Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is eying a big showdown between top women’s Bantamweight contenders Irene Aldana and Aspen Ladd at a scheduled UFC 273 pay-per-view (PPV) event on April 9, 2022, in Brooklyn, N.Y., according to MMA Junkie.
Aldana — ranked No. 3 on the official UFC rankings — is coming off a first round knockout win over Yana Kunitskaya at UFC 264, her first victory since losing to former 135-pound title holder, Holly Holm, which stalled her momentum and hopes for a title shot.
Ladd (No. 4), on the other hand, is coming off a loss to Norma Dumont this past October in what was her Featherweight debut. Ladd failed to hit the 136-pound mark in her scheduled bout against Macy Chiasson a few weeks prior in what truly was a disturbing scene at the weigh-ins. As a result, the fight was canceled, prompting Ladd to move up to 145 pounds, though it seems to have been a one-time thing.
Afterward, Ladd drew the ire of former 135-pound champion Miesha Tate for the weigh-in debacle, which sparked a back-and-forth spat between the two. While Ladd campaigned for the fight, “Cupcake” wasn’t all that interested.
Nevertheless, the winner of this bout could inch closer to a shot at the title, which is currently in the hands of Julianna Pena, who defeated Amanda Nunes via rear-naked choke at UFC 269 earlier this month.
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