Aspen Ladd says she is feeling better after looking not so good at the UFC Sacramento official weigh-ins on Friday morning.
Aspen Ladd isn’t too worried about the difficult weight cut she went through ahead of UFC Sacramento.
The women’s bantamweight contender made weight on Friday ahead of her main-event fight with Germaine de Randamie, but it didn’t come without some adversity. Ladd stumbled her way to the scale at the official weigh-ins, seemingly barely making it up on her own — and she opted not to return on top of the scale for photo ops after hitting the 135-pound limit, instead standing beside it.
However, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), which oversees Saturday’s event, cleared her to fight after evaluating her following the weigh-ins — as of now, her fight with de Randamie, which could determine the next title challenger in the bantamweight division, is a go.
After Ladd had the chance to re-hydrate, she gave a positive update on how she felt.
“I feel fantastic now,” Ladd said on the UFC Sacramento ceremonial weigh-in show (transcript via MMA Junkie). “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.”
Ladd has typically had a difficult cut down to 135 pounds throughout her UFC career. In April 2018, a fight with Leslie Smith was scrapped on weigh-in day after Ladd came in heavy.
CSAC physician Dr. Gary Furness told ESPN’s Marc Raimondi that Ladd will be evaluated 90 minutes prior to her fight Saturday, but he isn’t expecting any issues to arise. Furness said Ladd was shivering on the scale Friday morning due to “nerves” as a result of being the main event and having missed weight in the past.
UFC Sacramento marks Ladd’s first main event opportunity in the Octagon. Ladd is undefeated in pro MMA and 3-0 in the UFC, while former UFC featherweight champ de Randamie is riding a four-fight winning streak. The card, which takes place at Golden1 Center, also features the return of Urijah Faber against Ricky Simon.