Josh Emmett, Aspen Ladd Progress on Injury Recovery

By Connor Deitrich

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 20: Josh Emmett reacts after his decision victory over Shane Burgos in their feathweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on June 20, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto shared some positive news Thursday evening. Two ranked UFC contenders, Josh Emmett and Aspen Ladd have resumed training following ACL tears. Emmett tore his ACL in a fight in June, while Ladd tore hers out of action, also in June.

Josh Emmett Resumes Training Following Injury

Though he’s still likely several months out from competing again, it’s great to hear the good news for Josh Emmett. The number seven featherweight contender sustained the injury in a fight of the year candidate with Shane Burgos back in June. His win in that fight put Emmett on a three fight win streak. Prior to that fight, Emmett impressively finished Mirsad Bektic and Michael Johnson.

Emmett’s return will be welcomed to a featherweight division that has plenty of fun match-ups for him. A fight with sixth-ranked featherweight Calvin Kattar would be a fun fight between two guys with dynamite in their hands. If Emmett were to fight down in the rankings in his return fight, guys like Dan Ige or Sodiq Yusuff could be potential opponents. No matter who he matches up with, it will be nice to have Josh Emmett back in action. His fights are always entertaining.

Aspen Ladd Making Progress with Rehab

Aspen Ladd, the number three women’s bantamweight contender, hasn’t fought since December 2019. She finished Yana Kunitskaya on that night. Since joining the UFC in 2017, Ladd is 4-1 in the promotion. Her only loss came at the hands of former featherweight champion and bantamweight challenger Germaine de Randamie.

After her fight with de Randamie, many thought Ladd would move up to featherweight due to weight cutting problems. But she stuck it out and remained at bantamweight for her fight with Kunitskaya. A perfect fight for Ladd upon her return could be with the number two bantamweight contender, Holly Holm. If Ladd would be victorious in that fight, she could be set up for a title shot at Amanda Nunes. Ladd tore her ACL just four months ago, though, so her return is likely a few months out. Still, it is exciting news to hear that both Josh Emmett and Aspen Ladd are trending in the right direction with their injuries.