Dana White on the UFC cutting Aspen Ladd: “It had to happen”
Dana White has commented on the UFC’s decision to cut former top 15 women’s bantamweight Aspen Ladd from the promotion.
For a long time, Aspen Ladd was considered one of the top prospects in the women’s 135 division. Having entered the UFC with a 5-0 pro record that included a win over Sijara Eubanks, Ladd showed off an extremely brutal ground and pound game, picking up finishes over Lina Lansberg and Tonya Evinger in her first two fights. She followed these wins up with a second victory over Eubanks.
Ladd did suffer her first loss, as she came up short against Germaine de Randamie in 2019, but she bounced back with an impressive TKO win over Yana Kunitskaya. However, it was after the Kunitskaya fight that Ladd began to have issues with weight cutting.
She would miss weight for her next four scheduled bouts, having fights with Julianna Pena, Sara McMann, and Macy Chiasson. Ladd has also not won a fight since then, as both Norma Dumont and Raquel Pennington have picked up unanimous decision wins at her expense.
Aspen Ladd was scheduled to fight at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song, but once again missed weight. This would be the final straw for the UFC, who made the decision to terminate her contract.
Speaking with the media after the final episode of DWCS season 6, Dana White discussed Ladd’s departure from the UFC, stating:
“We tried to work with her. She’s a great kid. She’s a really nice person. It’s never fun when you have someone’s who’s actually talented – She’s a talented fighter, but part of the job is making weight.”
“She’s not made weight so many times. It had to happen. Not something you want to do, but something that had to be done,” added White. (H/T MMA Weekly).
It is unclear where Ladd will go next, with both PFL and Bellator likely candidates should she wish to continue competing at an elite level.
