuccessful title shot against then-Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov.

    Santos fought in the UFC for about a decade, but his biggest stretch came when he jumped from middleweight to light heavyweight. Santos would finish Eryk Anders, Jimi Manuwa, and Jan Blachowicz, receiving a title shot against then-champ Jon Jones at UFC 239. Santos would lose in a controversial decision. That would be the start of a downward stretch Santos never recovered from, losing all but one of his fights since the Jones loss.

    After his tenure with the UFC, Santos fought in the PFL, debuting with a loss to Rob Wilkinson — a bout that would be overturned to a no contest.

    Brunson came into the UFC as Strikeforce was being merged with the promotion and slowly being folded. Brunson earned victories over the likes of Lorenz Larkin, Uriah Hall, Lyoto Machida, and Kevin Holland, as well as losses to Souza, Whittaker, Adesanya, Anderson Silva, Jared Cannonier, and Dricus Du Plessis. Brunson fought in MMA once after his UFC days — a win over Ray Cooper III at the 2023 PFL World Championships.

    Ladd debuted in Invicta in 2015 and went unbeaten in five fights before joining the UFC two years later. Ladd won her first three UFC bouts before a loss to Germaine de Randamie. Ladd would struggle with consistent success — and had a near-two-year period of inactivity at one point — before parting ways with the UFC after a 2022 loss to Raquel Pennington.

    Ladd debuted in PFL in November of that year with a win over former Bellator champion Julia Budd. She then competed in the 2023 women’s featherweight season, losing to Olena Kolesnyk but defeating Karolina Sobek. Ladd missed the playoffs but fought in a showcase bout later that year, losing to current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison.

    Ladd’s last MMA fight came at the Bellator Champions Series event in Paris in May 2024, defeating Ekaterina Shakalova.

  • UFC Targeting Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd For UFC 273

    UFC is currently looking to pair up Irene Aldana and Aspen Ladd for their April 9th event, per reports.

    The fight isn’t finalized but is currently in the process of being made, per a report from Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes. Should the fight be made official, it would join UFC 273.

    The matchup places two of the higher-ranked bantamweights up against each other. Aldana currently sits third in the division’s official rankings, with Ladd just trailing behind in fourth place.

    A win for either fighter would put them a step closer to being in the title conversation, one that has recently changed amid the crowning of new champion Julianna Peña.

    Ladd Set For Bantamweight Return

    Aspen Ladd
    Aspen Ladd, Image Credit: Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

    The potential booking could mark Ladd’s return to bantamweight—a division she has not competed in since late 2019.

    Ladd’s last fight was a short-notice appearance at featherweight, where she lost a decision to Norma Dumont. She was pulled from a fight earlier in October, as she fell ill while attempting to cut down to the bantamweight limit.

    Ladd’s fight in the fall put an end to an unlucky two-year period where she was pulled from four different fights. One of the bouts was thrown out due to her opponent being injured. Another was canceled in 2020 after she tore her ACL and MCL.

    Aldana is currently riding the momentum of a finish victory she scored against Yana Kunitskaya in July. That fight put her back into the win column.

    Her previous fight was in October 2020, where she lost a five-round decision to the now #2-ranked Holly Holm. Aldana has spent her entire UFC run at bantamweight, attaining six wins and four losses in that time.

    Who do you see winning this matchup? And where do you think a win would put either fighter in the title picture?

  • Aspen Ladd Chalks Up Miesha Tate’s Criticism as “Trying To Get Views”

    Aspen Ladd thinks Miesha Tate’s criticism of her was for personal gain.

    Aspen Ladd is still defending herself from the criticism thrown her way. Following her last outing at UFC Vegas 40, she took some judgment from fans and media because of the way her coach/boyfriend spoke to her during the fight.

    One of the loudest voices sending shade Ladd’s way was former UFC Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate.

    Miesha Tate
    Miesha Tate (Image Credit: Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

    Ladd and Tate have been involved in multiple occasions of beef over the last few months. Ladd has her theory on why Tate has been going in on her.

    “I think she looks at the world through the lens of her own experiences,” Ladd said to MMA Fighting. “I mean, we all do. I think she had a very, very negative experience with her past relationship and it became very public for a while. She was with a coach for a very long time and there was a lot of he said, she said going on there. And who knows? I don’t know.”

    Tate spoke out about Ladd and her missed weight for her UFC Vegas 38 bout. She called Ladd a cheater and then went off on her again following the incident at UFC Vegas 40. Tate cited having a similar situation with a coach as a significant other and that is why she spoke out about Ladd’s situation.

    “She tends to comment on when other people are a little bit down and I’m not a fan of that style of being a person,” Ladd explained. “She’s trying to get views. It’s the world that we’re living in now, and media, social media, all of it, it’s like, ‘Well look at me.’ She’s trying to do something to garner that, and that’s totally fine, especially when it’s someone you want to fight—as long as they back up what they’re saying.”

    This growing animosity between Ladd and Tate would make for a great fight. Ladd has been pushing to set up a bout with Tate ever since she returned from her retirement. However, Tate is not interested. She has stated that she does not want to face Ladd inside the Octagon until Ladd has proven she can get her weight-cutting issues under control.

    Would you like to see Aspen Ladd and Miesha Tate fight?

  • Miesha Tate Explains Why She Won’t Fight Aspen Ladd

    Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate has explained why she won’t be accepting a fight against Aspen Ladd anytime soon.

    Tate returned to the UFC earlier this year after nearly five years in retirement. She originally stepped away from the sport following back-to-back losses to Amanda Nunes, which saw the 135-pound title leave her possession, and Raquel Pennington.

    In the UFC Vegas 31 co-main event, Tate stepped out of retirement by sending veteran Marion Reneau into it. With a third-round TKO, the former champ announced her arrival back onto the bantamweight ladder. But her charge to the belt stalled at the hands of Ketlen Vieira last month. In the UFC Vegas 43 main event, Tate was comfortably beaten on the scorecards.

    While her next opponent is far from decided, Tate has revealed it certainly won’t be one contender.

    Tate Calls On Ladd To “Show Some Kind Of Progression”

    Tate has been developing a rivalry with Aspen Ladd, a feud which has fostered into a bitter back-and-forth in recent months. Tate initially revealed interest in a clash with Ladd, a sentiment shared by the Californian in an interview with MMA News. However, relations soured after Ladd’s weight miss ahead of UFC Vegas 38 in October.

    After Ladd weighed in over the limit and appeared visibly unwell on the scales, Tate showed no sympathy, accusing her of attempting to “cheat.” The veteran was slammed by both Ladd and her coach for trying to kick her while she was down.

    Despite Ladd, who went up to featherweight in her last outing, suggesting she intends on returning to 135 pounds to face Tate, “Cupcake” doesn’t share the same enthusiasm for the grudge match. In a video uploaded to her YouTube channel, the former 135-pound UFC titleholder responded to Ladd’s callout, stating she wouldn’t consider facing the #4-ranked bantamweight until she’s proven she can make the weight.

    “Aspen Ladd has called me out to a fight at 135 pounds. I’m afraid that I’m going to waste an entire camp training for a fight that may very well end at the scale,” Tate explained. “Aspen Ladd has missed weight three times in her MMA career and one time she failed to make it to the fight due to weight cutting issues.

    UFC fighter Aspen Ladd shakes, almost collapses on stage after missing weight for fight in Las Vegas - ABC News
    Aspen Ladd On the Scales

    “So all in all four times. Go to PI (performance institute) show some kind of progression. If one of these other bantamweights wants to take that risk, then hats off to them. If Aspen Ladd can show up, make 135 pounds and have a good performance then we might be talking.” (h/t BJPenn.com)

    Despite her setback against Vieira, Tate remains motivated to make her way back to the top of the mountain. However, with her friend and occasional teammate Julianna Peña now sitting on the throne, the 35-year-old suggested she could be forced to pursue the flyweight belt instead. If that happens, a clash between Tate and Ladd will become even more distant.

    How do you think a fight between Miesha Tate and Aspen Ladd would play out?

  • Aspen Ladd Is Heading Back To Bantamweight, Wants Miesha Tate Next

    Aspen Ladd has her sights set on a return to bantamweight.

    The past few months have been a bit drama-filled for UFC’s Aspen Ladd. She missed weight, made weight in another division, made some enemies, and lost a fight. Now, she is in the process of getting herself back on track and she has a good idea of where she would like to head next, back to bantamweight and against Miesha Tate.

    Ladd confirmed to MMA Junkie that she will “definitely” be returning to the bantamweight division. Her last bout was a one-off at featherweight against Norma Dumont in October. She lost that bout just a week after she missed weight for her originally scheduled bout against Macy Chiasson.

    One of the loudest critics when she missed weight was the former champion, Miesha Tate. Tate also spoke on the harsh cornering Ladd received from her coach, Jim West. Tate stated that she knows from personal experience the problems that could arise from a fighter and coach dating.

    “I think she’s definitely stirred the pot quite a bit,” Ladd said of Tate. “We all have life experiences, right? But without knowing what’s happened to another person, you can’t just apply, like, your triggers and what’s wrong with you to them. She has a tendency to see the world through what’s happened to her in the past.”

    Tate spoke out on Ladd’s professionalism on the scale. Tate accused Ladd of cheating and began a Twitter feud with her and her coach. Even before the arguments, Ladd was persuing a bout against Tate. These comments have now just solidified her desire to take on Tate.

    “I don’t want to talk sh-t, but I definitely want that fight,” Ladd said. “You said some things; let’s go handle this like adults here.”

    Tate is coming off a loss to Ketlen Vieira on Nov. 20. This was the first loss suffered by Tate since returning to the UFC following the birth of her children and a brief retirement. Tate is currently sitting in the #7 spot of the official bantamweight rankings. With Ladd at number four, it could be a fight that Tate is willing to take.

    Do you want to see Ladd and Tate settle their beef inside the Octagon?