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Aspen Ladd will debut for BKB on Saturday in Miami.
Aspen Ladd believes the next year will be great for women’s mixed martial arts.
Ladd recently weighed in on the merger between the Professional Fighters League and Most Valuable Promotions. She’s slightly skeptical about the merger, considering things didn’t play out as expected with PFL’s acquisition of Bellator in 2023, but remains optimistic.
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Aspen Ladd discussed MVP-PFL merger, critiques UFC’s handling of women’s MMA
Ladd also notes that women’s boxing under MVP and bare-knuckle boxing under BKFC are rising in the meantime. With former Bellator president Scott Coker set to launch his own promotion next year, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete believes it’ll be a bright year ahead for women’s MMA.
“Because with the merger between, or supposed to be a merger, right, with PFL and Bellator, you thought, oh, it’d be great,” Ladd told Sherdog’s Sean Sheehan. “They’re absorbing the weight classes is going to be one big thing, but it wasn’t. That was a disaster. There’s the UFC not really putting much effort, time, or attention into their women’s divisions, but during that same time period, Bare Knuckle’s taken off. Boxing has really taken off with MVP. But I think that the MVP-PFL merger will be a huge thing. I know obviously Scott Coker’s coming back. So I think like next year is gonna be great. The last couple haven’t been.”
Ladd also believes women’s MMA in the UFC is suffering due to multiple factors. She claims the promotion hasn’t been giving due attention to women’s MMA and is signing fighters when they’re too green, referencing Bella Mir’s loss on Dana White’s Contender Series.
“And we’ll see what the UFC chooses to do,” Ladd added. “Like they had a couple hot pros, well, one hot prospect last night, and that didn’t go how they wanted. And they’ve brought in a couple girls too, and I just think they’re bringing them in too early, or they’re building their records on people where they’re not really getting that experience before they get to the big show, and then they get to the big show and they’re potential stars are falling flat, right? So, like, back in the day, you had a bunch of promotions, like Invicta; Invicta was amazing. That’s where I did my first five fights, where you’re fighting real competition before you get to the big stage, or the biggest stage, right? So, I think it’s really suffering from not much care; there’s been a lack of opportunity and then pushing young fighters a little too fast.”
Ladd (12-5) fought in the UFC from 2017 to 2022 before signing with the PFL. She switched to Bellator for one fight after PFL dropped the women’s featherweight division in 2024. The American has since shifted focus to bare-knuckle boxing, where she scored a first-round knockout in her debut last November.
Ladd is now scheduled to fight Bianca Daimoni in a bare-knuckle boxing bout under the BKB banner on Aug. 29 in Miami.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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