Aspen Ladd

Aspen Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional mixed martial arts career in Invicta FC. As of February 10, 2020, she is #3 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings and #10 in UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

Invicta FC

Following an amateur run of 8–1, which included 6 finishes, Ladd signed with Invicta FC.

Ladd was scheduled to make her professional debut against Kristi Lopez on February 27, 2015 at Invicta FC 11. However, Lopez suffered an injury in training and was replaced by decorated grappler Ana Carolina Vidal. Ladd won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Ladd next faced Amanda Cooper on September 12, 2015 at Invicta FC 14. She submitted Cooper with an armbar towards the end of the second round.

Ladd made her Bantamweight debut in a bout against Kelly McGill on March 11, 2016 at Invicta FC 16. She won the fight via TKO in third round.

Ladd faced Jessica Hoy on July 29, 2016 at Invicta FC 18. During the weigh ins, Ladd missed weight, coming in 2.1 lbs over the bantamweight limit. She elected not to cut any additional weight and was fined 25 percent of her purse, which went to her opponent. The bout proceeded at a catchweight of 138.1 lbs. She won the fight via TKO in the second round.

Ladd would make her final appearance for the promotion when she faced Sijara Eubanks on January 14, 2017 at Invcita FC 21. She won the fight via unanimous decision, marking the first time Ladd had failed to finish her opponent in her professional career.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ladd was scheduled to make her UFC debut against Jessica Eye on July 7, 2017 at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale. However, the day of the event Ladd fell ill and the bout was canceled.

Ladd eventually made her UFC debut against Lina Länsberg on October 22, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 118. She won the bout via TKO in the second round, with a powerful war cry until the referee was forced to intervene.

Ladd was scheduled to face Leslie Smith on April 21, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 128. At the weigh-ins, Ladd weighed in at 137.8 lbs, 1.8 lbs over the bantamweight non-title fight upper limit of 136 lbs. Ladd offered Leslie an additional $5,000 on top of her 20% purse deduction. However, the fight was removed from the card after Smith refused to fight at catchweight.

Ladd next faced former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Tonya Evinger on October 6, 2018 at UFC 229. She won the fight via TKO in the first round. This win earned her the Performance of the Night award.

Ladd was scheduled to face Holly Holm on March 2, 2019 at UFC 235. However, on January 31, 2019 it was reported the fight would no longer take place at the event.

A rematch with Sijara Eubanks took place on May 18, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 152. She won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned her the Fight of the Night award.

Ladd faced Germaine de Randamie on July 13, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 155. At the weigh-ins for the event on July 12, Ladd attracted media attention for having a noticeably difficult weight cut which included her trembling on the scale and wincing in pain while weighing in and was described by a journalist covering the event as "[looking] like she was on the verge of a serious medical mishap." However, Ladd was cleared by the California State Athletic Commission to fight and hours later at the ceremonial weigh-ins she dismissed the seriousness of the situation by saying "I feel fantastic, now. I mean it’s always a little bit rough, that was particularly rough but I made it, I’m feeling good, and I’m ready for tomorrow." She lost the fight via technical knockout 16 seconds into round one, setting a women's bantamweight record and suffering her first professional loss. Despite initially accepting the loss in a post-fight interview, Ladd appealed it in October on the grounds of premature stoppage. However, the athletic commission voted 3–2 against the appeal, leaving the TKO loss intact.

Ladd's bantamweight licencee was suspended by California State Athletic Commission after gaining 18 percent of her weight between weigh-ins and fight day against Germaine de Randamie at UFC on ESPN+ 13. "Extensive medical documentation" is needed to clear suspension.

Ladd faced Yana Kunitskaya on December 7, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 7. She won the fight via technical knockout in round three.

Ladd was set to face Julianna Pena on March 28, 2020 at UFC on ESPN 8. However, Peña pulled out of the fight in early March citing an injury. In turn, promotion officials elected to remove Ladd from the card entirely, and the pairing is expected to be rescheduled at a future event. Instead Ladd was scheduled to faceSara McMann on June 27, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. However, Ladd suffereda training injury, torn both her ACL and MCL and was forced to withdraw from the event.

As of October 2018, Ladd is currently attending Folsom Lake College. Ladd has been dating her coach Jim West since her professional debut.

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Tonya Evinger
  • Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Sijara Eubanks