UFC Star Added to BKB Miami Card Featuring Yuriorkis Gamboa

Former UFC star Aspen Ladd is set to make her BKB debut against Bianca Daimoni at BKB 58 in Miami.

Former world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa will make his bare-knuckle debut against Yesner “Cuajadita” Talavera on the same card.

The fight will take place on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at the James L. Knight Center. The main event will feature BKB Heavyweight World Champion Gustavo “The Cuban Assassin” Trujillo defending his title against Mark O’Neil.

“Aspen has already shown fight fans what she’s about, and now she gets the chance to do it inside our Trigon for the first time,” said BKB CEO David Tetreault.

“She’s fought the best in the world across multiple organizations and never taken a backward step. Pairing her with Bianca Daimoni in Miami gives us another can’t-miss fight on a card that’s already loaded from top to bottom."

Ladd is one of the most accomplished female combat sports athletes to enter the BKB ranks. A peripatetic career is not unusual among BKB fighters, but Ladd’s has perhaps been more wide-ranging than most.

She has fought throughout the world of mixed martial arts, with stints in the UFC, Bellator MMA, PFL and Invicta FC. She also scored a first-round knockout in her lone BKFC appearance.

"I can't wait to make my debut in the Trigon and put on a show for the fans in Miami," said Ladd in a press statement, "Bianca's tough and I know she's coming to fight, but that's exactly what I signed up for. BKB gives me the chance to compete with everything on the line, no gloves, no hiding, and I'm ready to show everyone what I can do."

Born in Folsom, California, Ladd briefly rose to No. 2 in the UFC bantamweight rankings and has faced many of the promotion’s leading stars, including reigning champion Kayla Harrison and former UFC titleholders Raquel Pennington and Germaine de Randamie.

She earned the UFC’s “Fight of the Night” award in 2019, and her relentless, forward-moving style now carries into her BKB debut.

Brazil’s Bianca “Diamante” Daimoni is a switch-stance welterweight who trains alongside Brazilian icon Cris Cyborg. Her BKB career has been modest at 1-1. However, she has also competed in Muay Thai and owns an 8-4 professional MMA record. She is also a former AFC featherweight champion in her native Brazil.

Daimoni nearly lost her life during a near-fatal battle with COVID-19 in 2020. She was placed in an induced coma and ultimately lost five years of her fighting prime. Her mother succumbed to the same illness during this difficult period of Daimon's life.

Will Trujillo face Terrill in massive heavyweight fight?

Trujillo remains BKB’s most powerful heavyweight. His title defense against O’Neil suggests that his highly anticipated potential matchup with former BKFC World Heavyweight Champion Mick Terrill will have to wait until 2027.

When KO on SI caught up with Terrill earlier this year, he floated the idea of traveling to Florida—Trujillo’s home turf—to challenge him for the title. That fight will now have to wait.

Add us as a preferred source on Google