May 8, 2016; Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands; during UFC Fight Night at Ahoy Rotterdam. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
Germaine de Randamie vs. Aspen Ladd to headline UFC Sacramento
Aspen Ladd will get her shot to take out the women’s bantamweight division’s top ranked contender, and a former UFC champion.
On Wednesday, UFC officials announced that the unbeaten Ladd will take on Germaine de Randamie in the main event of UFC Sacramento. The event will take place July 13 at the Golden1 Center and will air on ESPN+. The women’s bantamweight matchup was first reported by MMA Junkie.
Ladd had a big opportunity scheduled in March when she was slated to face Holly Holm at UFC 235. The fight was removed from the card as Holm will now challenge Amanda Nunes for the women’s bantamweight championship at UFC 239. The 24-year-old Ladd went on to face Sijara Eubanks for the second time in her professional career, defeating her by unanimous decision at UFC Rochester earlier this month. Ladd will look to make it nine straight wins — four straight in the UFC — as she takes on a former UFC champion.
De Randamie has not suffered defeat inside the Octagon since losing to Amanda Nunes in November 2013. “The Iron Lady” bounced back with back-to-back finishes of Larissa Pacheco and Anna Elmose before taking on Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 208 in February 2017. De Randamie would defeat Holm by unanimous decision to become the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion — a title she was then stripped of later on in the year. The just turned 35-year-old returned to action 21 months later to defeat Raquel Pennington by unanimous decision at UFC Denver in November 2018.
UFC Sacramento will also reportedly see the return of Urijah Faber to active competition as “The California Kid” is slated to take on Ricky Simon. Here is the current fight card for the UFC’s return to California:
- Germaine de Randamie vs. Aspen Ladd
- Urijah Faber vs. Ricky Simon
- Josh Emmett vs. Mirsad Bektic
- Andre Fili vs. Sheymon Moraes
- Ryan Hall vs. Darren Elkins
- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Livinha Souza
- Drakkar Klose vs. Beneil Dariush
- Nicco Montano vs. Sara McMann
- Karl Roberson vs. John Phillips
- Gian Villante vs. Mike Rodriguez
- Marvin Vettori vs. Cezar Ferreira
- Benito Lopez vs. Martin Day
