UFC announces Holly Holm will return at UFC 235

UFC 235 keeps getting better. According to a report from UFC.com, the latest high-profile matchup tacked onto the card will pit former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and two-time featherweight title challenger Holly Holm against rising contender Aspen Ladd.

The veteran vs the rising star!@HollyHolm meets @AspenLaddMMA at #UFC235 in Las Vegas! pic.twitter.com/p8UAplhboi

— UFC (@ufc) December 21, 2018

While the UFC is reporting this matchup as official, Holm’s manager has reportedly attempted to pump the brakes on the news.

Holly Holm’s manager Lenny Fresquez tells me the fight with Aspen Ladd currently being reported by https://t.co/aX2hXYt93M is not a done deal yet.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) December 21, 2018

If this matchup does indeed occur as the UFC is reporting, Holly Holm will enter the cage having not fought since June, when she defeated former Invicta champ Megan Anderson by unanimous decision in a featherweight bout. In her next most recent fight, she gave up a decision to reigning UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg. Holm has not competed in the bantamweight division since June of 2017, when she defeated Bethe Correia by head kick knockout. She’s 12-4 overall.

Aspen Ladd, meanwhile, owns a flawless pro record of 7-0. In her last fight, she bludgeoned former Invicta champ Tonya Evinger to a first-round TKO. This win was preceded by a TKO defeat of Lina Lansberg in her UFC debut. Ladd has also defeated the likes of Sijara Eubanks and Amanda Bobby Cooper in the Invicta cage.

UFC 235 will also feature a welterweight bout between former UFC champ Robbie Lawler and former Bellator and ONE champ Ben Askren, a featherweight bout between Jeremy Stephens and Zabit Magomedsharipov, and a welterweight bout between Mickey Gall and Diego Sanchez. The card does not currently have a main event.

How do you think Holly Holm will look in her long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 235? Do you think the former champ can defeat Aspen Ladd?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 12/21/2018.