Aspen Ladd is back in the win column.
On the main card of 2023 PFL 5 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Ladd (11-4) needed to finish Karolina Sobek (4-2) if she wanted to clinch a spot in the playoffs. At 4:55 of the second round, Ladd did what was necessary to extend her season by tapping Sobek with an armbar.
It wasn’t easy for Ladd.
As soon as the fight began, Ladd darted across the cage with punches, clearly showing a sense of urgency to get a finish. However, Sobek was game for the moment as she clipped and dropped Ladd with a clean punch. Ladd rallied to get back into the fight and regained her composure. Sobek kept the pressure high and made Ladd work for everything.
As time ticked away late in the second round, Ladd’s playoff hopes became dimmer. That’s when she found the armbar she needed on the mat with just five seconds remaining in the round.
Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter):
WIth seconds to spare… ASPEN LADD IS GOING TO THE #PFLPLAYOFFS!#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
🇺🇸 ESPN+
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomD5xg pic.twitter.com/VP1vKcJmWK— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 17, 2023
The finish was worth five points for Ladd, and for the time being, puts her in position to reach the 2023 playoffs alongside Amber Leibrock and Marina Mokhnatkina.
Olena Kolesnyk, who beat Ladd by majority decision at 2023 PFL 2 was watching in the back. She also has five points, but has to sweat out the results of 2022 champion Larissa Pacheco vs. Leibrock later in the evening.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 46.
