Aspen Ladd will be filling in for Holly Holm to take on Norma Dumont.
Holm vs. Dumont was initially set to take place on Oct. 16 at UFC Vegas 40. A knee injury bumped Holm from the card. It didn’t take long for the UFC to find a replacement.
ESPN reports that Ladd will meet Dumont in a women’s featherweight clash now. The bout is expected to remain a five-rounder.
Ladd was expected to fight Macy Chiasson this past Saturday night (Oct. 2). Aspen Ladd ended up having weight-cutting issues and the bout was called off. Many have been calling for Ladd to move up to the 145-pound division and this looks to be the start of that.
Dumont last competed back in May 2021. She defeated Felicia Spencer via split decision. Dumont could very well be one win away from receiving a UFC Women’s Featherweight Title opportunity. The current champion is Amanda Nunes, who also holds the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship.
On the flipside, Ladd may also receive the next title shot at ‘145 if she can get past Dumont. She is the number three-ranked UFC women’s bantamweight. With how thin the women’s featherweight division is, it’s hard to imagine the winner of this fight not meeting Nunes down the line.
