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The women’s bantamweight prospect will look to build off of her TKO win from this past December.
With the UFC back in the swing of things in terms of its event schedule, that means we should expect many fight bookings over the next several weeks, including a potentially intriguing women’s bantamweight tilt.
MMA Junkie reported that a matchup between rising star Aspen Ladd and former UFC title challenger Sara McMann is targeted for a Fight Night show on June 27th. Agreements are in place but an official announcement has not yet been ,ade.
Ladd (9-1) debuted in the UFC back in 2017 after beginning her career in Invicta FC. After stopping Lina Lansberg and Tonya Evinger in her first two UFC appearances, she once again bested Sijara Eubanks by unanimous decision. The 25-year-old got the main event call-up last July against Germaine de Randamie, but was dropped and finished in just 16 seconds. She bounced back with a third-round TKO of Yana Kunitskaya at UFC on ESPN in Washington DC later that December.
A known problem for Ladd has been her weight cutting, with multiple instances of visible shaking on the scale, along with an outright cancellation of her 2018 matchup vs. Leslie Smith. She didn’t have any noticeable issues in her last fight, so hopefully that remains the case moving forward.
McMann (12-5) ended a two-fight losing streak with a lopsided and impressive decision win over Lina Lansberg at UFC Raleigh this past January. The Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medalist had put her career on hold to give birth to her son, Lucas. Back in 2014, a then undefeated McMann challenged Ronda Rousey for her title, only to lose in 66 seconds. Her notable wins include Lauren Murphy, Jessica Eye, Tonya Evinger, and fellow former UFC women’s 135 lbs title challenger Alexis Davis.
There’s no word on where this UFC Fight Night card will take place, but Nevada is reportedly the frontrunner now that the state has eased its COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, with the UFC slated to hold shows at its APEX facility beginning May 30th.