UFC coach forced to apologise over corner act

The fallout to Aspen Ladd’s crushing defeat in her return to the UFC has been centred around her coach and his behaviour in between rounds.

Aspen Ladd’s coach has been forced to apologise after he came under fire from fans on Sunday for the way he spoke to her during her crushing defeat.

The American fighter was making her long-awaited return to the Octagon after almost two years out, but it all fell apart right from the start as the 26-year-old came out hesitant to throw strikes.

Ladd lost to Norma Dumont via a unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47 x 2) in the main event of the UFC Fight Night 195 in Las Vegas — and it was her apparent lack of aggression that caught the eye of fans.

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Aspen Ladd was given a serve by coach Jim West. Photo: Twitter, @espnmma

It also caught the eye of her coach Jim West, who was seen repeatedly berating her in between rounds, with videos of his pep talks spreading across the internet.

West’s coaching in between rounds started cool and calm as he offered technical advice after watching Ladd lose the opening round. But it quickly turned into “abuse” in the eyes of some commentators.

At one point West was heard saying: “You have to go f***ing balls to the f***ing wall.”

"Please tell me what you're doing."

"Sit on your ****!"

Listen in on what was said by Aspen Ladd's corner during her loss to Norma Dumont at #UFCVegas40.

What did you make of it? pic.twitter.com/V9dQZSWoHK

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) October 17, 2021

Former UFC champion Miesha Tate was scathing in her assessment of West.

“This is ABUSE, what a douche,” Tate posted on Twitter.

“He will take credit for her win but never for her loss. Trust me she can only take so much of this abuse before it breaks her spirit.”

West has now apologised following a social media backlash.

“Tonight was not our night,” West wrote in a statement on Instagram.

“It’s been our night many many times at the highest level but not tonight. I blame myself. Though it may not be my fault. it’s not up for debate. I take all the blame. Yes after the first couple rounds I may have been a little harsh but I know aspen and at that time technical conversation was not in the cards being down 3 rounds.

“Nonetheless I own it and I am sorry @aspenladd from the bottom of my heart [sic] I will continue to be better each time.”

Aspen Ladd was given a serve by coach Jim West. Photo: Twitter, @espnmma

Ladd also posted a brief statement on Instagram, but didn’t address West’s behaviour.

“Not my night,” Ladd wrote on Instagram.

“Congrats to my opponent. We will be back better. In the mean time I finally got to get back in there after nearly 2 years. Now it’s time to take a step back, take a breath, and get back to fighting and feeling like myself again. Onto the next.”

It comes after West in 2019 went viral for a fiery pep talk he gave Ladd before the fighter sparked up and went out and scored a vicious TKO victory over Yana Kunitskaya.

Earlier on the Cegas card, Jim Miller defeated Erick Gonzalez with a stunning knockout punch.

BOOOOOM!@JimMiller_155 punctuates UFC appearance number 38 with a massive KO 💥 #UFCVegas40pic.twitter.com/jE3RQkZEH5

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 17, 2021

Danaa Batgerel also scored another KO victory when he finished Brandon Davis in the opening round.

Danaa Batgerel with another first-round KO 😳 #UFCVegas40pic.twitter.com/APbhMkRuUp

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 16, 2021

The UFC is back in action on Sunday for the Fight Night event headlined by Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori.

Originally published as UFC coach forced to apologise over corner act