Irene Aldana

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Aldana and the second or maternal family name is Robles.
Irene Aldana
BornIrene Aldana Robles
(1988-03-26) March 26, 1988 (age 36)
Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
DivisionBantamweight
Reach69 in (175 cm)[1]
Fighting out ofGuadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
TeamLobo Gym MMA[2]
TrainerFrancisco Grasso
Years active2012–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins15
By knockout8
By submission3
By decision4
Losses8
By knockout2
By decision6
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Irene Aldana Robles[3] (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the women’s Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 17, 2024, she is #6 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings.[4]

Background

Aldana graduated from college with a degree in graphic design. During her college studies, she grew an interest in mixed martial arts and started training at local Lobo Gym.[5]

Mixed martial arts career

Jungle Fight

In her lone fight with Brazilian mixed martial arts promotion Jungle Fight, Aldana faced Larissa Pacheco for the vacant JF Women's Bantamweight Championship at JF: Jungle Fight 63 on December 21, 2013. She lost the fight via third-round TKO, giving her the first loss of her professional career.[6]

Invicta Fighting Championships

Aldana signed with Invicta FC in mid-2014, and made her debut against Peggy Morgan at Invicta FC 8: Waterson vs. Tamada on September 9, 2014, submitting Morgan with a rear-naked choke in the first round.[7]

She was then expected to face Marion Reneau at Invicta FC 10: Waterson vs. Tiburcio on December 5, 2014, but Aldana was forced out of the bout due to an illness and the fight was taken off the card.[8][9]

Aldana was scheduled to face Melanie LaCroix at Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet on February 27, 2015, however, LaCroix withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Colleen Schneider.[10][11] She won the fight via first round rear-naked choke.[12]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On November 6, 2016, it was announced that Aldana was signed to the UFC and would face Leslie Smith on December 17, 2016 at UFC on Fox 22.[13] Aldana lost the fight by unanimous decision. Despite the loss, the bout earned Aldana her first Fight of the Night bonus award in the UFC.[14]

Aldana faced Talita Bernardo on January 14, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi.[15] Aldana won the fight via unanimous decision.[16]

Aldana was scheduled to face Bethe Correia on August 4, 2018, at UFC 227;[17] however, the bout was pulled when Correia withdrew due to injury.[18] Instead, Aldana faced Lucie Pudilová on September 8, 2018, at UFC 228,[19] winning a close fight via split decision[20] and earning her and Pudilová Fight of the Night award.[21]

Her bout with Bethe Correia was rescheduled and is expected to take place on May 11, 2019 at UFC 237.[22] At the weigh-ins, Correia weighed in at 141 lbs, 5 pounds over the bantamweight limit of 136 lbs. She was fined 30% of her fight purse and the bout proceeded at catchweight.[23] Aldana won the fight via submission in round three.[24]

Aldana faced Raquel Pennington on July 20, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 4.[25] Aldana lost the fight via split decision.[26]

Aldana was scheduled to face Marion Reneau on September 21, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 17.[27] However, Reneau pulled out of the bout on September 11 for undisclosed reasons.[28] Reneau was replaced by promotional newcomer Vanessa Melo.[29] At the weigh-ins, Melo weighed in at 140 pounds, 4 pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136. She was fined 30% of her purse and her bout with Aldana proceeded at a catchweight.[30] Aldana won the fight by unanimous decision.[31]

Aldana faced Ketlen Vieira on December 14, 2019 at UFC 245.[32] Aldana won the fight via knockout in round one.[33] This win earned her the Performance of the Night award.[34]

Aldana was scheduled to face Holly Holm on August 1, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 173.[35] However, it was reported on July 22 that Aldana pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons. Mere hours after the news surfaced, Aldana revealed that the reason for withdrawal was testing positive for COVID-19.[36] As a result, Holm was removed from the card as well and the pairing was left intact and rescheduled for October 4, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana.[37][38] Aldana lost the fight via unanimous decision.[39]

Aldana faced Yana Kunitskaya on July 10, 2021 at UFC 264.[40] At the weigh-ins, Aldana weighed in at 139.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. Her bout proceeded at catchweight and she was fined 30% of her purse, which went go to her opponent Kunitskaya.[41] Aldana won the fight via technical knockout in round one.[42]

Aldana was next expected to face Germaine de Randamie at UFC 268 in New York, NY.[43] However, de Randamie withdrew in early September due to injury.[44]

Aldana was scheduled to face Aspen Ladd on April 9, 2022 at UFC 273.[45] However, Aldana withdrew in late March for unknown reasons and was replaced by former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger Raquel Pennington.[46]

Aldana faced Macy Chiasson on September 10, 2022 at UFC 279.[47] She won the fight via knockout in the third round via an upkick to Chaisson's body.[48] The win earned Aldana her second Performance of the Night bonus award.[49]

Aldana was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 223 in a rematch with Raquel Pennington on May 20, 2023.[50] On May 2, 2023, it was announced that Aldana would replace Julianna Peña in headlining UFC 289 on June 10, 2023, in a Bantamweight Championship match against champion Amanda Nunes.[51] Aldana lost the bout via unanimous decision, after being dominated for all five rounds.[52]

Aldana faced Karol Rosa on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296.[53] She won the bout via unanimous decision.[54] This fight earned them the Fight of the Night award.[55] The two women set a single-fight women’s bantamweight record for 349 significant strikes. Rosa also broke the record for most leg kicks landed in a single UFC bout with 95. The previous record was 76.[56][57][58]

Aldana faced Norma Dumont on September 14, 2024, at UFC 306.[59] She lost the fight by unanimous decision.[60]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
23 matches 15 wins 8 losses
By knockout 8 2
By submission 3 0
By decision 4 6
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 15–8 Norma Dumont Decision (unanimous) UFC 306 September 14, 2024 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 15–7 Karol Rosa Decision (unanimous) UFC 296 December 16, 2023 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
Loss 14–7 Amanda Nunes Decision (unanimous) UFC 289 June 10, 2023 5 5:00 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada For the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship.
Win 14–6 Macy Chiasson KO (upkick to the body) UFC 279 September 10, 2022 3 2:21 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Catchweight (140 lb) bout. Performance of the Night.
Win 13–6 Yana Kunitskaya TKO (punches) UFC 264 July 10, 2021 1 4:35 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Catchweight (139.5 lb) bout; Aldana missed weight.
Loss 12–6 Holly Holm Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana October 4, 2020 5 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 12–5 Ketlen Vieira KO (punches) UFC 245 December 14, 2019 1 4:51 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 11–5 Vanessa Melo Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens September 21, 2019 3 5:00 Mexico City, Mexico Catchweight (140 lb) bout; Melo missed weight.
Loss 10–5 Raquel Pennington Decision (split) UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards July 20, 2019 3 5:00 San Antonio, Texas, United States
Win 10–4 Bethe Correia Submission (armbar) UFC 237 May 11, 2019 3 3:24 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Catchweight (141 lb) bout; Correia missed weight.
Win 9–4 Lucie Pudilová Decision (split) UFC 228 September 8, 2018 3 5:00 Dallas, Texas, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 8–4 Talita Bernardo Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi January 14, 2018 3 5:00 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Loss 7–4 Katlyn Chookagian Decision (split) UFC 210 April 8, 2017 3 5:00 Buffalo, New York, United States
Loss 7–3 Leslie Smith Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson December 17, 2016 3 5:00 Sacramento, California, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 7–2 Faith Van Duin TKO (punches) Invicta FC 19: Maia vs. Modafferi September 23, 2016 1 4:57 Kansas City, Missouri, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 6–2 Jessamyn Duke TKO (punches) Invicta FC 16: Hamasaki vs. Brown March 11, 2016 1 3:08 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Catchweight (136.6 lb) bout; Aldana missed weight.
Loss 5–2 Tonya Evinger TKO (punches) Invicta FC 13: Cyborg vs. Van Duin July 9, 2015 4 4:38 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States For the vacant Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship.
Win 5–1 Colleen Schneider Submission (rear-naked choke) Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet February 27, 2015 1 1:05 Los Angeles, California, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 4–1 Peggy Morgan Submission (rear-naked choke) Invicta FC 8: Waterson vs. Tamada September 9, 2014 1 2:50 Kansas City, Missouri, United States Performance of the Night.
Loss 3–1 Larissa Pacheco TKO (punches) Jungle Fight 63 December 21, 2013 3 1:50 Belém, Brazil For the vacant Jungle Fight Women's Bantamweight Championship.
Win 3–0 Mayra Arce KO (spinning wheel kick and punches) Xtreme Kombat 21 October 12, 2013 1 0:43 Mexico City, Mexico
Win 2–0 Flor Saenz TKO (knee to the body) 1 0:20
Win 1–0 Sandra del Rincon KO (knees and punches) GEX: Old Jack's Fight Night October 17, 2012 1 0:15 Zapopan, Mexico

[64]

Pay-per-view bouts

No Event Fight Date Venue City PPV buys
1. UFC 289 Nunes vs. Aldana June 10, 2023 Rogers Arena Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Not Disclosed[65]

See also

References

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  2. ^ Drake Riggs (2 January 2020). "A picture-perfect end to 2019 has Irene Aldana 'closer than ever' to gold". fansided.com.
  3. ^ "Irene Aldana | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  4. ^ "UFC Rankings - The Official UFC App - UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  5. ^ Danny Segura (April 8, 2017). "From college student to professional fighter, Mexico's Irene Aldana looks back on MMA career ahead of UFC 210". mmafighting.com.
  6. ^ "Jungle Fight 63 results: Larissa Pacheco scores TKO, becomes first female champion". mmafighting.com. December 21, 2013.
  7. ^ "Invicta FC 8 results: Irene Aldana brutalizes Peggy Morgan in Round 1". fansided.com. September 9, 2014.
  8. ^ "IRENE ALDANA FUERA DE INVICTA FC 10". Vice (in Spanish). Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  9. ^ "Friday's Invicta FC 10 event loses Irene Aldana vs. Marion Reneau". mmajunkie.com. December 2, 2015.
  10. ^ "Colleen Schneider replaces Melanie LaCroix, faces Irena Aldana at Invicta FC 11". mmafighting.com. February 13, 2015.
  11. ^ "Colleen Schneider Joins Invicta FC, Faces Irene Aldana at Invicta FC 11". invictafc.com. February 13, 2015.
  12. ^ "Invicta FC 11 results: Irene Aldana demolishes Colleen Schneider in Round 1". SI. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  13. ^ Steven Marrocco (2016-11-06). "Leslie Smith vs. Irene Aldana targeted for UFC on FOX 22". mmajunkie. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  14. ^ Staff (2016-12-17). "UFC on FOX 22 bonuses: Leslie Smith vs. Irene Aldana nabs 'Fight of the Night' honors". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-12-17.
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  65. ^ "UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana | MMA Event". Tapology.