BKFC Signs Aspen Ladd, Targets Hometown Event For Debut

Aspen Ladd will be removing her gloves for her next fight.

After seven fights with the UFC and five with the PFL, Ladd is the latest big-name fighter to join the BKFC. Rumblings of Ladd's move to the BKFC began in 2024, but were confirmed on Tuesday by MMA reporter James Lynch, who spoke with Ladd's coach Jim West.

The promotion is looking to book Ladd's debut fight for BKFC 84, an event scheduled for Nov. 15 in Palm Desert, California, per BKFC sources. Ladd grew up in Pioneer, California, just a few hours north of Palm Desert. Her opponent will be announced in the coming days.

WIth seconds to spare... ASPEN LADD IS GOING TO THE #PFLPLAYOFFS!#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN+
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomD5xg pic.twitter.com/VP1vKcJmWK
— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 17, 2023

The BKFC recently debuted in California with a Fight Night event in November 2024. BKFC 84 will only be the company's second-ever fight card in the Golden State.

It has been a while, but the 30-year-old Ladd was once viewed as one of the brightest female prospects in the UFC. She won her first three promotional bouts to earn a main event spot in just her ninth professional fight, where she would suffer her first loss.

Ladd's career would get derailed from there, and she was eventually released by the UFC after missing weight for a third time. She went just 3-2 in her ensuing stint with the PFL and has not won consecutive fights since 2019.

Ladd has not fought since May 2024, when she beat Ekaterina Shakalova by decision at Bellator Champions Series 2 to improve her MMA record to 12-5. Although she no longer has the momentum she once did, Ladd gets a fresh start with the BKFC, where many similar fighters have revived their careers.

Aspen Ladd expected to join stacked BKFC 84 fight card

If Ladd joins BKFC 84, she will bolster a packed fight card headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Josh Dyer and Lorenzo Hunt. Hunt, the former pound-for-pound No. 1 bare-knuckle boxer, makes his return after a 19-month layoff.

The fight will be a rematch, with Dyer and Hunt previously meeting at BKFC 17 in 2021. Hunt won the fight by fifth-round TKO in his last non-title fight.

Dyer has not lost a fight since and enters BKFC 84 on a five-fight unbeaten streak. He claimed the 185-pound title with a fourth-round TKO of Mike Richman in May.

BKFC 84 is still filling out, but Ladd is shaping up to be the most prominent local fighter on the card. She has not fought in her home state since 2019, when she suffered her first MMA loss to Germaine de Randamie.

The Latest Boxing News