A rejuvenated Aspen Ladd is ready to become the first queen of the recently inaugurated Professional Fighters League 145-pound division.

In her career, Ladd (10-3, 1-0 PFL) struggled on several occasions to make weight, particularly at bantamweight. Ladd opted to move to featherweight after being cut from the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster when she failed to make weight ahead of her scheduled — then scrapped — clash with Sara McMann at UFC Fight Night 210. The decision to move up a division turned out to be the right one and Ladd pocketed a split-decision victory over former Bellator MMA titleholder Julia Budd in their bout in November. Ahead of the 2023 PFL Regular Season, Ladd told Sherdog she feels better than ever and is ready for new challenges, including her upcoming clash with Olena Kolesnyk on April 7.

“[I feel] healthy and strong. I’ve had even more time now where I could be settled back into being able to be a featherweight. So much of my life was trying to stay small enough to make 135 and now I don't have to do that. I can be healthy, I could lift weights and allow myself to really fill in as a 45er. I just feel better than ever.”

(00:00) Intro

(00:16) Her passion for hiking

(00:52) Preparing for Kolesnyk

(01:28) Defeating Budd

(02:21) Moving up to featherweight

(03:06) Improving the quality of her life

(03:47) Commenting on Budd’s performance

(04:13) The judges’ scorecards

(04:44) Enjoying fighting again

(05:11) Her dogs

(05:24) Being a Star Wars nerd

(05:47) Taking part in the PFL tournament

(06:51) Outro