Irene Aldana Robles (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. She currently competes in the women's

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). As of September 17, 2024, she is #6 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings.

Background

Aldana graduated from college at

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, Mexico 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 in 2010.

Mixed martial arts career

Jungle Fight

In her lone fight with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian mixed

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

promotion

Jungle Fight Jungle Fight is a Brazilian mixed martial arts and kickboxing promotion. It was created in 2003. The name is derived from its origin, the Amazonas state in Brazil. History Jungle Fight was founded by pioneering MMA fighter and long-time Brazi ...

, 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.

Invicta Fighting Championships

Aldana signed with

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

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. 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. 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. She won the fight via first round rear-naked choke.

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. 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. Aldana faced Talita Bernardo on January 14, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi. Aldana won the fight via unanimous decision. Aldana was scheduled to face Bethe Correia on August 4, 2018, at UFC 227; however, the bout was pulled when Correia withdrew due to injury. Instead, Aldana faced Lucie Pudilová on September 8, 2018, at UFC 228, winning a close fight via split decision and earning her and Pudilová Fight of the Night award. Her bout with Bethe Correia was rescheduled and is expected to take place on May 11, 2019 at UFC 237. 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. Aldana won the fight via submission in round three. Aldana faced Raquel Pennington on July 20, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 4. Aldana lost the fight via split decision. Aldana was scheduled to face Marion Reneau on September 21, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN+ 17 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

. However, Reneau pulled out of the bout on September 11 for undisclosed reasons. Reneau was replaced by promotional newcomer

Vanessa Melo Vanessa De Melo Silva (born March 27, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division. She is most known for her time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Professiona ...

. 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. Aldana won the fight by unanimous decision. Aldana faced

Ketlen Vieira Ketlen Vieira da Silva (born 26 August 1991) is a Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who currently competes in the women's Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 8 ...

on December 14, 2019 at

UFC 245 ''UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 14, 2019, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. B ...

. Aldana won the fight via knockout in round one. This win earned her the '' Performance of the Night ''award. Aldana was scheduled to face Holly Holm on August 1, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 173. 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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. 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. Aldana lost the fight via unanimous decision. Aldana faced

Yana Kunitskaya Yana Santos (; November 11, 1989) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the women's bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Prior to joining the UFC, Santos competed for Invicta FC where she ...

on July 10, 2021 at UFC 264. 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. Aldana won the fight via technical knockout in round one. Aldana was next expected to face Germaine de Randamie at UFC 268 in New York, NY. However, de Randamie withdrew in early September due to injury. Aldana was scheduled to face

Aspen Ladd Aspen Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is competing in the Featherweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional mixed martial arts car ...

on April 9, 2022 at UFC 273. However, Aldana withdrew in late March for unknown reasons and was replaced by former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger Raquel Pennington. Aldana faced Macy Chiasson on September 10, 2022 at UFC 279. She won the fight via knockout in the third round via an upkick to Chaisson's body. The win earned Aldana her second ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Aldana was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 223 in a rematch with Raquel Pennington on May 20, 2023. 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. Aldana lost the bout via unanimous decision, after being dominated for all five rounds. Aldana faced Karol Rosa on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296. She won the bout via unanimous decision. This fight earned them the '' Fight of the Night'' award. 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. Aldana faced Norma Dumont on September 14, 2024, at

UFC 306 ''UFC 306: O'Malley vs. Dvalishvili'' (also known as ''Noche UFC 2'' and branded as ''Riyadh Season Noche UFC'' for sponsorship reasons) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 14, ...

. She lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Leslie Smith, Lucie Pudilová and Karol Rosa ** Performance of the Night (Two times) ***Tied ( Amanda Nunes) for third most Post-Fight bonuses in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (4) **Second most total fight time in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (3:12:50) **Second most significant strikes landed in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (1028) **Third most total strikes landed in UFC Women's Bantamweight division history (1174) **UFC.com Awards ***2023: Ranked #3 Fight of the Year vs. Karol Rosa *

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

** Performance of the Night (three times) vs. Peggy Morgan, Colleen Schneider, and

Faith Van Duin Faith Van Duin (born 6 June 1986) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. She most notably fought in Invicta Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts career Early career Van Duin made her prof ...

* MMAJunkie.com **2019 December Knockout of the Month

Mixed martial arts record

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UFC 210 ''UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2 '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on April 8, 2017, at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Background The event was the second that the UFC has hosted in ...

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Pay-per-view bouts

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldana, Irene 1988 births Living people Mexican female mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters Sportspeople from Culiacán 21st-century Mexican sportswomen