Aspen Ladd To Make PFL Debut Against Julia Budd At 2022 Finals

Aspen Ladd’s PFL debut is right around the corner.

The UFC vet has been booked to face former Bellator Featherweight Champion Julia Budd at the promotion’s championship event on November 25th, as announced by the promotion Wednesday.

The fight is now part of PFL’s final event of the year, which is scheduled to take place at the Hulu Theater in New York City, New York, USA.

Ladd departed the UFC roster late last month after missing weight for a bantamweight bout. The weight miss was one of the many times that she had issues on the scale while in the promotion.

The plan is for Ladd to compete at featherweight during her PFL run, which is up 10 pounds from the 136-pound limit that she previously had issues reaching.

Ladd is joining the PFL roster with the goal of snapping a two-fight skid and earning her first win since late 2019. Her last appearance dates back to April when Raquel Pennington beat her on scorecards.

Budd, a former long-time champion in Bellator, will be a tough first opponent for Ladd in the PFL.

Budd will also be fighting to return to the win column. Her sole regular season appearance at lightweight this year was a loss, dropping a decision to Genah Fabian. She had a three-fight winning streak before then.

Updated Lineup

The majority of PFL’s final 2022 event is now set. Here’s a look at how the show looks with the new matchup in place:

Main Card (PPV)

Bout 12: Kayla Harrison (15-0) vs. Larissa Pacheco (18-4) (PFL Lightweight Championship)

Bout 11: Brendan Loughnane (25-4) vs. Bubba Jenkins (19-5) (PFL Featherweight Championship)

Bout 10: Shane Burgos (15-3) vs. Marlon Moraes (23-10-1) (Featherweight)

Bout 9: Ante Delija (22-5) vs. Matheus Scheffel (17-8) (PFL Heavyweight Championship)

Bout 8: Stevie Ray (25-10) vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier (16-5) (PFL Lightweight Championship)

Bout 7: Julia Budd (16-4) vs. Aspen Ladd (9-3) (Featherweight)

Bout 6: Dilano Taylor (10-2) vs. Sadibou Sy (12-6-2) (PFL Welterweight Championship)

Bout 5: Omari Akhmedov (24-7-1) vs. Rob Wilkinson (16-2) (PFL Light Heavyweight Championship)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+) (6:00PM EDT)

Bout 4: Natan Schulte (22-5-1) vs. Jeremy Stephens (29-20) (Lightweight)

Bout 3: Dakota Ditcheva (6-0) vs. Katherine Corogenes (1-0) (Flyweight)

Bout 2: Biaggio Ali Walsh (1-1) vs. Tom Graesser (0-0) (Amateur Lightweight)

Bout 1: TBA