LAS VEGAS – After already having one bout canceled earlier this year due to a botched weight cut, Aspen Ladd knew what was at stake ahead of Friday morning’s UFC 229 official weigh-ins.

She vowed not to have a repeat performance.

“Honestly, it got to the point where I was like, ‘Screw it. If I pass out, put me back in,'” Ladd told MMAjunkie less than an hour after she hit the scales. “I was not wanting – I wasn’t going to do it. I wasn’t going to miss. I was at the point, yeah, where I was like, ‘Yeah, just drag my body back in.'”

Related Aspen Ladd says long layoff worth it for Tonya Evinger bout at UFC 229

According to her team, Ladd woke up “a few pounds” over the women’s bantamweight non-title limit of 136 pounds. While there wasn’t any initial concern at cutting the final needed weight, things didn’t progress as expected leading up to her trip to the scale.

“I was crying,” Ladd admitted. “This was a terrible morning – two baths, and then an hour and 20 minutes in the sauna to get to that point. Yeah, I was just about in tears.”

To make matters worse, Ladd’s team said they received a variety of different weight readings on a handful of scales they tried in their own hotel room, as well as the UFC Performance Institute. So when it came time to hit the stage for the official number, there was a bit of uncertainty in the air.

After some concerns about whether she'd make weight, @AspenLaddMMA was able to hit the mark at 134.5 – it was kinda scary, though. #UFC229 https://t.co/Mq3XYiUQkf pic.twitter.com/HLZ7eEx73S — MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) October 5, 2018

When the official reading came back at 134.5 pounds, there was a sigh of relief among Ladd and her crew.

But the struggle wasn’t over.

Ladd, who had completely disrobed to make weight, put her clothes back on and was asked to step back on the scale for UFC cameras, but she was forced to decline due to her condition. She was then visibly shaking as she walked off the stage.

By the time she spoke to MMAjunkie, Ladd was able to manage a smile and said as bad as she may have looked before, she was already feeling better, even if not exactly at 100 percent.

“It already feels better, but it takes a while for your body to acclimate – chills, all kinds of crap,” Ladd said. “But by, like, this evening, I’ll be feeling almost normal, and by the time I wake up tomorrow, I’ll be feeling good.”

Ladd (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) now takes on former Invicta FC bantamweight champion Tonya Evinger (19-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the FS1-broadcast prelims of Saturday’s UFC 229, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena. It’s a stern test for the undefeated 23-year-old prospect, but one she believes won’t be impacted by what happened this morning.

“The longer I have, the better I’m going to feel,” Ladd said. “By tomorrow, I’ll be good.”

Time will tell if Ladd is correct, but she says she continues to learn the proper approach to her weight cut. Ladd still believes bantamweight is the right division, and she says she’ll fine tune her strategy again next time out.

“I dieted down forever, drank two gallons (of water) leading up to the (weight cut),” Ladd said. “It was just hard, but I came in under, so I guess we’re good to go.

“It sure as heck wasn’t fun, but no, it just, I need to get better at it. I mean, you can’t really ask for a better result, but I can make it less miserable leading up to it.”

For more on UFC 229, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.