Video of Aspen Ladd's Latest Weigh-In Is Downright Scary
Aspen Ladd has been removed from the card at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker after an incredibly scary scene at her weigh-in on Friday. Ladd, who has struggled with weight cuts before, could barely stand on the scale as the 26-year-old tried to make the 135-pound limit. She nearly fainted and was shaking considerably as she stood on the scale. She weighed in at 137, above the women's bantamweight limit.
Here's video of what happened:
Aspen Ladd almost fainted when trying to stand on her feet and raise both hands on the scale. (She weighed in at 137). Commission is now checking her condition and if she’s able to fight tomorrow. #UFCVegas38 pic.twitter.com/ycHF3HkPeE
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi (@CCLegaspi) October 1, 2021
Another angle:
Aspen Ladd weighs 137. #UFCVegas38 pic.twitter.com/FCOQCMTTjN
— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) October 1, 2021
That is disturbing.
After that horrific scene, the UFC wisely cancelled Ladd's scheduled bout with Macy Chiasson.
This isn't Ladd's first bout with weight-cutting issues. Back in 2019 she really struggled to make weight for her fight with Germaine de Randamie in a similar scene:
The record will show Aspen Ladd made weight for #UFCSacramento, but she was in BAD shape stepping on the scale. ? pic.twitter.com/ECqr6OGjmG
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) July 12, 2019
It also happened in 2018 before her fight with Tonya Evinger:
Scary moment at the #UFC229 weigh-ins, as Aspen Ladd registers 134.5 pounds on the scale for her women's bantamweight bout with Tonya Evinger. https://t.co/3G7WvG62fu pic.twitter.com/f3fFddINz7
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) October 5, 2018
In both of those cases, she wound up making weight but looked wildly-unhealthy doing so.
Weigh-cutting is the worst aspect of MMA and is a serious problem the sport must find a way to address. One solution could be instituting weigh-ins throughout the course of fight build-up to prevent hard crash weight cuts. But it's unlikely fighters would agree to such a solution.
It's clear Ladd is not good at this. She's an excellent fighter, is 9-1 in her career and is third in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings. But if it's this hard for her to make the 135-pound limit, she may need to move up in weight and the UFC may need to stop offering her fights at that size.