Preview: 2022 PFL Championships

Women’s Featherweights

Aspen Ladd (9-3, 0-0 PFL) vs. Julia Budd (16-4, 1-1 PFL)

ODDS: Ladd (-230), Budd (+180)

This fight will help usher in a new division for the PFL’s next season. While women’s featherweight is notoriously shallow, it still has more depth than lightweight, and it will be interesting to see how the promotion fills out the class going forward. Budd, a former Bellator MMA champion at 145 pounds, figures to be one of the favorites to emerge as champion. “The Jewel” was not especially impressive in two lightweight PFL appearances, but her physical advantages will be more evident in a return to 145 pounds. Budd has a muay thai background that includes an arsenal of kicks as well as knees and elbows in the Thai plum, but she has been known to get tentative with her striking overall. In more recent wins, Budd has been content to grind away in the clinch and work for takedowns. In top position, she can land effective ground-and-pound but is not much of a submission threat.

Ladd began her UFC tenure as an intriguing bantamweight prospect, but a knee injury and consistent weight-cutting issues derailed her progress. Now, she says she will be competing at 145 pounds for the foreseeable future, which is expected to eliminate her troubles on the scales. With that said, Ladd suffered a listless five-round defeat against Norma Dumont in her lone 145-pound appearance in the UFC. In her defense, that fight was on short notice, so there should be plenty of room for improvement. Even on a full camp, there are questions as to whether Ladd’s approach, which relies on physicality and aggression, will be as successful against bigger, stronger opponents. The Folsom, California, native has been known as a slow starter who will eat some shots in order to work her way into the clinch. The first part might not be an issue given Budd’s lack of volume on the feet, but it seems unlikely that Ladd will be able to have her way in close quarters against the ex-Bellator champ.

Though Budd is not an active striker, she still has the tools to fight at range against Ladd. Still just 27, Ladd would seem to have the greater upside against a 39-year-old opponent, but Budd is a difficult matchup even at this point in her career. Look for Budd to win a decision in a fight that is not always cosmetically appealing.

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Harrison vs. Pacheco
Loughnane vs. Jenkins
Delija vs. Scheffel
Aubin-Mercier vs. Ray
Ladd vs. Budd
Sy vs. Taylor
Wilkinson vs. Akhmedov
The Prelims