Aspen Ladd 'shocked' about headlining UFC Sacramento
Aspen Ladd didn't think a major opportunity like headlining UFC Sacramento would happen so quickly.
Over a week after her UFC Rochester victory over Sijara Eubanks in May, the 24-year-old was offered the main event slot opposite Germaine de Randamie at UFC Fight Night 155.
"I was absolutely shocked, nothing I expected," Ladd told theScore recently. "I thought I'd probably have the summer (off) and then contact me in the fall kind of thing. Which is usually what happens, but hey, I’m fine with the quick turnaround."
The undefeated bantamweight didn't hesitate to accept the matchup. However, she didn't find out about the bout right away.
The California native was hiking in the mountains, where there's very little reception, when the offer came down. Her coach and manager were frantically trying to relay the news so she could accept the fight.
"I was out in the woods and enjoying the day with my brothers and my dogs," Ladd said. "But I have absolutely no reception out there. I hit this one point of reception and I have like five or six missed calls. I usually only get calls when things are going on.
"So I call them back hoping I have some reception. I got a hold of (my coach and manager) and they were like 'well (the UFC) wants you to fight Germaine De Randamie in six weeks' OK, I'm doing the math in my head (then they added) '(the UFC) wants you to headline the Sacramento card' Who's going to turn that down?”
Ladd (8-0) has been given this clash after unexpectedly losing out on a fight against Holly Holm at UFC 235 earlier this year. She's facing a former women's featherweight champion in De Randamie, who's only lost to Amanda Nunes under the UFC banner.
Ladd knows she's squaring off against a tough opponent.
"This is going to be a classic fight of basically striker versus grappler. We're both top 10 in the world. She is very tough to finish, but I never go into a fight thinking I'm going to last five rounds or three rounds, whatever it is. I will do my very best to get the opponent out regardless of who it is and how much time I have. I am excited that I have five rounds, I haven’t had that before."
UFC Fight Night 155 takes place on July 13 at Golden1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.
Watch the full interview with Ladd below and subscribe to theScoreMMA Youtube channel here.