Aspen Ladd has been given a new matchup for UFC 273. The bantamweight vet is now expected to face Raquel Pennington at UFC’s April 9th pay-per-view event, per a report from Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
The new matchup is expected to take place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
Pennington is replacing the original opponent for Ladd, Irene Aldana. It is not known at the moment why Aldana had to withdraw from the fight.
Pennington and Ladd are in a similar position, as they are both returning to bantamweight after a brief appearance up at featherweight.
Pennington’s last victory was in late 2021, scoring a rear naked choke victory against Macy Chiasson. That performance moved her winning streak to three consecutive fights.
Ladd’s most recent appearance was a unanimous decision defeat against Norma Dumont in October 2021. The fight was her first appearance in nearly two years, as numerous canceled bouts kept her sidelined for an extended period of time.
UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski is currently expected to face The Korean Zombie in the main event of UFC 273. Here is the updated PPV card:
Bout 13: Alexander Volkanovski (23-1) vs. The Korean Zombie (17-6) (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Bout 12: Aljamain Sterling (20-3) vs. Petr Yan (16-2) (UFC Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 11: Pat Sabatini (16-3) vs. Gavin Tucker (13-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Mickey Gall (7-4) vs. Mike Malott (7-1-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 9: Jairzinho Rozenstruick (12-3) vs. Marcin Tybura (22-7) (Heavyweight)
Bout 8: Mackenzie Dern (11-2) vs. Tecia Torres (13-5) (Strawweight)
Bout 7: Kelvin Gastelum (17-8) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (11-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 6: Vinc Pichel (14-2) vs. Mark O. Madsen (11-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Piera Rodriguez (7-0) vs. Kay Hansen (7-5) (Strawweight)
Bout 4: Ian Garry (8-0) vs. Darian Weeks (5-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Gilbert Burns (20-4) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (10-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Dricus Du Plessis (16-2) vs. Anthony Hernandez (8-2) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Aspen Ladd (9-2) vs. Raquel Pennington (13-8) (Bantamweight)
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