Aspen Ladd will face an accomplished opponent in her Professional Fighters League debut.
The recently released UFC bantamweight contender will square off against ex-Bellator featherweight queen Julia Budd at the PFL Championships on Nov. 25. MMA Mania was first to report the booking. Ladd vs. Budd is expected to be contested at 145 pounds. The PFL thus far has only had a women’s lightweight division for its season format.
The PFL Championships take place at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York and feature six title bouts with $1 million at stake. The main card airs on pay-per-view and is headlined by a women's lightweight championship clash between Kayla Harrison and Lena Pacheco.
Ladd and the UFC parted ways following a seven-bout stint after the fighter endured multiple issues making weight ahead of her bouts. The 27-year-old Californian lost three of her last four Octagon appearances, including a decision defeat to Raquel Pennington at UFC 273. She was supposed to face Sara McMann on Sept. 17, but a bad weight cut led to the cancelation of that matchup.
Budd, meanwhile, joined PFL folllowing a 9-1 run in Bellator that saw her defend the 145-pound belt three times before relinquishing it to Cristiane Justino. “The Jewel” debuted in PFL with a decision triumph over Kaitlin Young before suffering an upset loss to an overweight Genah Fabian in a lightweight regular season bout this past May. A proposed matchup against two-time lightweight queen Kayla Harrison in July fell through after Budd suffered an injury.
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