De Randamie stops unbeaten Ladd in 16 seconds
Marc RaimondiESPN
Amanda Nunes may need her subsequent UFC bantamweight title contender.
Germaine de Randamie knocked out the beforehand undefeated Aspen Ladd in simply 16 seconds in the primary occasion of UFC Sacramento on Saturday night time at Golden 1 Middle. De Randamie landed a straight hand that put Ladd down instantly after which adopted up with punches on the bottom.
It was the second-fastest end in UFC girls’s bantamweight historical past, after Ronda Rousey’s 14-second armbar win over Cat Zingano in 2015.
The stoppage by referee Herb Dean was disputed by Ladd, and the followers booed the end. Ladd is from close by Folsom, California, about 24 miles from the world. As Dean moved in to tug de Randamie off, Ladd appeared to get well and work to defend herself on the bottom, if not assault.
“I hit her on the button, Herb Dean referred to as it,” de Randamie stated afterward. “I rocked her with the second shot. I perceive it is in Sacramento. … In the event you have a look at the shot, I dropped her. She did not know the place she was at that second. It was a great shot. I feel it was a great stoppage.”
Ladd stated she nonetheless had her druthers when Dean made the stoppage.
“He did what he thought was finest,” Ladd stated. “I felt positive, however I can not decide this stuff.”
De Randamie (9-Three) has gained 5 straight. The Netherlands native has misplaced solely as soon as within the UFC and it got here in 2013 in opposition to Nunes, the ladies’s bantamweight and featherweight champion.
De Randamie, 35, grew to become the primary UFC girls’s featherweight champion ever when she beat Holly Holm in 2017, however was stripped of the title when she refused to battle Cris Cyborg.
“The Iron Girl” is ranked No. Three in ESPN’s MMA girls’s bantamweight rankings. She was a slight underdog at +105.
Ladd (Eight-1) had gained all three of her UFC fights up till this level and was creeping into title rivalry. The 24-year-old stays one of many high prospects within the UFC in any division. Ladd entered Saturday ranked No. four in ESPN’s MMA girls’s bantamweight rankings.