The UFC has finalized a women’s bantamweight contest that will go down in August. Top ten contender Aspen Ladd (9-3) will return when she takes on former title challenger and Olympic Silver Medalist Sara McMann (13-6).
All Access MMA was the first to report the booking a couple of days ago. Originally, McMann and Ladd were supposed to fight in June of 2020. However, an injury forced the fight to be cancelled and now the UFC has decide to revisit it.
Sara McMann will be looking to win her second straight fight when she meets Ladd in August. The last time we saw her was back in March when she took on Karol Rosa and won a unanimous decision.
It was her first fight in over a year. Prior to that, she fought the now champion Julianna Pena at UFC 257. After looking good early in that fight, McMann was submitted in the third round. However, her showing in that contest should give her confidence that she can still compete at the highest level.
UFC turnaround for Ladd?
Oh how the narrative has changed regarding Aspen Ladd. Just a few years ago, Ladd was being looked at as one of the bright young stars in women’s MMA. In fact, many thought that she could become a UFC champion.
However, her stock has plummeted over the past couple of years due to injuries and poor performances. We last saw her last month at UFC 273 when she lost a decision to Raquel Pennington.
Overall, Ladd is now just 1-3 in her last four fights after going 8-0 to start her professional career. Ladd just hasn’t looked really comfortable to me the last few times we’ve seen her inside the UFC.
Her corner has also drawn a ton of criticism for their game plans and their ability to motivate her as a fighter. Ladd still has a ton of talent, but she really needs to turn things around quickly if she wants her career to have a chance. Getting a good win over Sara McMann would be a great way to start.