Aspen Ladd fancies a trip to Australia if the UFC is booking her next journey.
“It seems like a beautiful place where everything wants to eat you,” she told MMA Junkie Radio. “But you never know.”
A unanimous decision over Sijara Eubanks at this past week’s UFC on ESPN+ 10 brought Ladd her eighth career victory and a target for her next fight: Yana Kunitskaya (12-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
The ex-Invicta champ first broached the subject after Ladd (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was scratched from a fight against ex-champ Holly Holm. With Eubanks now in the rearview mirror, Ladd is back on board and believes it would be a solid matchup.
“There’s no need to be disrespectful,” she said. “We’re both athletes, we’re both very good at what we do – we’re professionals.
“She needs a dance partner, and so do I. It’s a good time for us, and I can respectfully say I want to fight that person if she’s very good. Yana is being very respectful and (saying), ‘Let’s do this.'”
Ladd targeted late summer as an ideal return date. The UFC is expected to head Down Under this fall for a middleweight title unifier between champ Robert Whittaker and interim champ Israel Adesanya, likely at October’s UFC 243.
The weather might not be as good, but Ladd said that card could definitely host her preferred matchup.
Ladd will work on her skills in the meantime. Her coaches weren’t big fans of the punches she took en route to a win over Eubanks, but she said they’re also a badge of pride.
“I’m so grateful for the experience,” Ladd said. “Having that kind of fight under your belt, I think it helps you in your career and your fight comprehension.”
Ladd still dominated the action on the canvas and landed just as many shots as she took with a Terminator style that wore out Eubanks.
“I remember my coaches screaming at me, and I should have listened a little better,” she said. “I don’t remember too much.”
Like Eubanks, Kunitskaya is a trained striker, so there will be plenty more opportunities to learn if the UFC pairs them together.
To hear more from Ladd, check out the video above.
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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