Aspen Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who is competing in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

(PFL). A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

career in

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

before competing in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC) in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division.

Background

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

. After being

homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

until then, Ladd briefly attended

Folsom Lake College Folsom Lake College (FLC) is a public community college in Folsom, California. It is part of California Community Colleges system and the Los Rios Community College District. Folsom Lake College serves the community with classes offered at it ...

, but then terminated her studies to fully focus on her mixed martial arts career. Having previously danced

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

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

Mixed martial arts career

Invicta FC

Following an amateur run of 8–1, which included 6 finishes, Ladd signed with

in late 2014. 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.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ladd was scheduled to make her UFC debut against

Jessica Eye Jessica Jo-Anne Eye (born July 27, 1986) is a former American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently signed with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). She competed as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Champio ...

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 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United Stat ...

. 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 " ookinglike 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." She lost the fight via technical knockout 16 seconds into round one, setting a women's bantamweight record and suffering her first professional loss. Despite initially accepting the loss in a post-fight interview, Ladd appealed it in October on the grounds of premature stoppage. However, the athletic commission voted 3–2 against the appeal, leaving the TKO loss intact. Ladd's bantamweight license was suspended by California State Athletic Commission after gaining 18 percent of her weight between weigh-ins and fight day against Germaine de Randamie at UFC on ESPN+ 13. "Extensive medical documentation" is needed to clear suspension. Ladd faced

Yana Kunitskaya Yana Santos (; November 11, 1989) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the women's bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Prior to joining the UFC, Santos competed for Invicta FC where she ...

on December 7, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN 7 ''UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik'' (also known as '' UFC on ESPN 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 7, 2019 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., United States. ...

. She won the fight via technical knockout in round three. Ladd was set to face Julianna Peña on March 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN 8. However, Peña pulled out of the fight in early March citing an injury. In turn, promotion officials elected to remove Ladd from the card entirely, and the pairing was expected to be rescheduled at a future event. Instead Ladd was scheduled to face

Sara McMann Sara McMann (born September 24, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. She is a former Olympic wrestler and received a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympi ...

on June 27, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. However, Ladd suffered a training injury, tearing both her ACL and MCL and was forced to withdraw from the event. Ladd was scheduled to face Macy Chiasson on July 24, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw. However, the bout was scrapped due to Chiasson suffering an injury. The bout was rescheduled to UFC Fight Night 193 on October 2, 2021. At the weigh-ins, Ladd weighed in at 137 pounds, one pound over the bantamweight non-title limit; due to health concerns resulting from her weight cut, the bout against Chiasson was cancelled. Ladd faced Norma Dumont, replacing injured Holly Holm, in a featherweight bout on October 16, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 195. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Ladd was scheduled to face Irene Aldana on April 9, 2022, at UFC 273. However, Aldana withdrew in late March for unknown reasons and was replaced by former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger Raquel Pennington. She lost the bout via unanimous decision. Ladd was scheduled to face

on August 13, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 41. However, Ladd was tested positive for COVID-19 and she was forced to withdraw from the event, and they were rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 210 on September 17. At the weigh-ins, Ladd weighed in at 138 pounds, two pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. As a result the bout was scrapped. After missing weight for the third time in her UFC career leading to a fight cancellation, Ladd was released from the UFC.

Professional Fighters League

After her UFC release, it was announced on October 4, 2022, that Ladd had signed with the

and would compete in the featherweight division the next year. Ladd faced

Julia Budd Julia Budd (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Kickboxing, kickboxer competing in the Featherweight (MMA), featherweight division. She was the first List of Bellator MMA champions#Women's Featherweight ...

on November 25, 2022, at PFL 10. She won her promotional debut via split decision.

2023 Season

Ladd started off the 2023 PFL season against Olena Kolesnyk on April 7, 2023 at PFL 2. At weigh-ins, Kolesnyk came in at 146.4 lbs, .4 pounds over the limit for featherweight; she was fined 20% of her purse and was given a point deduction in the standings. Ladd lost via majority decision. Ladd faced Karolina Sobek on June 16, 2023 at PFL 5. She won the fight via an armbar submission in the second round. As a replacement for

, Ladd faced Kayla Harrison on November 24, 2023, at PFL 10. She lost the bout by unanimous decision. Ladd faced Ekaterina Shakalova on May 17, 2024, at Bellator Champions Series 2. She won the fight by unanimous decision.

Global Fight League

Ladd was scheduled to face

Alejandra Lara Alejandra Lara (born 4 August 1994) is a Colombian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. She had previously most notably competed in Bellator MMA, where she was a title contender. She is also known by the nickname " ...

in the inaugural Global Fight League event on May 24, 2025 at GFL 1. However, all GFL events were cancelled indefinitely.

Personal life

Ladd is in a relationship with her MMA coach Jim West.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (One time) ** Fight of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 12–5 , Ekaterina Shakalova , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator Champions Series 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–5 , Kayla Harrison , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 10 (2023) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Karolina Sobek , Submission (armbar) , PFL 5 (2023) , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:57 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Olena Kolesnyk , Decision (majority) , PFL 2 (2023) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 ,

, Decision (split) , PFL 10 (2022) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Raquel Pennington , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 273 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 , Norma Dumont , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Ladd vs. Dumont , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:33 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 , Germaine de Randamie , TKO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: de Randamie vs. Ladd , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:16 ,

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Sijara Eubanks , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Tonya Evinger , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:26 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Lina Länsberg , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:33 ,

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, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Sijara Eubanks , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 21: Anderson vs. Tweet , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Jessica Hoy , TKO (elbows and punches) , Invicta FC 18: Grasso vs. Esquibel , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:14 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Kelly McGill , TKO (elbows and punches) , Invicta FC 16: Hamasaki vs. Brown , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:47 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Amanda Cooper , Submission (armbar) , Invicta FC 14: Evinger vs. Kianzad , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:42 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Ana Carolina Vidal , TKO (punches and elbows) , Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 ,

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Amateur mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Roma Pawelek , Technical submission (guillotine choke) , Tuff-N-Uff - The Future Stars of MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:45 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Cynthia Calvillo , Decision (unanimous) , West Coast FC 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , McClellan, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Madeline Simmons Kidder , TKO (punches) , West Coast FC 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Silvia Babaeghian , Decision (unanimous) , Ultimate Reno Combat 44 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Leslie Rodriguez , Decision (unanimous) , West Coast FC 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Veronica Carousos , Submission (armbar) , Ultimate Reno Combat 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Karla Gonzalez-Santoyo , TKO (strikes) , Ultimate Reno Combat 41 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:08 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Michelle Mix , Submission (armbar) , Ultimate Reno Combat 40 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jaimelene Nievera , Submission (Americana) , Montbleu Resort & WFC - MMA at the Lake , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:14 , Lake Tahoe, Nevada, United States , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ladd, Aspen 1995 births Mixed martial artists from California Sportspeople from Folsom, California American female mixed martial artists Living people Bantamweight mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters 21st-century American sportswomen