Raquel
Pennington will step up on short notice to face Aspen Ladd
at UFC 273
on April 9.
Pennington is a late replacement for Irene
Aldana, who withdrew from the bantamweight clash after
suffering an undisclosed injury.
Eurosport Netherlands was first to report the new matchup. UFC
273 takes place at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville,
Fla., and is headlined by a featherweight title tilt between
Alexander
Volkanovski and Chan Sung
Jung.
Pennington enters the matchup with Ladd on a three-bout winning
streak. The former bantamweight title challenger last appeared at
UFC Fight Night 199, where she submitted Macy
Chiasson with a second-round guillotine choke this past
December. “Rocky” has also secured decision triumphs over Pannie
Kianzad and Marion Reneu during her current streak.
After nearly two years on the sidelines due to knee surgery, Ladd
moved up to featherweight in her Octagon return at UFC Fight Night
195, where she dropped a five-round verdict against Norma
Dumont. The former Invicta FC talent is 4-2 in the Octagon,
with wins over the likes of Yana
Kunitskaya, Sijara
Eubanks, Lina
Lansberg and Tonya
Evinger.