“It’s a good opportunity to make a good return,” Irene Aldana is looking to make a strong case for the title with her next fight


“It’s a good opportunity to make a good return,” Irene Aldana is looking to make a strong case for the title with her next fight

Irene Aldana at UFC 264

The UFC women’s bantamweight fighter Irene Aldana is looking to get back in the win column when she takes on the fellow contender Yana Kunitskaya at UFC 264 on July 10.

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Irene is coming off from foot surgery and a loss against the former champion Holly Holm, and she thinks her next fight is going to be extremely important. In an interview with MMA Junkie, she said, “Fortunately, they gave me a fight in the top five.  It’s a good opportunity to make a good return with a very complete fighter like Yana. I didn’t have the best fight in my last outing. It was the worst performance I’ve had in that fight against Holly.”

She added, “I think UFC kept in mind the way that I lost. I didn’t get knocked out, I didn’t get submitted, and there was a mix of situations that didn’t help the cause and just made everything worse. I had the foot fracture, I had COVID-19 before the fight, and I don’t think I fully recovered because I did feel some lingering issues. I think UFC keeps in mind all that, plus the previous fights that I had.”

She continued, “I think if you look at all the previous fights and then compare them with the performance against Holly, you can tell something was off with me. And I don’t want to take anything away from Holly though – I know I fought the best version of her.”

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“I think I can get back on the route to a potential fight for the title,” says Irene Aldana

Irene Aldana
Irene Aldana

Adlene didn’t have quite the title run she expected but with this victory, she is looking to get back on the track, “I think if I have a good showing, a dominant presentation, and have a convincing win, I think I can get back on the route to a potential fight for the title,” Aldana said. “The division is very tight in competition at the top because a lot of the top-five girls already fought for the belt. I think I can win back that spot – but first this fight, and we’ll take it from there.”

“If I win this fight, and I have a convincing win, and I have maybe another win after that against a good opponent, I think I can raise my hand again to ask for that opportunity for the title. It could be this year – why not?”

Also read: What next for Holly Holm after her dominant win over Irene Aldana