Kelly McGill-Velasco Record: 2-2-0

Invicta and the Aspen Ladd test

The toughest test of McGill-Velasco's career came at Invicta FC 16 in March 2016, when she faced the unbeaten Aspen Ladd. Ladd, a 2-0 prospect who would go on to a long UFC and PFL run, leaned on her wrestling to control the fight and earned a third-round ground-and-pound stoppage. It was McGill-Velasco's first professional loss, but it came against one of the division's most promising young talents on a night where she pushed deep into the third round.

Contender Series and a tough stretch

McGill-Velasco's next big opportunity came on Dana White's Contender Series in August 2017 against the unbeaten Lauren Mueller, then 3-0. Mueller controlled the action to take a decision, handing McGill-Velasco a second straight defeat on a high-profile stage. A separately scheduled bout with Janay Harding around the same window did not come to fruition. The two losses came against live, unbeaten opposition, but they bookended a difficult competitive stretch that left her professional record at 2-2.

Fighting style

McGill-Velasco is a grappler at heart, a product of years on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu mats whose game is built around getting fights to the ground and working from there. Her professional results split evenly – two wins, one by knockout and one by decision, against two losses – a 2-2 ledger that reflects how quickly she was matched against rising prospects. Both of her defeats came to unbeaten opponents who used superior wrestling to dictate where the fight took place, the clearest pattern in her record and the area that most often decided her toughest nights.

Career highlights

• Invicta FC signee — won her promotional debut by decision at Invicta FC 9, fighting under the sport's top all-women's banner early in her career.
• Knockout debut — opened her professional career with a first-round knockout of Leslie Rodriguez at Tachi Palace Fights 19.
• Contender Series competitor — earned a Dana White's Contender Series spot opposite unbeaten future UFC fighter Lauren Mueller.