PFL CEO Peter Murray confirmed that the league released Julia Budd after withdrawing from her scheduled fight against Kayla Harrison (15-1 MMA/14-1 PFL) in the 2023 PFL Championships.
As shared in a previous report, the executive reiterated that the reason behind the move is Budd’s refusal “to fulfill her contractual obligation.”
“She’s been released,” Murray said confirmed. “She had the opportunity to take the fight, and she chose not to. [Budd] did not sign her bout agreement, consistent with her contract, and unfortunately we had to move on. We’re really excited about Aspen. This is going to be a great fight.”
Budd’s exit from the fight led PFL to replace her with former UFC fighter Aspen Ladd (11-4 MMA, 2-1 PFL). Murray is trying to promote the fight, noting that Ladd is an excellent replacement for Budd, given their last fight where the former beat the latter in November.
“While originally fans and we had wanted to see Kayla and Julia, but that didn’t get done,” Murray said. “So Aspen, she’s been training. She’s been looking forward to getting back in the cage, and the timing was right given the circumstances. I think it’s a great matchup. Aspen beat Julia. It should be a better fight. It’s on.”
Budd is leaving PFL with a 17-6-0 (2023 PFL Record: 1-1-0) record. The Canadian fighter’s last bout was against Martina Jindrova, whom she defeated via unanimous decision in June. It was a much-needed win after her three-fight losing streak from her fight with Larissa Pacheco, Ladd, and Genah Fabian.