Despite taking a short-notice featherweight main event in her most recent outing, Aspen Ladd is intent on returning to 135 pounds for her next fight.

Following a frustrating decision loss to Norma Dumont in October, Ladd said she’s back in the gym and preparing for a return to the women’s bantamweight division.

“My next fight will definitely be at bantamweight,” Ladd told MMA Junkie.

Ladd, 26, has endured a tumultuous two-year run in her professional career, with injuries – to both her and a few of her intended opponents – as well struggles with a weight cut leaving her out of action for 22 months. When she finally returned in October, she admits things just didn’t feel right.

“I overthought everything and underperformed,” Ladd said. “That’s the best way that I can describe it. I’m glad that I got back in there and fought, but I did not do anything that I needed to do. It was really just me not pulling the trigger, and I don’t know if it was the two years off or what, but at this point, I just want to get back in and really get back to myself as far as a fighter goes.”

Ladd took a little time off after the decision loss to travel but quickly returned to the gym. She said she’s made some changes to her approach based on her last performance and believes she’s on the right course.

“There were a couple of things, and it’s just basically attention to details and not getting comfortable, and one of the biggest changes that I made was I started working with a place called Game Fit,” Ladd said. “I feel like I’m going to die and throw up every day I’m there, which is great. It’s just like at this point, you’re not necessarily learning anything new, but it’s all in the details and finding people that will push you in the way that you need to be pushed.

“It’s really just pushing yourself to the brink every time. I mean, it’s physical the entire time, but it’s also a mental thing, and when you can suffer it that much, you’re going to be fine elsewhere.”

Ladd (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) said she’s eyeing February or March as a potential time to return to the octagon and insists it will be at 135 pounds, where she currently sits at No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s bantamweight rankings. She also knows exactly who she wants to face: Miesha Tate.

Tate (19-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) was openly critical of Ladd’s boyfriend and coach, Jim West, following the fight with Dumont and questioned his choice of approach in the corner. Ladd briefly addressed the topic but has remained largely quiet on the matter and doesn’t care to elaborate too much even now – but she does want to get her hands on Tate.

“I think she’s definitely stirred the pot quite a bit,” Ladd said of Tate. “We all have life experiences, right? But without knowing what’s happened to another person, you can’t just apply, like, your triggers and what’s wrong with you to them. She has a tendency to see the world through what’s happened to her in the past.”

Tate was coached for many years by her former boyfriend, Bryan Caraway – a relationship she has since labeled toxic. Ladd believes that experience helped shade Tate’s opinion, one with which she doesn’t necessarily agree.

“I don’t want to talk sh*t, but I definitely want that fight,” Ladd said. “You said some things; let’s go handle this like adults here.”

While she waits for her next assignment from the UFC, Ladd said she’s as dedicated as ever to her career and has put the frustration of her last outing behind.

“I have no regrets,” Ladd said. “It’s just a learning experience. I learned from it, growing from it, and on to the next one.”

Ladd said she is open to fighting at featherweight again in the future, especially if the opportunity is right. But her primary focus is 135 pounds, as well as making it to that mark in the most healthy way possible, and she’s currently using the services of the UFC Performance Institute to form the best plan – which includes not attempting to make consecutive weight cuts just two weeks apart, as she did in October.

“Every time I’ve tried to do it back-to-back like that, it hasn’t gone well,” Ladd said. “I really just have to take a long period of time. Like for the fight where it was Macy Chiasson getting pulled out, that was the best weight cut that I’ve had, and it was perfect, but I had been dieting and working out for like – to get to that point, it was about 12 weeks, and that’s about the time period it takes me to do it in a healthy and exact way. So probably no more back-to-back ’35s ever.

“That’s why ’45 has always been interesting to me because I can do a ’35 and then I can do a ’45 a few weeks later. That’s fine, but I just can’t do ’35 and then ’35.”

So for now, Ladd will continue toiling away in the gym. She’s hoping that Tate is willing to take a fight with her, but Ladd is willing to take anyone in the division. Until then, there won’t be much talking. She’ll let her performance do that next time out.

“There needs to be a statement,” Ladd said. “Until there’s another fight, there is no statement.”