A fight that could determine the next challenger for Amanda Nunes’ bantamweight title and the return of a legend are the highlights of UFC on ESPN+ 13.
Undefeated Aspen Ladd meets former featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie in the main event, while UFC Hall of Famer and former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber returns from a retirement of two-and-a-half years to meet Ricky Simon in the co-main event.
But that’s not all that’s interesting on the card. UFC on ESPN+ 13 takes place Saturday at Golden1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., and streams entirely on ESPN+.
Let’s take a look at five burning questions heading into the event.
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Is Aspen Ladd the next one at 135 pounds?
The UFC needs to build a new legitimate contender in the women’s bantamweight division now that champ Nunes has all but cleaned house.
Ladd (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) just might be the fighter who fits the bill. And in former featherweight champ de Randamie (8-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC), she finally has an opponent who will allow her to show where she really belongs.
The undefeated 24-year old bantamweight from Northern California has been on quite a tear. Ladd’s first two UFC fights were TKO wins over former headliner Lina Lansberg and former Invicta champion Tonya Evinger.
Ladd wanted to fight a big name next and was linked to a bout with Holly Holm before the UFC yanked the matchup away from her and put together Holm’s UFC 239 bout with Nunes instead. Ladd then took a “Fight of the Night” in a May rematch against Sijara Eubanks, the only competitor who has taken Ladd the distance.
After that roundabout route, Ladd finally has the date with the elite she needs to state her case. While de Randamie mainly will be remembered by her unfortunate choice to walk away from the featherweight title rather than defend it against Cris Cyborg, she’s still otherwise put together a solid career and remains one of the sport’s top competitors.
Nunes could choose to defend her featherweight belt next, which means even with an impressive performance, Ladd might still need another fight before getting a title shot. But a win here marks her for sure as the next rising star at 135.
Will Urijah Faber’s comeback be memorable or regrettable?
Less than three years ago, Faber (34-10 MMA, 10-6 UFC) had the type of sendoff most fighters dream about but few ever receive.
The fighter whose WEC stardom paved the way for the sport’s lower-weight fighters to headline major UFC events had a spectacular final night in December 2016, defeating Brad Pickett in front of a rabid hometown crowd for the first UFC card at Golden1 Center.
But Faber also got out ahead of the game. “The California Kid” had lost a step, but he was still competitive in all his fights. He wasn’t getting blown out. He went 4-3 over the last three years of his career, and all three of his losses went the distance. This wasn’t like watching Chuck Liddell get knocked out over and over.
Faber still had something left to give, which is why he never shut the door on a return and never left the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing pool.
Now Faber returns, once again to his hometown building. He’s got a live one in Simon (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who will no doubt be looking to seize on his big moment. Maybe this will confirm what Faber’s known all along, that he does indeed still have a few good fights left in him. Maybe we’ll all end up wishing he had let his 2016 swan song stay that way. There tends to be more of the former than the latter in this sport.
Can Ricky Simon seize the spotlight in his biggest moment?
Simon, a 26-year-old out of Vancouver, Wash., has slowly but steadily worked his way up the bantamweight ranks. His UFC debut was a memorably controversial technical submission of Merab Dvalishvil, getting a win at the 15-minute mark when the ref correctly discovered Dvalishvil had briefly gone out to a choke in a bout Simon was losing.
Since then, Simon’s had back-to-back decision wins, including a low-key scrap that ended Ranyi Yahya’s momentum at UFC 234.
Now, Simon has his opportunity after grinding away by going into Faber’s hometown and ruining his coming-back party. Simon has proven both that he can get into exciting scraps and that he’s willing to stay patient and pick his spots when called for. That happens to be Faber’s blueprint, too. This fight could go any number of ways, so it’s up to Simon to take charge of the moment.
Andre Fili: Contender or pretender?
Team Alpha Male featherweight Andre Fili has been one of the more frustrating fighters to follow in recent years. When he’s been on, he’s looked like a real contender at 145 pounds. When he’s been off, he’s looked like anything but.
Fili (19-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) also alternated wins and losses over the course of his first nine UFC bouts, which only added to the schizophrenic nature of his time in the big leagues.
But now the fighter known as “Touchy” has his best opportunity to position himself for a run. He’s won three of his past four, with an impressive win over Myles Jury last time out. He’s fighting in his hometown against Sheymon Moraes, who is coming off a loss.
It’s all being teed up for Fili in what sure looks like a turning point in his career. If he takes advantage against Moraes (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC), he’s won four of five and earned a bout with a bigger name. If not, it might be time to resign ourselves to the fact he’ll simply be just another name on the card.
What does Ryan Hall have to do to get a featured spot?
There’s no one in the UFC quite like Ryan Hall.
You’d think in an age of specialization, a throwback fighter like Hall, who has one thing he does really, really well, would struggle on the sport’s biggest stage. But that sure hasn’t been the case.
The World Jiu-Jitsu Championships gold medalist flustered Artem Lobov to win “The Ultimate Fighter 22,” angered Gray Maynard for not falling into a “just bang, bro” fight before winning an easy decision, then heel hooked B.J. Penn for one of the most memorable submissions of 2018 at UFC 232.
Granted, everyone beats the troubled Penn these days. And maybe that’s why his interesting fight with Darren Elkins has been inexplicably buried on the prelims. But a win over one of the sport’s toughest outs would be a real statement. And perhaps one that would force the UFC to figure out a way to market a guy with one unique skill set.
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