Irene Aldana Record: 15-8-0

Building toward contention

Aldana's early UFC run was uneven, with close losses to Leslie Smith and Katlyn Cerminara teaching hard lessons. She steadied with decision wins over Talita Bernardo and Lucie Pudilová, then submitted former title challenger Bethe Correia by armbar in 2019. The signature moment of that stretch came in December 2019, when she flattened the previously unbeaten Ketlen Vieira with a first-round knockout, announcing herself as a genuine contender.

Title challenge and recent run

After a competitive five-round loss to former champion Holly Holm in 2020, Aldana returned to the win column emphatically, stopping Yana Santos in the first round in 2021 and finishing Macy Chiasson with a rare upkick to the body in 2022. That earned her a shot at the title: in June 2023, she challenged champion Amanda Nunes for the UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 289, losing a five-round unanimous decision to one of the greatest fighters in the sport's history. She rebounded with a decision over Karol Rosa in December 2023 before dropping a decision to Norma Dumont in 2024.

Fighting style

Aldana is one of the division's most dangerous strikers, a volume boxer whose right cross and left hook carry genuine knockout power — eight of her 15 wins have come by KO, with a finish rate around 73 percent. Her length and footwork let her control range, and her output keeps pressure on opponents over five rounds. The flip side has been her tendency to be outpointed in close fights, with six of her eight losses coming by decision, often in razor-thin contests where wrestling and grappling exchanges went against her. When she connects clean, though, few in the division hit harder.

Career highlights

• UFC bantamweight title challenger — faced champion Amanda Nunes for the belt at UFC 289 in 2023, the headline fight of her career.
• Knockout artist — flattened the previously unbeaten Ketlen Vieira and stopped Yana Santos, building a reputation as one of the division's hardest punchers.
• Face of Mexican women's MMA — a longtime UFC contender out of Guadalajara who helped raise the profile of women's MMA in Mexico.