Aspen Ladd

Aspen Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is competing in the Featherweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL).

Following an amateur run of 8–1, which included 6 finishes, Ladd signed with Invicta FC in late 2014.

A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional mixed martial arts career in Invicta FC before competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the Bantamweight division.

Ladd was born and grew up in Pioneer, California with two younger brothers and three younger sisters.

The younger of her brothers, Shaylor, is also a mixed martial artist.

After being homeschooled until then, Ladd briefly attended Folsom Lake College, but then terminated her studies to fully focus on her mixed martial arts career.

Having previously danced ballet and run long-distance, she started training martial arts around the age of 14 and made her amateur debut right after turning 18.

Ladd was scheduled to make her professional debut against Kristi Lopez on February 27, 2015, at Invicta FC 11.

However, Lopez suffered an injury in training and was replaced by decorated grappler Ana Carolina Vidal.

Ladd won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Ladd next faced Amanda Cooper on September 12, 2015, at Invicta FC 14.

She submitted Cooper with an armbar towards the end of the second round.

Ladd made her Bantamweight debut in a bout against Kelly McGill on March 11, 2016, at Invicta FC 16.

She won the fight via TKO in third round.

Ladd faced Jessica Hoy on July 29, 2016, at Invicta FC 18.

During the weigh ins, Ladd missed weight, coming in 2.1 lbs over the bantamweight limit.

She elected not to cut any additional weight and was fined 25 percent of her purse, which went to her opponent.

The bout proceeded at a catchweight of 138.1 lbs.

She won the fight via TKO in the second round.

Ladd would make her final appearance for the promotion when she faced Sijara Eubanks on January 14, 2017, at Invcita FC 21.

She won the fight via unanimous decision, marking the first time Ladd had failed to finish her opponent in her professional career.

Ladd was scheduled to make her UFC debut against Jessica Eye on July 7, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale.

However, the day of the event Ladd fell ill and the bout was canceled.

Ladd eventually made her UFC debut against Lina Länsberg on October 22, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 118.

She won the bout via TKO in the second round

Ladd was scheduled to face Leslie Smith on April 21, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 128.

At the weigh-ins, Ladd weighed in at 137.8 lbs, 1.8 lbs over the bantamweight non-title fight upper limit of 136 lbs.

Ladd offered Leslie an additional $5,000 on top of her 20% purse deduction.

However, the fight was removed from the card after Smith refused to fight at catchweight.

Ladd next faced former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion Tonya Evinger on October 6, 2018, at UFC 229.

She won the fight via TKO in the first round.

This win earned her the Performance of the Night award.

Ladd was scheduled to face Holly Holm on March 2, 2019, at UFC 235.

However, on January 31, 2019, it was reported the fight would no longer take place at the event.

A rematch with Sijara Eubanks took place on May 18, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 152.

She won the fight via unanimous decision.

This fight earned her the Fight of the Night award.

Ladd faced Germaine de Randamie on July 13, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 155.

At the weigh-ins for the event on July 12, Ladd attracted media attention for having a noticeably difficult weight cut which included her trembling on the scale and wincing in pain while weighing in and was described by a journalist covering the event as "[looking] like she was on the verge of a serious medical mishap."

However, Ladd was cleared by the California State Athletic Commission to fight and hours later at the ceremonial weigh-ins she dismissed the seriousness of the situation by saying "I feel fantastic, now. 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."