The back and forth between Aspen Ladd and Miesha Tate continues.
Aspen Ladd is preparing for her main event fight against Norma Dumont at UFC Vegas 40. This is the second fight Ladd has been scheduled for in the past month. She was forced out of her initial bout against Macy Chiasson after a bad weight cut, and now she moves up in weight to face Dumont. Despite the actual fights Ladd has been scheduled, her biggest feud right now might be with former bantamweight champion Miesha Tate.
Tate was critical of Ladd’s missed weight for UFC Vegas 38. She called her a “cheater” and accused her of trying to tip the scale in her favor. These comments resulted in a back and forth between Tate and Ladd’s coach. Now as she prepares for her next main event, Ladd spoke a bit about how she felt being criticized by Tate.
“I respect her very much as a fighter, and I’ve wanted to fight her since she came back,” she said (via Fansided). “She’s probably one of the biggest names in women’s MMA besides Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg. There’s just a thing that when something’s going through something that’s not pleasant, I’d rather never make them feel worse.”
Ladd and Tate were at one time pretty amicable to each other in trying to set up a fight between them. Since then this animosity has turned into bad blood. If Ladd wins this weekend over Dumont, she has expressed her desire to return to bantamweight instead of continuing on at featherweight. If she is successful, perhaps a date with Tate could be next.
“We’ll see, maybe we’ll meet down the road,” she added.
Ladd is currently sitting in the number three spot of the UFC rankings. Even though the fight this weekend is at featherweight, a win can only help her move closer to a title shot. Now that Tate has returned from retirement, she is looking to make her way back to the top. A fight with Ladd and a win over her would be just the thing Tate needs.
Do you think Miesha Tate would accept a fight with Aspen Ladd after her weight-cutting issues?
