UFC Fight Night 155: Germaine de Randamie vs Aspen Ladd Odds, Preview, and Prediction

Former UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie takes on the undefeated Aspen Ladd in the main event of UFC Fight Night 155 on July 13, 2019, at the Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento, California.

In the co-main event, California’s own Urijah Faber will come out of retirement to take on Ricky Simon. Meanwhile, a women’s strawweight bout between Livia Renata Souza and Invicta FC strawweight champion Brianna Van Buren will also take place in the event also known as UFC on ESPN+ 13.

Germaine de Randamie vs Aspen Ladd

Germaine de Randamie is the #1 ranked bantamweight contender. She was the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion after beating former UFC bantamweight champion and multiple time boxing queen Holly Holm in the first ever UFC 135-pound title fight for women. However, she refused to defend the belt against Cris Cyborg and was stripped of the title.

The Iron Lady stands to stand 5-9 with a reach of 71 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter. The 35-year old Dutch fighter has a record of 8-3 with three knockouts. De Randamie is also an unbeaten Muay Thai world champion with a record of 37-0 with 13 knockouts. In her last bout, she defeated Racquel Pennington at UFC Fight Night 139 last November 2018.

Aspen Ladd is the UFC’s 4th ranked female bantamweight. She was a flyweight titleholder in regional promotions in Reno and the West Coast. Ladd also fought under Invicta FC where she went 5-0 with four stoppage wins. Since coming over to the UFC, she’s picked up impressive wins over quality opponents in Lana Lansberg, Tonya Evinger, and Sijara Eubanks.

Ladd is 8-0 with 5 knockouts and one win via submission. She stands 5-6 and has a reach of 66 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. The 24-year old from Folsom, California, has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and also has a background in boxing and kickboxing. In her last outing, Ladd beat Sijara Eubanks in a rematch. She’s won post-fight performance bonuses in her last two bouts.

Who Wins?

The Iron Lady has a significant advantage here in height and length. When you talk about De Randamie, she likes to utilize her strengths in striking, being a former Muay Thai/ Kickboxing champion. Despite the controversy in that bout, she out-struck Holly Holm for the featherweight belt. On the other hand, Ladd has been a volume striker in the UFC with an average of 5.58 significant strikes per minute. She also has averaged over two takedowns at 80% accuracy. If De Randamie can stay away from Ladd and fight from a distance, she’s got a good chance of winning this fight. However, If Ladd is able to close in and put her on her back, I think Ladd takes victory here. The problem with Ladd is how she is going to get near de Randamie without getting hit. I think the younger and more aggressive fighter is not going to be denied. De Randamie is going to strike from afar while Ladd will try to put her on her back. After absorbing some blows, I think Ladd is ultimately going to get her hands on De Randamie and take her down. Aspen Ladd wins this on the ground. Prediction: Aspen Ladd

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Urijah Faber vs Ricky Simon

Hall of Famer Urijah Faber ends his retirement and fights in his hometown. The California Kid is a former WEC champion who challenged several times for the UFC belt. The 40-year old has wins over the likes of Dominick Cruz, Jens Pulver, Raphael Assuncao, and Michael McDonald. He has a record of 34-10 with seven knockouts and 19 wins by submission. However, Faber was on a slump prior to his retirement in 2016 as he lost three out of his last five bouts. Faber stands 5-6 with a reach of 67 inches.

Ricky Simon is the former Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight champion who has won eight fights in a row since losing in a Titan FC bantamweight title fight in 2016. Simon is 15-1 with five knockouts and two wins by submission. He stands 5-6 with a reach of 69 inches and enters this about 13 years Faber’s junior. Simon is 3-0 under the UFC banner and is coming off a decision win over Rani Yahya last February.

Who Wins?

I’m not sure why Urijah Faber came back after being inducted to the Hall of Fame. He’s 40 years old and was on a terrible run prior to his retirement. I mean this fight is in Sacramento where he’s worshipped like a god and putting him on the card makes the event an easier sell. But I’m not sure fighting a young and hungry fighter like Ricky Simon is a good idea. Simon has been a takedown machine in the UFC with 11 takedowns in his last two bouts. Faber is excellent on the ground with his NCAA wrestling background and BJJ skills. He is going to tap out Simon if he has the chance but the younger and stronger fighter is going to have the advantage in a grinder of a match. The MMA betting odds have installed the younger Simon as the favorite here. I’ll take my chance on the younger and hungrier lion. Prediction: Ricky Simon

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Livinha Souza vs Brianna Van Buren

Livinha Souza is the former Invicta FC strawweight champion. She won the belt by submitting Katja Kankaanpää in 2015. She lost the belt via split decision to Angela Hill after just one successful title defense. After a 4-1 run at Invicta, she is 2-0 in the UFC. The 28-year old Souza has a record of 13-1 with two knockouts and eight wins via submission. She stands 5-5 with a reach of 63 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance.

Brianna Van Buren takes over from Cynthia Calvillo, who had to pull out of this bout due to a foot injury. The 25-year old Van Buren is the current Invicta FC women’s strawweight champion, having won the belt after dominating the eight-woman Invicta FC strawweight tournament last month. The 4-11 Van Buren started he MMA career at 3-2 but has since picked up five straight wins to push her record to 8-2 with two knockouts and three wins by submission.

Who Wins?

When you have a fight between fighters who are dubbed as “The Brazilian Gangster” and “The Bull”, then you must have two badass women facing each other inside the octagon. That’s what we’re getting in this strawweight match-up between two former Invicta FC strawweight champions. Souza has used plenty of her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in her fights with 8 submissions wins. On the other hand, we haven’t seen Van Buren fight inside the octagon yet but this is a woman who fought three times in one night to win the Invicta 115-pound title. In that tournament, we saw why she is called the Bull, with her aggression and nasty ground and pound which sets up her submissions or knockouts. I think this fight goes to the ground with both women preferring to fight there. Souza’s slicker on the ground and should get the submission win here. Prediction: Livinha Souza

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