Injury forces Julianna Pena out of UFC on ESPN 8 fight vs. Aspen Ladd

One of the more crucial fights scheduled for UFC on ESPN 8 is off the card as Aspen Ladd vs. Julianna Pena has been put on hold.

On Friday, two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie that an undisclosed injury has forced Pena to withdraw. The people requested anonymity since they’re not authorized to speak about it publicly.

A replacement opponent won’t be sought for Ladd  (9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC). Instead, she plans to wait on rebooking the fight with Pena (9-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) down the line.

UFC on ESPN 8 takes place March 28 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The card airs on ESPN following early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Ladd, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA women’s bantamweight rankings, successfully rebounded from her lone career loss in December when she scored a big-time TKO of Yana Kunitskaya at UFC on ESPN 7.

No. 4 Pena will attempt to hand Ladd another setback in what will be her second fight since returning from a two-and-a-half-year hiatus due to giving birth to her daughter. “The Venezuelan Vixen” has lost just once in her UFC career, against current women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

With the change, the UFC on ESPN lineup now includes:

Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Raphael Assuncao vs. Cody Garbrandt
Miguel Baeza vs. Matt Brown
Yorgan De Castro vs. Greg Hardy
Sam Alvey vs. Khalil Rountree
Laureano Staropoli vs. Khaos Williams
Marlon Vera vs. Eddie Wineland
Raoni Barcelos vs. Cody Stamann
Davey Grant vs. Louis Smolka
Mizuki Inoue vs. Tecia Torres
Roman Kopylov vs. Eric Spicely
Randy Costa vs. Martin Day
Tanner Boser vs. Jeff Hughes