It looks like one of the bantamweight division’s top prospects has seen the end of her UFC contract after years of struggles to make the bantamweight limit.
All things considered, Aspen Ladd’s apparent exit from the UFC comes as no surprise. Nearly eight years into her pro MMA career, Ladd has had trouble on the scales of one note or another practically every year, stretching all the way back to her Invicta days. In her five years fighting in the Octagon, Ladd has had four fights cancelled during fight week.
When asked about the bantamweight’s future with the promotion during a recent press conference, Dana White hinted that her time in the UFC may be at an end.
“I don’t know,” White said when asked about Ladd’s future, before correcting himself. “I do know, but we should probably talk about that at the appropriate time.”
On Tuesday, September 27th Ladd’s profile was removed from the UFC’s active portion of their online roster, and from their rankings eligibility pool. While that isn’t always the definitive word on a whether or not a fighter’s contract has been canceled, this time around that seems almost certain to be the case.
Ladd (9-3) is currently riding two straight losses, with only one victory in her last four bouts after opening her career on an eight-fight unbeaten streak. Her most recent fight came against former title contender Raquel Pennington, at UFC 273 back in April. Ladd lost that contest via unanimous decision.
Interestingly, Sara McMann—who was set to fight Ladd at UFC Vegas 60 earlier in September, before Ladd missed weight—has also had her profile removed from the UFC roster. In a recent post on Instagram, McMann noted that she had been paid by the UFC for her cancelled fight. As a result, MMA Fighting reports that the former Olympic silver medalist had technically completed her UFC contract and is now testing the free agency market.
McMann (13-6) has traded wins and losses since returning from the birth of her son back in 2018. Most recently she defeated top rising Brazilian prospect Karol Rosa via decision at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus back in March.