A combatant who battled Amanda Nunes for UFC gold is now not a UFC contracted athlete. As reported by MMA Preventing, Irene Aldana is the fighter in query who is not going to be persevering with her journey with the Final Preventing Championship as of this juncture.
The Mexican standout has not competed since a Fall 2024 setback to Norma Dumont, however Aldana nonetheless remained within the prime ten rankings for contenders at 135 kilos earlier than her departure from the promotion. The 38-year-old debuted within the UFC on the heels of notching a number of first-round finishes by way of strikes contained in the Invicta FC cage.
Aldana started her UFC run in a little bit of an inauspicious vogue with back-to-back losses to Leslie Smith and Katlyn Cerminara earlier than then embarking on a three-fight profitable streak. That stretch noticed victories secured over Talita Bernardo, Lucie Pudilova, and Bethe Correia earlier than Aldana misplaced a break up determination to eventual UFC champion Raquel Pennington.
Irene Aldana’s UFC run continued
Aldanda bounced again with wins over Vanessa Melo and Ketlen Vieria earlier than taking a loss to former UFC bantamweight titleholder Holly Holm. The defeat noticed Irene Aldana recalibrate and put collectively consecutive wins over Yana Santos in addition to Macy Chiasson. This led to the aforementioned title shot, which noticed Aldana fall brief to ladies’s MMA icon Amanda Nunes by the use of a unanimous determination at UFC 289.
A win over Karol Rosa ultimately gave technique to the aforementioned Dumont defeat on the UFC’s first-ever Noche occasion. General, Aldana had fourteen bouts within the promotion.
Of be aware, that June 2023 title protection nonetheless marks the final time that Amanda Nunes has stepped into the cage to compete. There have been discussions round a superfight with Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison in January earlier than the previous two-time Olympic gold medalist needed to pull out of the high-stakes bout with Nunes. The Brazilian legend is focusing on a return, probably for later this 12 months, as Nunes goals to battle Harrison for the latter’s UFC bantamweight belt.
