Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight contenders Germaine de Randamie and Aspen Ladd will clash TONIGHT (July 13, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 155 from inside Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.
At 35 years of age, de Randamie has already been competing as a professional for 20 years. That’s a wild statistic, one that stands out considering her opponent is about a decade younger. All the same, “Iron Lady” has picked up a pair of wins over Top 5-ranked Bantamweights in her last two, even if one of those bouts was technically a title-winning Featherweight battle. There’s a reason Ladd is the favorite, however. The up-and-comer made her amateur debut at 18, winning multiple regional titles before jumping into high-level professional competition quickly. She’s done nothing but win inside the Octagon, prompting this elevation in level of competition.
Let’s take a closer look at the keys to victory for each woman:
Germaine de Randamie
Record: 8-3
Key Wins: Holly Holm (UFC 208), Raquel Pennington (UFC Fight Night 139), Julie Kedzie (UFC on FOX 8)
Key Losses: Amanda Nunes (UFC Fight for the Troops 3)
Keys to Victory: A highly decorated kickboxer/Muay Thai fighter, de Randamie relies heavily on mixed martial arts (MMA) fundamentals. A crisp one-two combination, hard kicks, and some nasty clinch work has carried de Randamie past a majority of her opponents, particularly since her takedown defense has improved.
Ladd does approximately the same thing in every fight, which should prove an advantage for someone with de Randamie’s experience. Ladd will walk de Randamie down and throw power shots at her, hope the de Randamie throws back, and then duck under those return punches into a takedown.
Hopefully, “Iron Lady” won’t fall for that trap.
Ideally, de Randamie will take advantage of the 25 minute nature of this contest — there’s no need to rush anything. If she focuses solely on moving her feet and jabbing for the first five minutes, it would be a brilliant move. Let’s see if Ladd can charge forward so confidently after a full five minutes of jabs to the nose.
In short, that should be the gameplan for de Randamie: stick and move. Once Ladd is a little slower, a little bloody, and generally just a bit less dangerous, de Randamie can switch up her offensive with heavier punches or commit to kicks more often.
Aspen Ladd
Record: 8-0
Key Wins: Sijaru Eubanks (UFC Fight Night 152, Invicta FC 21), Tonya Evinger (UFC 229), Lina Lansberg (UFC Fight Night 118)
Key Losses: None
Keys to Victory: Ladd is an aggressive, physical fighter. With her hands up high, Ladd walks straight to her opponent, throwing heat and waiting for the first opportunity to pursue a takedown. Once on top, Ladd is effective at advancing into dominant positions and finishing opponents with a hail of punches.
This is a fight of massive advantages: de Randamie should be able to beat up Ladd with ease on the feet, but Ladd can probably finish de Randamie should she secure top position just a single time. It’s a striker vs. grappler match up with immediate consequences for whoever fails to dictate the fight.
For Ladd, I’d like to see her double down on her opening aggression. As mentioned above, getting jabbed and kicked repeatedly is not going to improve her wrestling or conditioning. Throw combinations and test de Randamie’s takedown defense from the first bell — it just may lead to a quick takedown and finish. If it doesn’t, Ladd’s best chance of scoring a takedown is to make it a brawl and suddenly change levels anyway.
Bottom Line: It very well may be a title eliminator for the women’s Bantamweight division.
De Randamie admittedly does have a previous loss to Amanda Nunes, but it came in 2013 when “Iron Lady” was still relatively new to the sport. Since then, she’s won four straight against a higher-level of competition. If de Randamie has improved her wrestling/grappling defense enough to force a kickboxing match with Nunes, she has a genuine chance at upsetting “Lioness.”
I wouldn’t bet on it personally, but it’s not like there’s a ton of options.
Alternatively, a win for Ladd makes it four-straight inside the Octagon and raises her to a Top 5 ranking at 24 years old. While it very well may be too soon, that type of accomplishment is likely to see Ladd receive a title shot. Again, there’s not a ton of top-tier women’s Bantamweight contenders available, so UFC may just hope that Ladd rises to the occasion.
At UFC Fight Night 155, Germaine de Randamie and Aspen Ladd will square off in the main event. Which woman will have her hand raised?