UFC Fight Night 155: Even Without Big Names, Competitive Fights Offer Action for Bettors

Posted on: July 11, 2019, 04:24h. 

Last updated on: July 12, 2019, 08:24h.

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Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

UFC Fight Night 155 doesn’t have a lot of star power, especially when compared to last week’s UFC 239. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be fights worth watching or betting on, especially when it comes to the main event encounter between women’s bantamweight contenders Germaine de Randamie and Aspen Ladd.

UFC Fight Night 155
The undefeated Aspen Ladd (above) will take on Germaine de Randamie in the main event at UFC Fight Night 155. (Image: Twitter/@mma21plus)

The undefeated Ladd (-165) is the favorite according to Bovada over No. 1 contender de Randamie (+135).

The Veteran vs. the Prospect

While de Randamie (8-3) is a former UFC champion, she isn’t often treated as such by fans. The 35-year-old Dutch fighter attracted all of the wrong kind of attention back in 2017 when she was stripped of her featherweight title after refusing a fight with Cris Cyborg. While there were several reasons given for the decision, including lingering injuries, questions over Cyborg’s PED usage, and a planned move down to the bantamweight division, the general perception was that de Randamie was avoiding the fight.

If people want to keep talking about it, I don’t mind, because I think for a lot of fighters, that would have broken their career,” de Randamie told ESPN. “For me, now, it doesn’t. I’m at peace with myself…I’m looking forward to getting in there with a competitor like Aspen Ladd. And no matter what happens, I know I’ve accomplished so much more in my career than declining one fight.”

In contrast, the 24-year-old Ladd (8-0) is one of the UFC’s top-ranked prospects. After winning her first five professional fights in the Invicta promotion, she is 3-0 in her UFC career, last defeating Sijara Eubanks by unanimous decision in May.

That’s been enough to make Ladd the No. 4 contender in the bantamweight division. In a division with few clear contenders and plenty of upheaval, that means a win over de Randamie could just be the ticket to getting a shot against division champion Amanda Nunes. For now, though, Ladd isn’t thinking that far ahead.

“I haven’t really considered anything past this Saturday,” Ladd told MMA Junkie. “Germaine is the No. 1 contender, so there’s certain indications there, but at the same time, 135 is a very strange division right now. We have a lot of higher-ranked women coming back from pregnancy or injury, we have a two-division champ [Nunes] who wants to go back and forth, so who knows where it’s going to go.”

UFC Fight Night 155 Features Deep Card

The biggest question heading into this fight could be how Ladd fares in her first confrontation with elite competition. This could prove to be a battle to see if de Randamie can take control of the fight with her striking, or if Ladd can use her strength in the clinch to overpower her veteran opponent. Both scenarios are plausible, though the younger Ladd’s athleticism should be enough to carry her to the win.

There are a number of other fights worth watching at UFC Fight Night 155 where the outcome is far from certain.

The co-main event features UFC legend Urijah Faber (+290) against the 15-1 Ricky Simon (-380). Also on the show is a featherweight clash between Josh Emmett (+135) and Mirsad Bektic (-165), as well as a tough middleweight contest between Marvin Vettori (-150) and Cezar Ferreira (+120).