Aspen Ladd enters her BKB Naked Knuckle Boxing debut with one bare-knuckle win already on her document, and it got here in fast style. The previous UFC contender meets Bianca “Diamante” Daimoni at BKB 58 on August 29 at Miami’s James L. Knight Heart, including a brand new cease to a combat-sports profession that has included the UFC, PFL, Bellator and BKFC.
Naked Knuckle Aspen Ladd
Ladd’s BKB look will happen contained in the promotion’s triangular ring, the Trigon, quite than the cage the place she constructed most of her MMA résumé. Daimoni is available in with a 1-1 BKB document and a background in Muay Thai and MMA, giving Ladd a stay take a look at in her first outing beneath BKB rules.
Ladd’s introduction to bare-knuckle competitors got here at BKFC 84 in Palm Desert, California, on November 15, 2025. She confronted Shyanna Bintliff in a featherweight bout and stopped her within the opening spherical, formally recorded as a knockout at 1:59.
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The struggle established the important thing reference level for Ladd’s transfer into BKB. She pressed Bintliff from the opening moments, produced early harm, and scored three knockdowns earlier than the bout was waved off on the finish of the spherical. The ultimate knockdown got here with one second remaining, so Bintliff had little room to recuperate between exchanges.
It was a brief night time, however it confirmed Ladd was comfy setting the tempo with out MMA’s takedown risk or grappling exchanges. Naked-knuckle boxing locations extra worth on distance, clear placement and managing harm to the arms, but Ladd’s first outing adopted a well-recognized sample from her MMA profession: transfer ahead, make the opponent work beneath strain, and search for a end.
Bintliff has since returned to motion, scoring a third-round TKO of Crystal Pittman at BKFC Battle Night time Sturgis in August 2026. That consequence provides context to Ladd’s victory, as Bintliff was in a position to regroup and earn a stoppage win after the loss.
UFC Expertise
Earlier than crossing into naked knuckle, Ladd compiled a 4-3 UFC document. She debuted in October 2017 and rapidly grew to become a ranked bantamweight by means of wins over Lina Lansberg, Tonya Evinger, Sijara Eubanks and Yana Santos. Her UFC statistics checklist 3.78 vital strikes landed per minute, 1.56 takedowns per quarter-hour and a 62 p.c takedown-defense fee, reflecting an MMA sport with hanging, clinch work and wrestling choices.
Her win over Evinger at UFC 229 ended through first-round TKO, whereas she defeated Santos by third-round TKO in December 2019. The Eubanks struggle went the total three rounds, and Ladd used three takedowns and three submission makes an attempt in a unanimous-decision victory.
Ladd’s run additionally included exams towards high competitors. Germaine de Randamie stopped her in 16 seconds in July 2019, and Ladd later misplaced selections to Norma Dumont and Raquel Pennington. The Dumont contest was a five-round featherweight predominant occasion in October 2021, whereas the Pennington bout passed off at UFC 273 in April 2022.
After leaving the UFC, Ladd signed with the PFL and made her promotional debut in November 2022. She defeated Julia Budd by cut up choice on the 2022 PFL World Championship, a consequence that gave her a 1-0 begin within the group.
Ladd went 1-1 within the 2023 season. She misplaced a majority choice to Olena Kolesnyk in April, then submitted Karolina Sobek late within the second spherical in June to safe a playoff place. Her season ended towards Kayla Harrison on the PFL Championship in November, the place Harrison received a unanimous choice in a 155-pound catchweight contest.
The Daimoni matchup provides Ladd a second bare-knuckle bout and her first beneath the BKB banner. Daimoni trains with Chute Boxe in Brazil, has an 8-4 skilled MMA document and beforehand fought at BYB 36 earlier than competing at BKB 50, the place she misplaced a call to Jamie Driver.
