Aspen Ladd is behind the 8 ball, and she knows it, which is why her mindset heading into her next fight is slightly different.

Ladd (10-4) takes on Karolina Sobek (4-1) in her second women’s featherweight bout of the season at 2023 PFL 5 on June 16 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Both fighters enter the matchup under less-than-ideal circumstances after losing their season openers this past April at PFL 2.

Ten weeks later and with zero points in the standings, it’ll take a first-round finish worth six points for Ladd to assure herself a spot in the playoffs. A second-round finish (five points) likely would also do the trick. Winning a decision isn’t something she can afford to risk.

Pressure, you say? Ladd admits she’s feeling it, but it doesn’t bother her much.

“Definitely, especially going into this one,” Ladd told MMA Junkie Radio. “I need as many points as possible. Going into it, it’s basically trying to treat it like a 5-minute fight.”

She continued, “Any fight I’ve been in is pressure. It’s a different type of pressure with the points system and how much rides on this next one, so there’s definitely that. Can’t BS any slow start this time.”

That’s what happened in Ladd’s majority decision loss to Olena Kolesnyk. Ladd struggled in the early rounds and didn’t get going until Round 3, which she dominated. By that point, it was too little too late.

Ladd said that won’t be the case this time.

“More urgency,” Ladd said of what she needs vs. Sobek. “I started too slow. I went back and watched it, and there’s certain things that I wasn’t doing on my takedowns. I was getting in just fine, but I was transitioning out way too soon. …

“It’s all me. It’s in the head, it’s in the mindset, not overthinking things. It’s really just that – not overthinking it, just going in and performing.”

One thing Ladd likes about matching up with Sobek is that she, too, should feel the same urgency given she also needs maximum points to advance.

“I hope so,” Ladd said. “It sucks when you have opponents that don’t necessarily want to engage. The most entertaining types of fights and most fun to be in are when you go out there and you both want it.”

For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL 5.