Aspen Ladd Confirms Date And Opponent For BKFC Debut

After another lengthy layoff, Aspen Ladd will be returning to competition in November. She just will not have her gloves with her this time.

Ladd, who is best known for her 10-fight career with the UFC, has not fought since May 2024, when she collected a unanimous decision win over Ekaterina Shakalova in Bellator. She has since been linked to the BKFC, where she finally has her debut fight date set.

Ladd confirmed on Instagram that she will make her first walk to the BKFC ring on Nov. 15 against Shyanna Bintliff on the BKFC 84 undercard. The event marks the promotions' return to California, making Ladd the most notable local fighter on the card.

"So excited to finally be able to share this with everyone," Ladd wrote. "I'm making my [BKFC] debut on NOVEMBER 15TH in Palm Desert, California!!!"

The fight will be a featherweight bout, commencing at 145 pounds. With a win, Ladd already has enough name value to potentially challenge BKFC women's featherweight champion Jessica Borga, who recently fell short against Christine Ferea for the inaugural Queen of Violence title.

The 30-year-old was born and raised in Folsom, California, roughly 500 miles away from Palm Desert. The BKFC has yet to add her fight to the official event page website, but Ladd and Bintliff figure to knuckle up near the top of the card.

Ladd has been rumored to be with the promotion for nearly a year before finally putting pen to paper. The BKFC wanted her on BKFC 84 from the moment it announced the card, but could not pin down an opponent before finally landing on Bintliff.

Bintliff, 29, has one bare-knuckle fight under her belt. The former MMA veteran made her BKFC debut against Marisol Ruelas in August, where she emerged victorious with a second-round TKO.

Aspen Ladd makes BKFC debut after year-long layoff from MMA

Long layoffs have become the norm for Ladd, who will end an 18-month hiatus once she steps into the ring. Despite just turning 30 in March, Ladd's career has already been filled with a puzzling amount of highs and lows.

Before everything fell apart, Ladd signed with the UFC as a hot 22-year-old prospect from the female-only promotion Invicta FC. Five fights into her tenure, Ladd received her first main event in Sacramento as an 8-0 prospect against former champion Germaine de Randamie.

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Ladd entered the fight as the betting favorite but suffered the first loss of her career just 16 seconds into the first round. That July 2019 Fight Night card is the last time she fought in California.

Ladd rebounded with a TKO win over Yana Kunitskaya five months later, but she would never regain the momentum she once had. After two more losses, the UFC would release her following a string of weight issues that caused multiple bout cancellations.

Following a five-fight stint with the PFL, Ladd finally gets the fresh start her career needs. Although she is a credentialed grappler, Ladd transitions to bare-knuckle with a 50 percent knockout rate in MMA.

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