UFC women’s bantamweight Aspen Ladd is only 24 years old, and she is already the fourth ranked bantamweight in the world. Ladd could very well be one fight away from receiving a world title shot. A victory over #1 ranked Germaine de Randamie this Saturday at UFC Sacramento should be enough to net Ladd a #1 ranking position, and seemingly nothing would stand in her way of a world title shot. But the prospect of receiving a world title shot is not what is driving Aspen Ladd ahead of this Saturday’s main event. In fact, the idea of being a world champion is not driving her at all:
“Anybody with half a brain understands the implications of a fight like this but at the same time I keep saying I’m not chasing the title. It just keeps getting thrown at me,” Ladd told MMA Fighting. “I’ve taken every single fight they’ve given to me and I’m going to continue to do so:
“If the next one is that giant step, OK. If it’s not, that’s OK. It doesn’t concern me. I’m just here to fight and to get experience.”
Aspen Ladd has been racking up both experience and wins, with an 8-0 MMA and 3-0 UFC record. And she has found this success by only focusing on the task in front of her without pursuing long-term goals or the construct of championship belts:
“I’ve never really been after that. I’m always about what’s in front of me, not what’s five steps ahead already,” Ladd explained. “So whatever the next step is, whatever is right in front of me, that’s what’s most important. That’s the most important fight, the most dangerous competitor, I don’t really think beyond that. It’s worked out pretty well so far.”
Do you believe Aspen Ladd is a future UFC women’s bantamweight champion?
