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A bantamweight clash between Aspen Ladd and Sara McMann is being planned for UFC's June 27 event. The news was first broken by MMA Junkie, after a lot of speculation around who Aspen Ladd would be fighting, given she had very recently tweeted that she has signed a fight agreement.
Sara McMann who returned to active competition after pregnancy back in January will enter the fight after bouncing back from a two-fight losing streak. McMann last faced Lina Lansberg at UFC Fight Night 166 and won the fight via unanimous decision.
Aspen Ladd, on the other hand, comes with a lot of momentum on her side. In her last encounter, Ladd knocked out Russian contender, Yana Kunitksya. She lost her perfect record last year to Germaine De Randamie at UFC Fight Night 155.
The fight is an important one for the bantamweight division. Both Aspen Ladd and Sara McMann are high ranked fighters with enough credibility to create a campaign for a title shot. The division which currently has no contender who can step up and challenge the champion, Amanda Nunes, desperately needs some clarity and this fight has the potential to provide it.
Aspen Ladd might emerge as a contender
Ladd has been a prospect to look out for since forever. At just 25 she has managed to secure wins over the likes of former Invicta FC bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger, former flyweight title challenger Sijara Eubanks and the Ultimate Fighter finalist, Amanda Cooper.
She has a chance to breakthrough the tag of a prospect and emerges as a legit contender is she manages to defeat the more experienced Sara McMann. The challenge won't be easy as McMann is the toughest she has ever faced.
Sara McMann's chance for redemption
The fight gives Sara McMann a chance to redeem herself from untimely losses to Marion Reneau and Ketlen Viera. Before going on a two-fight losing skid, Sara McMann was on an impressive three-fight winning streak which included wins over Alexis Davis and Jessica Eye.
At 39, McMann has the clock on her career set now. If she wants to make a bid for the title this might be the perfect win that she needed to regain relevance in the title picture. The Olympic SIlver-medalist has to put up a show against the rising contender
Overall, it should be a fun fight.
