Aspen Ladds coach Jim West responds to corner criticism at UFC Vegas 40

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The UFC Vegas 40s main event between Norma Dumont and Aspen Ladd didn’t look very good on paper, and ended up looking even worse in reality. It was a five-round repeat of a Decision victory for Dumont who largely saw her hitting the same combo on Ladd in five rounds, while Ladd struggled to pitch a hitting or grappling game (see the highlights here).

This led her trainer / boyfriend Jim West to pitch what most observers agreed to be a pretty harsh criticism of his fighter / girlfriend.

You’re down 3-0, he told Ladd ahead of the fourth round. Please tell me what you’re doing. You have to throw more than one punch! Fight to win, you must finish.

Now West has taken to social media to confess his turn, which was big on harassment but light on tech advice.

Tonight was not our night, he wrote on Instagram. This has been our night several times at the highest level but not tonight. I blame myself. Even though it might not be my fault. it is not for debate. I take all the blame.

Yes after the first two rounds I might have been a little harsh, but I know Aspen and at that point the technical conversation was not in the cards, being down 3 rounds. Nonetheless, I own it and I am sorry Aspen Ladd from the bottom of my heart, I will continue to be better every time.

What’s somewhat ironic about this situation is that West was praised for his corner work in Aspens’ last win over Yana Kunitskaya.

Ladd came out after this pep talk and TKOd Kunitskaya 33 seconds after the third round.

WMMA fighter Miesha Tate was one of Ladds’ harshest critics after missing weight for UFC Vegas 39, but seemed more protective of herself after watching Wests get stuck.

She would have done this without him, that’s who she is. He will take the credit for his victory but never for his defeat. Believe me, she can only take a certain amount of this abuse before it breaks her morale. https://t.co/hDx7g9aDoU

Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) October 17, 2021

Are you kidding? Maybe the only reason she’s starting out slow is because of him. She is a FIGHTER and there is only one thing holding her back. https://t.co/GKnpaIP7HU

Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) October 17, 2021

As for Aspen, she didn’t mention the post-fight wedge controversy, instead appearing to attribute the poor performance to a two-year gap between fights.

Not my night, she wrote on Instagram. Congratulations to my opponent. We will come back better. In the meantime, I was finally able to go back after almost 2 years. Now is the time to take a step back, breathe, start fighting again and feel like myself again. Let’s move on to the next one.

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