Aspen Ladd, about to make her PFL debut, is pensive about the state of MMA in the modern era. Although Ladd was released by the UFC for her failure to make weight, she is excited to compete at a more comfortable weight class of 145 pounds, and looks forward to enjoying the pure spot of MMA with PFL. Ladd derided the “discount Conor” brand of fighters who ride their talking ability, rather than fighting ability, in an interview with MMAFighting.
“We all know that MMA is not just based off skill these days. It’s based off how much you can talk or how prominent certain features are. [PFL is] taking that out of it.
Aspen Ladd Disses “Discount Conors”
It’s just getting back to who’s the best. Who’s the best at what they do. Not at what they say or how they look. That’s definitely an appealing part of this promotion.
There’s a lot of discount Conor [McGregors] these days and they’re doing it just because they want the attention but it’s so insincere.
They’re not that person. They’re not good at it. It’s just like, come on, but you all know why someone’s trying to do that or trying to present themselves in a certain way, or feel like they have to do certain things to get the attention.” Ladd praised the tournament format of the PFL, claiming that it prioritizes merit rather than marketability.
“It would be amazing if we were just basically judged on the merits of what we do, but we’re not. That’s not part of it. It’s an entertainment sport. You’ve got to be good, and you’ve got to promote yourself in a certain way – it is what it is.
[With the PFL] besides the format, and basically a tournament style, and you know when you’re fighting, you know how many fights you’re going to get. Obviously, you have to do well, but that was very appealing to me.”
Ladd also argued against the UFC’s current weight classes for women. “I’ve said this already, but if somebody is in the UFC fighting at 145 and they can drop [to bantamweight], they need to. Otherwise, they need to start looking at other options because I don’t think that weight class is going to be there for much longer.
It just exists so Amanda [Nunes] can hold two belts. I don’t think they’re going to put any effort into it, if it stays around, and that’s a big if.”
Is Aspen Ladd right to lament the state of the sport? Let us know in the comments.
