Aspen Ladd to face Julia Budd in PFL debut at 145lbs

When Cris Cyborg defeated Julia Budd she had defended the Bellator MMA Featherweight Championship 3 times and only had defeats to Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey.  Facing Cyborg at Bellator 238 Budd would lose her world championship via a 4th round TKO before winning two more decisions with the promotion and signing with the PFL as a free agent.

Budd won her first bout at 155lbs against MMA veteran Kaitlin Young before dropping her second fight to Muay Thai standout Genah Fabian.   Budd was scheduled to face Kayla Harrison earlier in the year however an injury canceled the bout.  Aspen Ladd was most recently a top 10 bantamweight with the UFC however after consecutive missed weights for fights, she was released from her contract.

Only 27 years of age Aspen Ladd is considered a gifted grappler who is 9-3 at the age of 24 years old with her only defeats coming to GDR, Norma Dumont, and Raquel Pennington.   Ladd has 7 finishes in her 9 pro victories including a TKO victories over former Cris Cyborg opponents Yana Kunitskaya, Tonya Evinger, and Lina Lansburg.

For the PFL this will be their first female 145lbs fight in the promotional history, with the expectation that they are going to continue trying to build the weight division into the promotion. Bellator which currently boasts the best female featherweight division in the sport is expected to continue investing in the promotion that Cris Cyborg has established as the #1 organization for female fighters at 145lbs.