BKB signee Aspen Ladd blasts UFC's handling of women's MMA: 'Not much care'

Aspen Ladd, who recently signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), has criticized the UFC's approach to women's MMA while expressing optimism about emerging competition in the sport. Ladd believes the next year will be transformative for women's mixed martial arts, driven in part by the Professional Fighters League and Most Valuable Promotions merger and former Bellator president Scott Coker's upcoming promotion launch.

Ladd remained skeptical of the PFL-Bellator integration that concluded in 2023, noting that consolidating weight classes did not produce the positive results expected. However, she points to successes in women's boxing under MVP and bare-knuckle boxing under BKFC as signs that alternatives to the UFC are gaining traction and market share.

The former UFC fighter attributed women's MMA's stagnation partly to the promotion's lack of investment in female divisions. Ladd argued that the UFC signs female prospects too early before they accumulate sufficient fight experience. She cited Bella Mir's loss on Dana White's Contender Series as an example of promising talent being brought in prematurely. Ladd contrasted this with earlier models like Invicta FC, where she fought her first five bouts against quality opposition before joining the UFC.

"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 said. The 12-5 fighter competed in the UFC from 2017 to 2022 before moving to the PFL, then briefly to Bellator. She has now pivoted to bare-knuckle boxing, scoring a first-round knockout in her BKFC debut last November. Ladd is scheduled to face Bianca Daimoni in bare-knuckle competition on August 29 in Miami.