Invicta Fighting Championships star Aspen Ladd has officially been signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and will make her organizational debut against the returning Veteran in Jessica Eye.
The UFC fight will take place at the event that will mark the conclusion of this season of the hit television reality series on FS1, The Ultimate Fighter. The TUF 25 Finale will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 7.
The 30-year old Cleveland, Ohio native, Eye, is looking to bounce back from four consecutive losses in a row. Eye brings to the octagon a professional mixed martial arts record of 11-6, but the four recent losses were all via decision.
Top ranked fighters Miesha Tate, Julianna Pena, Sara McMann, and Bethe Correia, were all unsuccessful in trying to finish the bantamweight fighter.
Eye initially stated that she wanted to take a year off after the September loss to Correia, but eight months later here we are. She gained a lot of notoriety in the UFC after landing a punch that exploded the cauliflower ear built up on her opponent, Leslie Smith in 2014.
Welcome Aspen Ladd
Ladd, a resident of California, comes to the UFC with a 5-0 pro record. She is a member of the MMAGold Fight Team and is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Sijara Eubanks at Invicta FC 21 in January.
The undefeated Ladd may only have a third of the professional fights that Eye has but she has the tools to get the job done.
The fight against Eubanks was her first pro fight that went to a decision. She holds submission and technical knockout victories over the four ladies who stepped into the cage with her to include Amanda Bobby Cooper who is currently in the UFC system. The only blemish on Ladd's career came in the amateur rankings, a unanimous decision to another current UFC fighter in Cynthia Calvillo.
Ladd initially hinted days ago that she had a big announcement coming and speculation led to the fight with Eye, but the UFC didn't officially announce it until today.
Monday, May 1st I'm going to announce something big 😎#MMAGOLD
— Aspen Ladd (@AspenLaddMMA) April 27, 2017
Also on the card
The UFC announced the Eye-Ladd fight along with three other bouts to be featured on the card.
"Former Invicta FC champion Angela Hill will look to follow up her Fight of the Night battle against Jessica Andrade with a big win when she takes on Ashley Yoder in a strawweight bout," the UFC release stated.
Also added, a middleweight fight between Ed Herman and CB Dollaway, and a light heavyweight matchup as Marcel Fortuna squares off with Jordan Johnson.
