Aspen Ladd will debut for BKB on Saturday in Miami.

---

Aspen
Ladd believes the next year will be great for women's mixed
martial arts.

Ladd recently weighed in on the merger between the
Professional Fighters League and
Most Valuable Promotions. She's slightly skeptical about the
merger, considering things didn't play out as expected with PFL's
acquisition of Bellator
in 2023, but remains optimistic.

Aspen Ladd discussed MVP-PFL merger, critiques UFC's handling
of women's MMA

Ladd also notes that women's boxing under MVP and bare-knuckle
boxing under BKFC are rising in the meantime. With former Bellator
president Scott Coker set to launch his own promotion next year,
the former
Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete believes it'll be a
bright year ahead for women's MMA.

“Because with the merger between, or supposed to be a merger,
right, with PFL and Bellator, you thought, oh, it’d be great,â€

Ladd told Sherdog’s Sean Sheehan. “They’re absorbing the weight
classes is going to be one big thing, but it wasn’t. That was a
disaster. There’s the UFC not really putting much effort, time, or
attention into their women’s divisions, but during that same time
period, Bare Knuckle's taken off. Boxing has really taken off with
MVP. But I think that the MVP-PFL merger will be a huge thing. I
know obviously Scott Coker’s coming back. So I think like next year
is gonna be great. The last couple haven’t been.â€

Ladd also believes women's MMA in the UFC is suffering due to
multiple factors. She claims the promotion hasn't been giving due
attention to women's MMA and is signing fighters when they're too
green, referencing Bella Mir's
loss on
Dana White's Contender Series.

“And we’ll see what the UFC chooses to do,†Ladd added. “Like they
had a couple hot pros, well, one hot prospect last night, and that
didn’t go how they wanted. And they’ve brought in a couple girls
too, and I just think they’re bringing them in too early, or
they’re building their records on people where they’re not really
getting that experience before they get to the big show, and then
they get to the big show and they’re potential stars are falling
flat, right? So, like, back in the day, you had a bunch of
promotions, like Invicta; Invicta was amazing. That’s where I did
my first five fights, where you’re fighting real competition before
you get to the big stage, or the biggest stage, right? So, I think
it’s really suffering from not much care; there’s been a lack of
opportunity and then pushing young fighters a little too fast.â€

Ladd (12-5) fought in the UFC from 2017 to 2022 before signing with
the PFL. She switched to Bellator for one fight after PFL dropped
the women's featherweight division in 2024. The American has since
shifted focus to bare-knuckle boxing, where she scored a
first-round knockout in her debut last November.

Ladd is now scheduled to fight Bianca
Daimoni in a bare-knuckle boxing bout under the BKB banner on
Aug. 29 in Miami.

Islam
Makhachev has revealed how many fights he has left in him
before he hangs up his gloves.

Makhachev (29-1) recently defended his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title against
Ian
Garry at UFC
330. The win over Garry saw Makhachev break Anderson
Silva's record for the longest winning streak in UFC history,
having won 17 straight. The Dagestani wants to extend his win
streak to 20 before walking away from the sport.

Makhachev eyes three more UFC fights while chasing a 20-fight
winning streak

Makhachev knows there's one record that he isn't likely to break:
most title fight wins in UFC history. With seven title wins,
Makhachev is still far behind the record holder Jon Jones, who
has 16. However, Makhachev notes that he got to fight for a title
much later in his UFC career than Jones.

Makhachev revealed that he expects to fight at least three more
times before calling it a career. With the logjam of elite
contenders in the welterweight division, Makhachev expects those
fights to be grueling.

“Well, no record is unbreakable,†Makhachev said at a press
conference in Russia. “There are fighters out there who are getting
closer… They have 10 or more wins [in a row]. I don't know… Maybe
the title fights record? But it's a hard one to beat. I had 10
fights before my first title fight, but the one who has this record
fought for the title in his third or fourth UFC fight… What I know
is there are very good title contenders in my division. So, I think
I have at least three more very hard and exciting fights waiting
for me.â€

The UFC double champ is looking to be as active as possible and
wants to fight again before next Ramadan. He's set his sights on
Carlos
Prates for his next title defense.

Islam
Makhachev says he believes he has at least three more “very
hard and exciting fights†left in his career, while admitting he
isn't sure which records he can still chase after breaking one that
once seemed unbreakable.

“Well, no record is unbreakable. There are fighters out… pic.twitter.com/LUHlfUcnPv

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
August 25, 2026

Week 3 of
Dana White's Contender Series saw the biggest upset in the
history of the show.

Week 3 of the 10th season of DWCS went down at Meta Apex in Las
Vegas on Aug. 25. All five winners on the card walked away with

Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts.

Alex Apodaca defeats the -6000 favorite to cap DWCS 2026 Week
3

The main event of the card saw the biggest upset in the history of
DWCS. Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir's
daughter Bella Mir
(4-1) was a -6000 favorite going into her bantamweight clash
against Alex
Apodaca (5-1). Apodaca outclassed Mir on the feet while holding
her own in wrestling exchanges to earn a unanimous decision
win.

White admits that while he is mostly unbiased in fights, he was
heavily biased towards Mir, having been a mentor to her. White
notes that Michael
Bisping had correctly expected Apodaca's experience to play a
factor in the fight.

“Alex, what you had to face tonight… Now I'm very proud of myself
that in 10 years of doing this, I've never had any bias,†White
said while granting Apodaca a UFC contract. “I don't know anything
about anybody coming in. I was overly biased in this fight. I've
known Bella for a long time. Four years ago we started mapping out
her plan and who she was gonna be… Michael Bisping said, ‘She might
be the biggest underdog in Contender Series history, but she has
the experience that Bella doesn't: Deep waters.' Bisping nailed it
on the head. Unbelievable upset. Congratulations, you're in the
UFC.â€

Nick
Galanti (8-1) opened the card in a middleweight clash against
Carlos
Petruzzella (15-2). Galanti made quick work of the Argentinian,
dropping him with a right hook and finishing him with
ground-and-pound in just 35 seconds. UFC CEO Dana
White commended Galanti's flawless performance while awarding
him a contract.

“Nick, you couldn't possibly open a show better than you did,â€
White said. “And you couldn't perform any better on this show than
you did. Congratulations, you're in the UFC.â€

Ronald
Humphrey (5-0) earned the second contract in Week 3 of DWCS
2026. Humphrey put on a dominant display of wrestling and striking
before making Alexis
Miranda (9-3) tap to a rear-naked choke in the first round.

White revealed that matchmaker Sean Shelby told him that it was
difficult to find an opponent for the undefeated welterweight on
DWCS. White told Shelby that it won't be easy for him to find
Humphrey an opponent in the UFC as well.

“Ronald, you're an animal,†White said. “I said to Sean, ‘This guy
is so well-rounded for having only four fights.' And Sean said,
‘They couldn't get anyone to fight him.' I said, ‘You're not gonna
be able to get anyone to fight him either.' Congratulations,
welcome to the UFC.â€

Cage Warriors interim welterweight champion Sean Clancy
Jr. (9-0) earned a UFC contract for his win over Gary
Balletto Jr. (11-4). White was impressed with the composure of
the 23-year-old Clancy Jr. as he dragged Balletto Jr. to the mat
and unleashed vicious elbows to secure the stoppage in the second
round.

“Sean, you're only 23 years old, and you're 9-0; it's incredible,â€
White said. “I love how technical and composed you are for such a
young guy. Saw a lot of great things from you in less than two
rounds. I'm really excited about your future in the UFC.â€

Guilherme
Uriel (8-2) earned a UFC contract for his win over Mario
Piazzon (12-2). White admits that he was surprised by Uriel’s
guillotine attempt, which initially didn't look threatening.
However, Uriel proved White wrong by forcing Piazzon to tap to a
guillotine in just 50 seconds.

“It was a weird fight,†White said. “I was surprised; I literally
said, ‘Why does he keep going for the choke? He's not getting the
choke. What's he doing?' I was wrong. You got the choke, finished
it quickly… Welcome to the UFC.â€

All 5 winners get a contract tonight! âœï¸

[ #DWCS
| LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/VPhYzhZQVc

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
August 26, 2026