Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate has been one of Aspen Ladd’s biggest (and most outspoken) critics, railing against the 135-pound up-and-comer for her troubles on the scale, as well as the “abuse” in her corner.
Unfortunately, all that back-and-forth drama on social media will not be leading to a Tate vs. Ladd showdown, at least not for the foreseeable future. That’s because “Cupcake” doesn’t want to spend six figures on her training camp and not get the money back on fight night.
“Aspen Ladd has called me out to a fight at 135 pounds,” Tate said on her YouTube page (transcribed by Jed Meshew). “I’m afraid that I’m going to waste an entire camp training for a fight that may very well end at the scale. Aspen Ladd has missed weight three times in her MMA career and one time she failed to make it to the fight due to weight cutting issues. So all in all, four times. Go to PI (Performance Institute) show some kind of progression. If one of these other bantamweights wants to take that risk then hats off to them. If Aspen Ladd can show up, make 135 pounds and have a good performance then we might be talking. But until then, I’m out. It’s not personal, it’s professional.”
Ladd, 26, has been one of the most inconsistent fighters on the scale in recent memory and it’s tough to defend any criticism regarding her weight. But Tate, 35, may not be in a position to pick and choose her fights after falling to Ketlen Vieira last November.
As of this writing, Ladd (9-2) is ranked No. 4 at 135 pounds, three spots above the No. 7-ranked Tate. You could always pair “Cupcake” with Yana Kunitskaya, seated in between them at No. 6, but Ladd is still the bigger fight, at least in terms of box office.